The Red and Black Coordination is created to internationally co-ordinate the actions of the unions following the tradition of self-management, anti-authoritarian, anarchosyndicalist and federalist internationalist labor movement. This link stands in exchanging informations and developing analysis and projects to strenghten the self-organization of workers; the co-ordination of strikes or any other actions aimed at achieving common goals. Doing so in order to facilitate not only the immediate granting of material benefits and social rights but also to promote class consciousness.

The Red and Black Coordination does not belong or owe anything to any political party and claims for autonomy from parliamentary politics and the recovery of individual responsibility of workers in their emancipation from wage labor and exploitation, whether it be exercised by employers or the state.

The Red and Black Coordination supports all self-organized autonomous struggles of workers without putting limits on both the media as to the strategies used in the defense of their claims.

ANNUAL RED AND BLACK COORDINATION MEETING

People taking part in the Coordination meeting are appointed to take decisions.

Decisions will be taken by seeking maximum agreement possible between all organizations . So discussion is an indispensable tool here. Only in the event of no unanimity, agreement will be reached with a majority vote of at least half plus one of the organizations at that time, whether they have sent delegations or not. 

Each organization will have one vote, regardless of the number of delegates. Within two months following the annual meeting, non represented organizations can send their votes by e-mail. Nonvoting or non-answering will mean a «YES».

The hosting organization will take charge of the Coordination secretariat until the next Congress, including the management of the common fund. It will also be responsible for drafting the annual meeting minutes and sending them to the other organizations.

The point of next annual meeting must be set in the agenda of each annual meeting. During it, participating organizations must decide which one will be in charge of organizing next year’s meeting.

Decisions must be ratified and adopted by each of the unions up to two months after the meeting.

The agreements reached within the Coordination are valid for the member organizations and must be ratified within them. The organizations that, for whatever reasons, have not ratified them are only asked not to interfere in any way in their implementation.

HOW TO JOIN THE COORDINATION

For organizations to adhere to the Red and Black Coordination, they must send a message to an organization already member of he Coordination. The union in touch with the new one posts the mail on the Coordination mailing list. The invitation of this new organization must be accepted by half plus one among the member organizations. Then, the new union will attend an annual meeting as an observer only, upon invitation by at least one of the organizations already in.

The invited organization must agree to join and ratify the present status after that meeting and communicate their agreement to the Secretariat of the Coordination. The Secretariat must ratify the new membership with a majority of at least half plus one of the organizations already in.

COMMON FUNDS

The Red and Black Coordination is provided with a common fund in which each organization must contribute, as the union can, with a fee of 1 to maximum 500 € per year or an amount to be decided in the last annual meeting. Those organizations in finantial or structural difficulties may be excused from paying the total or part of the annual fee.

The common fund has the following objectives:

• Supporting trade unions in case of a possible economic downturn.
• Supporting organizations that suffer from political or associative repression.
• Helping delegations lacking necessary resources in order to attend the annual meeting.
• Producing documentation and propaganda to strengthen international action.
• Giving trade unions lacking sufficient resources access to the infrastructure needed to facilitate self-organization of workers where deemed necessary.

Responsibility for the management of the fund will correspond to the union in charge of the Coordination secretariat, according to the rotation system established.

In case of dissolution of the Coordination, the common fund will be divided among the participating organizations in proportion to their contributions.

The right to use funds from the common fund, for the reasons detailed above, is subject to participation in it.

Contributions to the common fund may be of an amount inferior than that provided when an organization – because of repression, commitment to a specially hard struggle, or structural weaknesses – does not have sufficient financial resources. (à supprimer ?)

FEDERALISM AND RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS

The Coordination can host more than one organization from the same country provided it is clear the goal of class unity. Disputes between same country organizations will not be treated within the Coordination unless to try to restore unity.

The Coordination, according to federalist principles, does not enter in the choice of tactics that organizations use in their territory, and is confident that every action will be carried out in defense of the dignity and health of workers; the empowerment to reach self-management and anarchosyndicalism.

MUTUAL SUPPORT

In case of temporary stay of a worker belonging to a trade union member of the Coordination in another country where there are also member unions, the employee will have the support of those unions as if he/she were an affiliate, without forsaking its membership in the union of the country of origin. If the stay is prolonged, the worker and the union of the host country must redefine their relationship.

In case of struggles in companies that are present in two or more countries where there are presence of other unions belonging to the Committee, the international secretariats of the organizations involved will exercise general coordination by contacting the warring federations and promoting the organization of joint actions.

FUNCTIONS OF THE SECRETARIAT OF THE RED AND BLACK COORDINATION

The secretariat is subject to rotation after each annual meeting, when it will be transfered to a different organization in the Coordination.

The Secretariat has responsibility for organization and co-ordination. Any statements, positions, joint projects, campaigns and shared struggles will be proposed by the international secretariats of member organizations and the Secretariat of the Coordination will be responsible for shaping and spreading them.

The management of the internet website and the mailing list will be held by another union.