[Cerchio] Workers in Argentina Take Over Abandoned Factories

>The New York Times
>July 8, 2003
>Workers in Argentina Take Over Abandoned Factories
>By LARRY ROHTER
>
>
>UENOS AIRES, July 5 =97 The workers at the IMPA aluminum plant here all can=
=20
>remember when their company was privately owned, and a few veterans even=20
>recall when it was the property of the state. But these days, as a result=
=20
>of the worst economic crisis in the country's history, it is the workers=20
>themselves who are the factory's stockholders and managers.
>
>When the economy collapsed here 18 months ago, the situation was so bad=20
>that the owners of many factories simply shut their doors and walked away,=
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>in most cases owing their employees months and months of back pay. Rather=
=20
>than accept that situation, workers =97 backed by neighborhood associations=
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>and left-wing groups enamored with the idea of "people's capitalism" =97=20
>have sometimes been able to persuade bankruptcy courts to let them take=20
>over the company's assets.
>
>"The only boss here now is the customer," said Pl=E1cido Pe=F1arieta, one=
of=20
>nine employees at the Chilavert Artes Gr=E1ficas cooperative, which prints=
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>art books and posters, calendars and concert programs. "We've learned to=20
>depend on ourselves and nobody else, because we know that our success or=20
>failure depends on what we, and we alone, do."
>
>Across this nation of 37 million people, at least 160 factories employing=
=20
>an estimated 10,000 people are now being run as cooperatives by their=20
>employees, ranging from a tractor factory in C=F3rdoba to a tile and=20
>ceramics plant in Patagonia. But the largest concentration is here in the=
=20
>capital and its suburbs, where the nucleus of the country's industrial=20
>production is situated.
>
>With 172 workers making aluminum cans, foil and wrappers, IMPA =97 the=20
>Spanish acronym for Metallurgical and Plastic Industries of Argentina =97=
is=20
>the largest of the so-called retrieved factories here. Production is still=
=20
>far from the peaks of the 1990's, but since workers took over with an=20
>initial 50 employees under contract, production has tripled, to 50 tons a=
=20
>month.
>
>"We could easily be turning out 90 tons a month, because we've got the=20
>orders but not the working capital," said Guillermo Robledo, chosen by the=
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>workers to be the plant manager. Instead, he added, "we're in the ironic=20
>position of having to extend 60-day credit lines to our customers, some of=
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>whom are large multinationals" with much easier access to capital than a=20
>workers' cooperative.
>
>Like most of the cooperatives, this factory is run by an administrative=20
>council, whose members are elected by the workers. Monthly assemblies are=
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>held to discuss issues like salaries =97 which have nearly doubled since=
the=20
>low point as the economy collapsed =97 how many new workers to hire and who=
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>they should be.
>
>The IMPA workers have even voted to turn space that was not being used=20
>into a neighborhood cultural and arts center. Dance, drama and music=20
>classes and performances now take place regularly there, movies are shown=
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>in a small theater on an upper floor and artists have been allowed to set=
=20
>up studios where they paint, draw and sculpture.
>
>"Being a factory and a cultural center simultaneously is something=20
>unique," said Eduardo Mur=FAa, a leader of the cooperative. The positive=20
>response to the cultural activities, he said, provides "an umbrella that=20
>prevents the banks from acting against us" and has gained the factory=20
>favorable publicity and financial support from city government.
>
>Faced with the loss of jobs and tax revenues, the municipality has sought=
=20
>to help by taking legal title to abandoned or derelict factories and the=20
>machinery inside. Under new legislation, it rents the premises to the=20
>workers' cooperatives on concessionary terms for two years and supports=20
>them in their efforts to negotiate with creditors.
>
>But with the Argentine economy =97 especially companies that export goods =
=97=20
>finally showing some signs of recovery, the original owners of some plants=
=20
>have resurfaced, with hopes of reclaiming their proprietorship. That has=20
>led to legal struggles and, in one case, even violence.
>
>In April, the police sought unsuccessfully to enforce a court order and=20
>evict workers from the Brukman textile factory, a producer of men's suits,=
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>jackets and pants. The 56 employees who have been running the plant since=
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>the end of 2001, though owed wages, had not followed the procedures=20
>established by the city ordinance to gain control. That provided a legal=20
>basis for owners' complaints that they are merely trespassers and thieves.
>
>At factories where ownership is not in dispute, the employee-managers=20
>confront other problems. Initially, workers say, some longstanding=20
>suppliers and clients were reluctant to do business with them, which they=
=20
>attribute to class prejudices, and even now, bank loans and supplier=20
>credits are nearly impossible to get.
>
>"It was difficult to get started because even though the company had a=20
>reputation, people did not believe that we workers were capable of=20
>managing things," said Jorge Luj=E1n Guti=E9rrez, an employee of the=
Chilavert=20
>print shop. "We had to show that the high level of quality was still=20
>intact and that the only thing missing was a few executives in the front=20
>office."
>
>Workers acknowledge that they, too, have had to change their attitudes. As=
=20
>owner-managers, they are no longer concerned just with production, but=20
>also with aspects of running a business that were alien to them before.
>
>"We had no notion of all the things we were going to have to learn," said=
=20
>Jos=E9 Camilo Guglielmero, a founder of the cooperative that now runs=20
>Ghelco, S.A., a leading producer of sauces and toppings for ice cream and=
=20
>pastries. "I've never liked to speak in front of people, but now I'm=20
>talking to clients and helping to design marketing and sales campaigns."
>
>Now that they are shareholders and not just employees, the workers are=20
>also more willing to make personal sacrifices in the name of the=20
>corporation. At Ghelco, for example, "everyone makes the same wages now,=20
>from directors to the janitors," Mr. Guglielmero said: 600 pesos, or $200,=
=20
>a month, compared with the 1,200 pesos a month he said he earned under the=
=20
>previous owners.
>
>"Everybody is a partner here," Mr. Robledo said of IMPA. "That's our=20
>strength, the commitment we feel to something that is our own."