Brukman factory
Encyclopedia
Brukman is a textile factory in Balvanera
, Buenos Aires
, Argentina
(Jujuy 554). Currently under the control of a worker cooperative
called "18 de Diciembre", it is among the most famous of the country's "recovered factories".
The owners tried to have the workers evicted several times. The last eviction order came from Judge Jorge Rimondi. At midnight, April 18 2003, more than 300 infantry troops from the Argentine federal police and about 30 civilians succeeded in forcing out the workers. A few hours later, still before dawn, 3,000 demonstrators were already gathered around Brukman to support the workers, including piquetero
s and neighbourhood assembly members. Legislators and other officials, as well as human rights groups, met with Judge Rimondi, but the decision was not reversed.
On April 19 the workers of the Zanon
ceramics factory (also a recovered factory), in Neuquén
, together with local activists, blocked Route 22 to protest in solidarity with the Brukman workers. The Brukman workers received support from numerous other sources. They set up a camp in front of the factory. On April 21 the Buenos Aires provincial
police attacked demonstrators who had come to protest the expulsion; there were 20 wounded and a hundred arrests. Eventually the workers regained control of the factory; it continues to function as a cooperative.
Balvanera
Balvanera is a neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina.-Origin of Name and Alternative Names:The official name, Balvanera, is the name of the parroquia centered around the church of Nuestra Señora de Balvanera, erected in 1831.The zone around Corrientes avenue is known as Once after Plaza Once de...
, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
(Jujuy 554). Currently under the control of a worker cooperative
Worker cooperative
A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and democratically managed by its worker-owners. This control may be exercised in a number of ways. A cooperative enterprise may mean a firm where every worker-owner participates in decision making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one in which...
called "18 de Diciembre", it is among the most famous of the country's "recovered factories".
Background
The Brukman factory suffered the effects of the Argentine economic crisis, which first became clearly noticeable as a recession in 1998. Since 1995 business had been shrinking, and Brukman had fired over half of its formerly 300 employees. Sales were dropping and debts had piled up. The workers' salaries were reduced to the point that they could not pay the transportation fare to get to work every day. Rumours also circulated that the owners were preparing to close down the factory.Takeover
On December 18 2001, about fifty people (most of them women) met at the factory and demanded to be granted a travel allowance, just to be able to keep their jobs. The Brukman brothers, owners of the factory, promised to bring money and left. The workers decided to stay, asked the doorman for the keys, and spent the night at the factory. Their idea was to take the building and negotiate from that position. But the owners never returned, so they began working again by themselves. In time, the factory made new clients and managed to pay off debts. The workers, organized in an assembly, decided on a fair wage for themselves. After months they were able to raise their salaries and hire ten more employees.The owners tried to have the workers evicted several times. The last eviction order came from Judge Jorge Rimondi. At midnight, April 18 2003, more than 300 infantry troops from the Argentine federal police and about 30 civilians succeeded in forcing out the workers. A few hours later, still before dawn, 3,000 demonstrators were already gathered around Brukman to support the workers, including piquetero
Piquetero
A piquetero is a member of a political faction whose primary modus operandi is based in the piquete. The piquete is an action by which a group of people blocks a road or street with the purpose of demonstrating and calling attention over a particular issue or demand...
s and neighbourhood assembly members. Legislators and other officials, as well as human rights groups, met with Judge Rimondi, but the decision was not reversed.
On April 19 the workers of the Zanon
FaSinPat
FaSinPat, formerly known as Zanon, is a worker-controlled ceramic tile factory in the southern Argentine province of Neuquén, and one of the most prominent in the recovered factory movement of Argentina...
ceramics factory (also a recovered factory), in Neuquén
Neuquén
Neuquén is the name of the following things:* Neuquén, Argentina* Neuquén Province* Neuquén River* Neuquén Group...
, together with local activists, blocked Route 22 to protest in solidarity with the Brukman workers. The Brukman workers received support from numerous other sources. They set up a camp in front of the factory. On April 21 the Buenos Aires provincial
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
police attacked demonstrators who had come to protest the expulsion; there were 20 wounded and a hundred arrests. Eventually the workers regained control of the factory; it continues to function as a cooperative.
Sources and external links
- Argentine workers evicted from Brukman factory
- Snapshot of a Nation, by Naomi KleinNaomi KleinNaomi Klein is a Canadian author and social activist known for her political analyses and criticism of corporate globalization.-Family:...
- Argentina: Brukman workers kicked out of factory they ran (from The Spark, a MarxistMarxismMarxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
newspaper) - Brukman: La trilogía (in Spanish and English) - Documentaries about Brukman
- Interview with Brukman worker Celia Martinez