YASNOGORSK, Russia - A Workers' Collective Committee has taken over a machine-building plant in Yasnogorsk, a town of 20,000 people near Moscow. The 4,200 workers are battling the Communist Party local authority and the (Yeltsinite) privatization program for the plant. The Yasnogorsk workers say, "This is our revolution" and are appealing for international solidarity.
In 1990, the factory was turned into a joint stock company in which the workers held a majority of shares. Last September the workers and shareholders of the plant dismissed the Administration at a general meeting. When the "owners" of the plant refused to recognize the results, the workers seized control. A workers' committee (the Workers' Collective Soviet) was set up and now oversees administration, production, selling, all the finances, distribution of wages and the town as a whole.
However, all the factory bank accounts have been blocked by the authorities and the company has since been declared bankrupt by the courts. The questions now are: who will run the factory in the future and who will buy it later?
The workers realize that if it is sold, they will lose the last shares they still possess and the previous administration will buy them. For this reason the workers are demanding the plant be made state-owned or else have the shares distributed among the workers. The workers and the town see this as a temporary solution and understand they are fighting against the trend towards private property and capitalism.
Next Article