A Trade Union Sex Work section in activity in Strasbourg

In France, the CNT-F interprofessional union of Bas-Rhin (STP 67) has been in its ranks for several years, several sex workers grouped in an union section, but without field activity. It has changed since March 2024! Noting that the struggles for the rights of the Sew Workers are still as necessary in France in 2024 as 50 years ago (with the sex workers movement of Lyon in 1975, which is a reference to this day), we decided to re-act our union section through our union and from now on, actively struggle on the ground, in the anarcho-syndical and revolutionary spirit of the CNT-F.

Our section has been very active since this launch:

To begin with, we have written and printed a leaflet that presents all the things we fight against, and why we organize ourselves in a union to lead our struggles. Then we created accounts on the so-called social networks, where we publish regularly, highlighting the slogan “No Prohibitionism nor Abolitionism nor Regulationism – trade unionism! " On March 8, 2024, we participated in the cross-sectional feminist demonstration organized in Strasbourg by autonomous feminist collectives, where we spoke by emphasizing that “there is no feminism without the removed”, and displayed the main demands of the Sex Workers: “The complete decriminalization of sex work!”, “Common law for the workers of sex!”, “Full residence and work rights for migrant Sex Workers!”, “Abolitionism is a violence against women”. On May 1, 2024 we took part in the post-demo press table of our union in Molodoi (a punk self-managed place) and all day to the public who was passing through it, which produced a lot of interesting contacts and exchanges, including with sex worker colleagues.

On 21 May 2024, the independent local press (Rue89 Strasbourg) dedicated us an article-maintenance in solidarity and very noticed: https://www.rue89strasbourg.com/work-du-sexe-section-syndicale-strasbourg-301399

During the preparation of our meeting on June 2, 2024, one of us remembered a piece of the group from Nancy “Carmen Colère heard” in concert, a song called “Daughter of” and which supports the Sex Workers. We asked the band if this piece was online somewhere and if we could use it to create a video “teaser” for June 2. The band was delighted with our request, on purpose recorded the piece, which was not published, for us, and allowed us to use it in teaser video. We are delighted with all the active solidarity, and very warmly thanked the group. And so on June 1 and 2, 2024, we organized militant events on the occasion of the International Day of the Struggles of Sex Workers (day commemorating the movement of the Sex Workers of Lyon, begun by the occupation of the Church of St-Nizier on June 2, 1975): a screening-debate on this subject on June 1 and a public gathering on June 2. It was the first time that a public activist event of tds took place in Strasbourg on that crucial date, we were 30 people there. This gathering was well received by the public, and to our surprise even the local mainstream press interviewed us there and published a benevolent article. On June 4, 2024 we were in an internationalist approach, supporting our Germans Sex Worker colleagues in their struggle against the introduction of the penalization of their clients (penalization in force in France since 2016, with the disastrous effects we know). Upstream, two of us participated in a video interview on this subject carried out by a German social work organization that is active on the ground with our td colleagues in Germany and also in Strasbourg, cross-border. This video was projected and debated in Freiburg on June 4 with the participation of one of us. We have good militant contacts in Germany, although they are not unionists at the moment. In short, our union section is well active and publicly visible. But we are also working very hard: since mid-June we have launched an internal working group to the union on sex work, in which non-Sex Worker comrades are also involved to contribute their know-how, e.g. legal and technical. Because sex work is a much more complex subject than it looks, e.g., with the quite recent rise of virtual tds on the Internet that asks a lot of questions about the order of labour law and also of the technical field (disguised salariat, cybersecurity, right to image…). Group we are fully involved in. And of course we regularly tell and show to our colleagues in Strasbourg how a Sex Worker, self-managed and struggle union could be supporting for them. In summary, we are very happy to be finally launched on the ground, and we invite our sex workers to organize themselves as we do. We will gladly share the tools we have created, contact us. Our links and addresses: https://linktr.ee/cntstp67tds

We used C++ based software. Who need sanity ? Clearly overrated

The words of the machine are sacred, Only the impure need explanation

In any demonstration, you have to make some unproven statement, taken as true. It could be “1+1 = 2” or “God exists”. So sciences are methodologies based on believes. Lot of religions use logic and reasons, based on science and philosophy, to deduce things from their core believes. This is theology.

So if both science and religions are based on believes, and could have the same methods, how to distinguish one of the other ? We could argue that science try to reduce believes as possible. Personally I’m not good enough in sciences to argue with religious people, and demonstrate that point. In trying to challenge my believes in scientific models, I have to stay tolerant with religious people (I’m not sure I would otherwise); which is a most productive approach. Furthermore, it helps to have a critical point on view on science (as you’ve said, and to taking it as a blind faith)

How do you know that science is not a believe like the other ? My answer is in challenge it with other believe systems to explain reality. Of course some things make a lot more sense with science methodology, but to be faire, te main point of religions is not to explain gravity.

I consider other believes as opportunities, no to explain to others, or to be taught by others, but making both and strengthen us all.

However, we shall to care do not confuse religions and believes. A lot of people took part in religions and do not believes, and others believes and do not took part in a dedicated community. This is a different topic. Communities are generally a good thing, but hierarchy lead to abuses. This true in every organization, religions include

I am not sure this is a wide spread behavior among the IT. Reading the “Debian Free Software Guidelines”, we could have some doubts. My point is not that free software are good or bad, but that is not enough. If we want te be responsible as producers, we have to organize as such to stop production that killing us (with climat change or military for example) and promote the one that emancipate us. Free software are a way to achieve the last one, unions the fist one

I said such things too, but one day I ask myself, could I said it in front of people bombed by my tools ? Our tools are not neutral things, but produce and distribute by social relationship that we could fight. Sorry but we the rise of fascism and ecological disaster we could not afford to give up our power as producer to mass murderer

Why Gaza ?

Sadly yes, Linux kill

Recycle your unvisited rooms for next dungeons. I know it’s cheap, but hey you’re the only one who would know.

French government make electricity price scale on the most expansive one. So with the war in Ukraine, the price of gas plumed up, and so do every electricity bill that was never so expansive, by far.

The “liberalization of energy market” force everyone to buy electricity from courrier that don’t do anything; they do not produce or invest, they just buy and sell electricity. This firms take all the money between the price and the cost. This severely threat the electricity production, that is still made by the former public firm (ex « Électricité de France » ); even if it’s electricity is the cheapest, and it’s the firm that invest the more in renewable energy.

“Undeclared demonstration with call to insurrection, avoiding the cops, and burning outside bin” It’s intense for a protest, but lite for a riot ¯\(o_o)/¯

I read the text, and didn’t find anything on centralize or decentralize messenger. Are you talking about the technical solution they want to use ? The text is very confusing about it.

It’s a common strategy for the president to nominate it’s most dangerous opposant. During the next election, this one could not criticize a government where he was.

However, Macron shouldn’t have the right to present himself a third time. Does he get ride of this limitation ? Is it actually a conviction move, to help the far right ? Or is their a greatest interest of his class to get even more authoritarian regimes ?

In any cases, we gently rioting yesterday after this announcement.

tmp3 = tmp1 + tmp2 ; T.T

Why people still promoting proton ? Private company will not defending your private data against States. There not Unions or independent organization, there are running for profits. If you don’t see it as a safety issue, think again. Proton sold IP addresses used by XR using their services to the french intelligence.

Pretty good stuff.

However I read many reactions : “don’t take your phone with you” This is a common issue in a lot of activist place to don’t ask ourselves why people are acting like this ? before telling them to stop. They may have good reasons, and in a case of protests, there is.

• Filming the cops : I don’t know in the US, but in a lot of countries, cops are less violent when they know someone is filming them. This may help people harmed by the police, in giving them evidence, or helping mobilization in the futur. After mass arrestation, it could be hard to know how as been arrested or not; some legal support hotline ask this kind of evidence for this reasons. Of course this some sensitive material, and need to be secured too. For example, the cops may target you if you are filming them.

• Calling the legal support hotline : Some of them ask to be called just after arrestation or cops actions, to make a precise report. You could call them when someone you know have been attacked or kidnapped by the police.

• Call medial support : I don’t know how the emergency number is linked with the repressive force in the US, but in a lot of country, it’s not. Even if it’s rare, it could be a vital issue.

All this actions are important and individuals should compare the risks they take in taking them and what we lost in not acting like that. Of course this risks have to be documented; with flyers at the start of a protests for example.

I would recommend to mutualise actions to decentralize risks. Make a team with one or two people with burned phone and dedicated camera (paid by everyone); let your other phones at home. Stay (at least) by pair, and keep in eye someone with a phone.

They may be better plan of actions, but we couldn’t just let down cop watch ant street medic just for the illusion of individual safety. Such thing simply do not exist

Unionize

There sure is new comers thanks to the enhancement of graphic environment and gaming. But this is still very marginal, and there is some good reasons.

If we want to promote linux and FOSS we couldn’t only rely on use-cases and good-will of people, we need to find structures that make people use mac and windows. FOSS movement make some interesting stuff about the education system, and the institution use of windows, which are a lot more impact on the OS we are using than the qualities of such systems. But the so-called “politically neutral” forbade us to prevent this situation to repeat itself. Microsoft works on daily bases with tremendous resources (not only monetary). People who are making this decisions have some carrer interests that is not align on those of the masses.

Free-software without anti-capitalism is only open-source, sry

That not a moral state; some capitalist on corporation help us a lot. The main reason for the linux promotion is the choice of Valve, but because that choice is not profitable (in a capitalist way), we should consider it as the exception.

I’m not saying that it’s helpless. It’s quite the opposite : I’m saying that if we want to have a massive action, we have to take the power were it is.