Factory committee
Encyclopedia
Factory committees were workers' councils representing factory
workers in the history of Russia
and Soviet Union
that accomplished workers' control
in various forms. (In Russian language, the terms "zavod" & "fabrika" for factory
are not synonymous: "zavod" is reserved for heavy industry
and "fabrika" for the rest). Two basic meanings are to be distinguished.
. These committees were varied in origin and purpose, at times acting in a supervisory role over management, in other instances engaging in matters of collective bargaining and worker representation, and in some instances acting as rudimentary organs of workers' control.
While the majority of factory committees fulfilled union
-type roles (indeed, many arose due to the illegality of unions in pre-revolutionary Russia
), historians estimate that in 7–10% of cases, factory committees were the result of workers' take-over of the factory. Most factory committees of this type developed as a means by workers to counter lock-outs and/or sabotage
by factory owners. As a June conference of factory committees resolution describes,
Through the factory committees workers dealt primarily with immediate economic questions, such as planning production and allocating compensation for work. At times, factory committees grew to rival the power
, prestige
, and effectiveness of the soviets
. Nearing the October revolution
, factory committees continued to grow in size and scope, attracting (and influencing) anarchists and some Bolshevik
s. Lenin, for example, considered abandoning the "All power to the soviets!" strategy for an "All power to the factory committees!" strategy as the revolution neared and some soviets were proving ineffective in his insurrection plans.
Maurice Brinton
of the Solidarity (UK)
group wrote a history of the factory committees, their interactions with the unions and Bolshevik party in The Bolsheviks and Workers Control
After the revolution, factory committees grew to rival the power
, prestige
, and effectiveness of the soviets
, and eventually sought for political power. In the ensuing Dispute about Trade Unions, Bolsheviks managed to eliminate this threat to their monopoly on power.
, the terms "fabkom/zavkom" were abbreviations for "factory committee of the local organization of a Soviet trade union". Often the combined term "fabzavkoms" ("factory and plant committees") was used until these terms were replaced with the neutral term "profkom" for "profsoyusny komitet" (профком, профсоюзный комитет), which means "trade union committee". The term "profkom" has a convenience of being applicable to any type of establishment: factory, school, hospital, etc.
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
workers in the history of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
that accomplished workers' control
Workers' control
Workers' control is a term meaning participation in the management of factories and other commercial enterprises by the people who work there. It has been variously advocated by anarchists, socialists, Communists, Social Democrats and Christian Democrats, and has been combined with various...
in various forms. (In Russian language, the terms "zavod" & "fabrika" for factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
are not synonymous: "zavod" is reserved for heavy industry
Heavy industry
Heavy industry does not have a single fixed meaning as compared to light industry. It can mean production of products which are either heavy in weight or in the processes leading to their production. In general, it is a popular term used within the name of many Japanese and Korean firms, meaning...
and "fabrika" for the rest). Two basic meanings are to be distinguished.
Russian Revolution of 1917 and afterwards
Factory committees sprang up during the Russian Revolution of 1917Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
. These committees were varied in origin and purpose, at times acting in a supervisory role over management, in other instances engaging in matters of collective bargaining and worker representation, and in some instances acting as rudimentary organs of workers' control.
While the majority of factory committees fulfilled union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
-type roles (indeed, many arose due to the illegality of unions in pre-revolutionary Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
), historians estimate that in 7–10% of cases, factory committees were the result of workers' take-over of the factory. Most factory committees of this type developed as a means by workers to counter lock-outs and/or sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
by factory owners. As a June conference of factory committees resolution describes,
From the beginning of the Revolution the administrative staffs of the factories have relinquished their posts. The workmen have practically become the masters. To keep the factories going, the workers' committees have had to take the management into their own hands. In the first days of the Revolution, in February and March, the workmen left the factories and went into the streets. The factories stopped work. About a fortnight later, the mass of workmen returned to their work. They found that many factories had been deserted. The managers, engineers, generals, mechanics, foremen had reason to believe that the workmen would wreak their vengeance on them, and they had disappeared. The workmen had to begin work with no administrative staff to guide them. They had to elect committees which gradually re-established a normal system of work. The committees had to find the necessary raw materials, and altogether to take upon themselves all kinds of unexpected and unaccustomed duties." (Resolution adopted during May 30 – June 5 Conference of Factory Committees in Petrograd, quoted in S.O. Zagorsky, State Control of Russian Industry During the War, p. 174.)
Through the factory committees workers dealt primarily with immediate economic questions, such as planning production and allocating compensation for work. At times, factory committees grew to rival the power
Power (sociology)
Power is a measurement of an entity's ability to control its environment, including the behavior of other entities. The term authority is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to...
, prestige
Prestige (sociology)
Prestige is a word commonly used to describe reputation or esteem, though it has three somewhat related meanings that, to some degree, may be contradictory. Which meaning applies depends on the historical context and the person using the word....
, and effectiveness of the soviets
Soviet (council)
Soviet was a name used for several Russian political organizations. Examples include the Czar's Council of Ministers, which was called the “Soviet of Ministers”; a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia; and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union....
. Nearing the October revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
, factory committees continued to grow in size and scope, attracting (and influencing) anarchists and some Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s. Lenin, for example, considered abandoning the "All power to the soviets!" strategy for an "All power to the factory committees!" strategy as the revolution neared and some soviets were proving ineffective in his insurrection plans.
Maurice Brinton
Maurice Brinton
Maurice Brinton was the pen name under which Christopher Agamemnon Pallis wrote and translated for the British libertarian socialist group Solidarity from 1960 until the early 1980s....
of the Solidarity (UK)
Solidarity (UK)
Solidarity was a small libertarian socialist organisation from 1960 to 1992 in the United Kingdom. It published a magazine of the same name. Solidarity was close to council communism in its prescriptions and was known for its emphasis on workers' self-organisation and for its radical...
group wrote a history of the factory committees, their interactions with the unions and Bolshevik party in The Bolsheviks and Workers Control
After the revolution, factory committees grew to rival the power
Power (sociology)
Power is a measurement of an entity's ability to control its environment, including the behavior of other entities. The term authority is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to...
, prestige
Prestige (sociology)
Prestige is a word commonly used to describe reputation or esteem, though it has three somewhat related meanings that, to some degree, may be contradictory. Which meaning applies depends on the historical context and the person using the word....
, and effectiveness of the soviets
Soviet (council)
Soviet was a name used for several Russian political organizations. Examples include the Czar's Council of Ministers, which was called the “Soviet of Ministers”; a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia; and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union....
, and eventually sought for political power. In the ensuing Dispute about Trade Unions, Bolsheviks managed to eliminate this threat to their monopoly on power.
Soviet Union
In the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the terms "fabkom/zavkom" were abbreviations for "factory committee of the local organization of a Soviet trade union". Often the combined term "fabzavkoms" ("factory and plant committees") was used until these terms were replaced with the neutral term "profkom" for "profsoyusny komitet" (профком, профсоюзный комитет), which means "trade union committee". The term "profkom" has a convenience of being applicable to any type of establishment: factory, school, hospital, etc.