¡ª mutual understanding or delivery?
Im in ai (LAN)
¡Ü Prologue : endless, communication breakdown - communication among workers incident 1
August 23, 1999. Hyundai motors labor union self regulated restaurant union member training camp.
A documentary called, "a struggle unfinished'" made by the labor union cinema group was shown. After the presentation, woman workers in the restaurant screamed in rage, "who did you make this film for? Why are none of us in this film?"
Cinema is a new medium for the workers. By filming last year's struggles as a documentary and by showing it to the workers, cinema group aimed to achieve sympathy from the workers. But as soon as the struggle was put into a film it seized to exist as a simple record but as a certain message to its viewers. Woman workers saw themselves excluded from the message and from this communication breakdown, expressed their alienation and rupture. In this documentary there were obviously certain territories of interest and specific views at looking at last year's struggle. Woman workers, forced to accept an one sided information, refused to acknowledge it as a convincing information.,
example 2
January 1999. National worker's cinema group training camp. 30 minute version of a similar film called, "Our beautiful struggle" was shown., A discussion was held between those who argued that an sensitive struggle such as this one should exclude the director's view points and those who believed that if the worker's cinema group were to exclude their viewpoints, then they would only end up being union's proxy. A question we must ask ourselves; when viewpoints or opinions clash, should one stand behind the union's views or the maker of the medium? Worker's desires for the new communication was starting to arise from such confusions.
1. The dilemma of labor union communication
But unity ideology of the worker's struggle sometimes hindered active discussions of various opinions. This is because there were no double plans for the moment to unite and to clash. In the scene of the strike, where only unity or division exist, opposing opinions are ignored. Orders unreasonable are self censored and never questioned upon because it might disrupt the strike scene and everyone accepts the system in which guidance division makes all the decisions. Communication in dilemma. In the end prints that reads 'union members who do not follow the guidance division's decisions will be considered as spies from the company' are distributed naturally and no one says a word.
In an interview from the 98 Hyundai motors strike, the workers' fears for their communication breakdown is apparent.
"Everything about this struggle is wrong. But we don't want division."
"We are dissatisfied. But if we split up what good is it going to do?"
2. They were so different
Common union members also put out a slogan supporting the decisions of the guidance division. But their opinions on the acceptance of the government arbitrament are different.
"There are many who left the scene. Some were so angry that they dumped trash into the tent and left."
"Just like government deceives the people, guidance division deceived its members. Foolish people...foolish workers..."
But from the beginning the choice was between accepting or refusing the guidance division's decisions. There was never a third choice in the first place. The incomplete communication, once shaken, could not be reconciled.
People shouting, "without the withdrawal of the adjustment dismissal we refuse to move!" for 36days were shocked with the decision of accepting the adjustment dismissal.
"There's only disrespect and feeling of betrayal towards the union...what good is the labor movement? I say it's all over now."
"The result being this, I only feel resentment. I trusted and followed the union. They only deceived us..."
The message from the chairman of the committee, "to save the members, this was the second best policy" was not received by the members. Nor was the message from the members, "chairman of the committee, we must not seize to fight" accepted. Communication failed. Members replied by burning the union t-shirts and furnitures in the union house. From this point on, we will point out some problems regarding the communication breakdown in the labor movement.
3.Assembly and communication
- from a place of powerful communication to a place of fossilized messages
Assembly and leaflets were the dominant medium of communication for the Korean labor movement and it will continue to be so for a while. Looking back on the 87 struggles, assembly was a place where workers fought and gave each other informations. It was a creative place where cool strategies and smart tactics were made. A place of great immediateness and concurrency. But all of a sudden assembly turns into a place where guidance division give out its messages. Instead of common members, guidance division decides forehand and tells the members what has been 'decided.' It is no longer a place for discussions, a place for members to decide collectively what is right and what is wrong. One side speaks, the other listens. The podium and the listeners are divided. Guidance division, without any new ideas or messages, only repeat the same slogans over and over again. The failure of communication, common members are gone and only the activists remain at the scene. Participation of the common members is always a problem at the regional assemblies. An endless need to mobilize...there is no longer communication what so ever.
4. Just answer, "yes"
Let us look at the widely known 96,97 labor law reform struggle.
December 26, 1999 - A day after labor law was passed, Ulsan Taewha riverside assembly.
a crowd of about a 1000 gathered . union members were coming in like ocean. But the usual sequence and the usual speech were only suffocating the workers who knew exactly why they had gathered here today at the assembly. Members beneath the podium gave up listening, They only clapped their usual claps and shouted their usual slogans. And maybe that is because from time to time the speaker asks the crowd, " am I right ladies and gentleman?" The crowd responses with a usual "yes." The endless repetition of "yes." It only makes the fighting spirit to dwindle.
Just answer, "yes...." the policy is already decided. Follow the guidance division. This was the basic structure. The labor law reform struggle that shocked the whole world, Ulsan assembly began like this. For the purpose of non-violent struggle, order maintenance group was assembled and no action that even remotely resembled a violent act was soon controlled. Hence the line between violence and non-violence have been decided, any creative movements and decisions were restricted. The clever tactics of the workers which ran the gamut of violence and non-violence were discarded. The energy of the common members were now only a part of the big march and it was now only party of the giant spectacle. While the guidance division failed to recognize the common worker's energy, common worker's passive attitudes seemed natural and peaceful. There was no need for communication. Thus the strike was withdrawn and an year later, January of 1998, their representative signed the adjustment dismissal law. Speakers who shouted, "believe in victory and follow the guidance division!" at the December 26 1999 assembly were also there to sign the law. At this point common workers begin to think of the speeches from the podium as a political rhetoric. They begin to have an insight to tell apart the assemblies which is used as a political agreement and assemblies for real fights, for unity. communication or unilateral message?....silent as they are common workers know the difference.
One more. on that assembly Hyundai heavy industry chairman said something very down to earth in a honest manner.
".....4000 from the Hyundai heavy industry here. I am very sorry. Hyundai motors is near, they have 35thousand members. Hyundai heavy industry has 40thousand. There should have been more from the motors. Brothers from small factories such as Sae-jong industry and Dong-yang nylon are all gathered here. If brothers in Ulsan get up to fight, the whole country shakes. All the working brothers in this country is looking at Ulsan and they expect something from us....."
In the speech of the speaker who spoke so honestly, revealed an obsession about the sub conscious distinction between the bigger and smaller work place. It also showed the ideology of the vertical solidarity. Assembly, regardless of experience of struggle or size, is a place for solidarity. There should never be roll-calls regardless of work place size. Division between workers should-even if it is done subconsciously-never be used.
If the expression is formal, then the message is also formal. If the expression is the same, only that much message gets through. If one tries to measure the fighting spirit by numbers, there is only presence and absence. What are the mediums to approach the common workers if not by assembly? Is there a third strategy?...What are the thoughts and hidden motifs of the common workers?....What is , ultimately, assembly communication....Guidance division fails to recognize any of this.
5. A lock out-is it communication or message?
Not only in the assembly but up until now, for the workers the traditional way of communication is as follows. There is a sender on the one side and a receiver on the other.
message (information)
sender - - - - - - - - - - - ->receiver
Thus, one side speaks and the other listens. The receiver and the sender are alienated, and meet artificially. The option for information or message is solely on the sender's hands. Receiver only has an option to accept or to refuse. And up until now receiver has always been the guidance division. Assembly, worker's newspapers, leaflets, films were used by the senders to give information to the receiver. In this structure, information can only be unilateral. Senders seldom become receivers themselves. But as the intervention in creases, the message becomes dry and unclear. Sometimes they become a totally different message and sometimes they become cacophonous garbage.
6. For a better communication
Nighttime, August 21, 1998. Common workers demand to the chairman that they go up to the podium and have their say. A breaking of rules. Common workers stand and replace the speakers on the podium. common workers, after a long time, become senders. But they did not insist on just sending messages. The new speakers' speeches were filled with questions. They did not ask for a simple 'yes.' But subjective questions. It was more than a change of seat between the senders and the receivers. The distinction between the sender and the receiver vanished. A new expression, free from the traditional ways of communication began. Authoritarian rhetorics vanished and instead of the monopoly of speech, new expressions and communications were taking place. A new experience, memories of the younger days of labor movement, they felt as though they recaptured the feeling of assembly communication.
But.
Their speeches were no more than just simple demands. And guidance division probably understood it as a feedback. common workers were still only demanding and protesting at the guidance division. The decision, utility and the transmission of information was still in the guidance division's hands. It is still unclear how the guidance division who is the sender, the authority and the common workers will start a new communication. a new relationship. We can only, through the experience of failure, comprehend that communication is not that of sending and receiving, feedback, but is comprised of breaking the barriers, rearranging the passageways. Thus August 21. 1998....is unclear whether it was just a protest or a sincere approach to build a new communication. But it was still indeed a powerful breakup we must all reveal. From the speeches made on that day, we must try to understand the common worker's tactics and thoughts. They talked about management participation, the means to protect the few in the labor union, the standard for the adjustment dismissal, the true nature of the capital-labor negotiations, tactics for the negotiations, the truth and lie behind the instigation, specific ideas for the negotiating team, how to fight the public power, and their rich ideas about the labor and struggle. Hundreds of treatise were spoken here and somethings not even the guidance division ever thought about were spoken here. We can no longer perceive them as just the receivers or ask them to just answer, 'yes.' We must rather ask them endlessly and let them make the decisions. Rebuilding the relationship between the common workers and the guidance division....New communication begins here.
Epilogue-Will the traditional communication be overthrown in the new media.
image, communication, and the internet....Many are looking forward to this new media. In communication, the medium is always important. But it cannot be all. Even if a new medium is given to the worker, it does no automatically become a new communication for the workers. Whether internet, or the cyberspace becomes our new means to communicate or just another space for messages and meaningless optimism, is completely up to our imagination.