CHAPTER 2

PEOPLE AND FACTORIES

Life inside and around the factory lays the foundations for building relationships based on the factory’s everyday routine and daily schedule, and this applies not only to relationships between workers and employers, but also to relationships between the factories and the residents of the city.

The story of the workers’ movement in Elefsina is a story of relationships. Workers establish rapports and stand against employers through mobilizations, displays and practices of solidarity, collective organizations, and the demand of rights. In industrial cities like Elefsina, worker relationships expand far beyond the limits of factory grounds and extend to involve the entire city.

Every day at the factory, people build relationships with each other, with raw materials and machinery, and also with the spaces of factories. Industrial consciousness creates a community of people who share common sensations, images, words, codes, fears, hopes, and memories of everyday life. The residents of Elefsina the city itself forms the groundwork for the development of industry. The people arriving at Elefsina, whether as refugees or immigrants, build neighborhoods. At the same time, industrial townships are developed through the initiatives of employers.

LABOUR STRUGGLES

PEOPLE AND FACTORIES - LABOUR STRUGGLES

ESTABLISHMENT OF
THE BUILDERS’ GUILD,
THE FIRST TRADE
UNION FOUNDED
IN ELEFSINA AS
A RESULT OF THE
INTENSE CONSTRUCTION
ACTIVITY IN THE AREA

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CLUB
OF FACTORY EMPLOYEES
OF ELEFSINA, WHICH,
DESPITE ITS NAME,
WAS AN EMPLOYER-FRIENDLY
UNION DUE TO
BEING COORDINATED
BY THE MANAGERS
OF TITAN AND
THE OIL MILL
FACTORIES.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE
GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF
GREEK WORKERS (GSEE in Greek),
THE FIRST SUPREME TRADE UNION
BODY, CONSISTING OF
214 UNIONS THAT
REPRESENTED 65.000
ORGANIZED WORKERS.

EIGHT-HOUR DAY +

ALL WORKERS
STRIKE. WITH
PARTICIPATION OF 4.500 +

STRIKE OF DOCK WORKERS
OF THE PORT OF ELEFSINA,
DEMANDING HIGHER SALARIES.
THE STRIKE ENDED AFTER
THE DOCK WORKERS’ DEMANDS
WERE PARTLY SATISFIED.

ASSOCIATION OF
ELEFSINA PORT
STEVEDORES
+

ESTABLISHMENT OF
THE UNION OF
CRAFTSMEN OF ELEFSINA

ESTABLISHMENT OF
THE UNION OF CRAFTSMEN
AND CEMENT WORKERS OF
ELEFSINA IN FEBRUARY.
ONE MONTH LATER, ITS
MEMBERS WOULD NUMBER
MORE THAN 500.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE
FEDERATION OF ARTISANS
AND CRAFTSMEN OF ALCOHOL
PRODUCTS OF ELEFSINA

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE
WORKERS’ CENTER OF
ELEFSINA-MEGARA, ONE
OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
CENTERS IN GREECE,
ASSEMBLING A VERY LARGE
PART OF GREECE’S INDUSTRY
AND WORKFORCE

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE
“UNION OF CHEMICAL
INDUSTRY CRAFTSMEN
AND FEMALE WORKERS
OF THE IRIS PAINT
FACTORY OF
ELEFSINA”

ESTABLISHMENT OF
THE UNION OF STEEL
WORKERS, WHOSE
MEMBERSHIP INCLUDED
WORKERS FROM
VARIOUS STEEL
INDUSTRIES AROUND
THE COUNTRY. THE
LABOR STRUGGLES
OF THIS UNION HAD
AN IMPACT ON THE
NATION-WIDE
WORKERS’ MOVEMENT.
ONE OF THE UNION’S
IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENTS
WAS THE CONSOLIDATION

OF HAZARD PAY.

ESTABLISHMENT OF
PANHELLENIC
UNION OF GREEK
OIL WORKERS

THE MOVEMENT
OF THE 115
+

ESTABLISHMENT OF
THE ASSOCIATION
OF SHIPYARD
WORKERS OF
ELEFSINA (SENE)

PETROLA
UNION
ESTABLISHMENT
ATTEMPT +

EAS-PYRKAL UNION OF
ELEFSINA-DERVENOCHORIA
ESTABLISMENT +

ESTABLISMENT OF
FEDERATION OF
INDUSTRIAL WORKERS’
UNIONS +

ELECTION OF PASOK TO
GOVERNMENT UNDER THE
PREMIERSHIP OF ANDREAS
PAPANDREOU. PASOK REPEALED
A NUMBER OF ANTILABOR
MEASURES AND LAWS
ENACTED BY NEA DIMOKRATIA.
ONE OF THE IMPORTANT
DEVELOPMENTS INSTITUTED
BY PASOK WAS THE
REEMPLOYMENT OF WORKERS
WHO WERE LAID OFF IN THE
FRAMEWORK OF THE LABOR
POLICIES OF NEA DIMOKRATIA.

STRIKE BY THE UNION
OF CRAFTSMEN AND
CEMENT WORKERS +

STRIKE FROM
THE WORKERS OF
VOTRYS AND
KRONOS +

LARGE MASSIVE AND
HISTORICAL STRIKE
ON MAY 1st.
WORKERS TOOK
THE KNEE DURING
THE GATHERING
TO PAY TRIBUTE
TO THE 200
VICTIMS WHO WERE
MURDERED THE DAY
BEFORE AT THE
BLOCKADE OF
KAISARIANI.

THE WORKERS AT KRONOS
STAGE A WORK STOPPAGE
FOLLOWING
LAYOFFS OF
FACTORY STAFF.

STEEL WORKERS’
STRIKE +

STRIKE
MOBILIZATIONS
OF STEEL
WORKERS +

TITAN
STRIKE +

STRIKE
MOBILIZATIONS
OF MINERS +

POLITICAL
STRIKE +

STRIKE AT
NATIONAL CAN +

INSTITUTION OF
THE FIVE-DAY
40-HOUR
WORK WEEK,
PRIMARILY FOR
INDUSTRIAL
WORKERS

WORKER
MOBILIZATIONS
AT THE SHIPYARDS
OF ELEFSINA +

MASSIVE FORTY-
EIGHT-HOUR
STRIKE IN ELEFSINA
AGAINST
ANTILABOR
LAW 330

MAY 1st STRIKE.
THE SIEGE OF ELEFSINA
BY THE GENDARMERIE
TOOK EFFECT AS OF
6 O’CLOCK IN THE
MORNING. THE
GENDARMERIE
PROVOCATIVELY
GUARDED FACTORY
GATES TO PREVENT
WORKERS FROM
PARTICIPATING IN
THE 24-HOUR STRIKE.
DESPITE INTIMIDATION,
MANY FACTORIES
WERE CLOSED
BECAUSE OF
THE STRIKE.

LONG-
TERM
STRIKE AT
PETROGAZ

STEEL
WORKERS’
STRIKES +

MOBILIZATIONS
OF WORKERS
AT PYRKAL +

MOBILIZATIONS OF
WORKERS AT KRONOS +

LAYOFFS OF
PYRKAL WORKERS
- SQUATTING IN THE
FACTORY GROUNDS +

REEMPLOYMENT
OF PYRKAL
WORKERS WHO
WERE MADE
REDUNDANT IN 1990.

LAW 281 “ON TRADE
UNIONS”, WHICH SET
THE LEGAL BASIS FOR
THE ESTABLISHMENT
OF TRADE UNIONS
AND INCLUDED AN
IMPORTANT PROVISION:
WORKERS AND
EMPLOYERS ARE
FORBIDDEN FROM
BEING MEMBERS OF
THE SAME UNION.

LAW 4229 “ON THE
MEASURES FOR THE
SECURITY OF SOCIAL
REGIME AND THE
PROTECTION OF
CITIZEN FREEDOMS” +

LAW 509/2947 “ON THE
MEASURES FOR THE
SECURITY OF THE STATE,
POLITICAL SYSTEM, SOCIAL
REGIME AND THE
PROTECTION OF
CITIZEN FREEDOMS”,
WHICH OUTLAWED THE
COMMUNIST PARTY OF
GREECE AND THE NATIONAL
LIBERATION FRONT.

LAW 330 “ON
LABOR UNIONS
AND TRADE UNION
FREEDOMS” +

LAW 1264 “ON THE
DEMOCRATIZATION OF
THE TRADE UNION
MOVEMENT” +

LAW 1876/1990
THAT ABOLISHED
ARBITRATION +

LAW 1915
SIGNIFICANTLY
RESTRICTED TO
THE RIGHT +

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE
SOCIALIST LABOUR PARTY
OF GREECE (SEKE), WHICH
WAS RENAMED IN 1924 AS
THE COMMUNIST PARTY
OF GREECE (KKE).

ESTABLISHMENT OF
THE FEDERATION OF
COMMUNIST YOUTHS OF
GREECE (OKNE), WHICH
SET UP A BRANCH
IN ELEFSINA.

DICTATORSHIP OF
GENERAL THEODOROS
PANGALOS, BORN

IN ELEFSINA
+

THE COMMUNIST PARTY
OF GREECE, LED BY
SECRETARY GENERAL
NIKOS ZACHARIADIS,
REACHED 9.59% IN THE
NATIONAL ELECTIONS.
THE WORKERS’ MOVEMENT
IN ELEFSINA GRADUALLY
GREW STRONGER AND
STRONGER.

THE DICTATORSHIP
OF METAXAS +

GERMAN
OCCUPATION
OF GREECE +

CIVIL WAR
DURING THE PERIOD
OF THE GREEK +

EXPULSION OF THE
ADMINISTRATIONS OF
WORKERS’ CENTERS,
INCLUDING THE WORKERS’
CENTER OF ELEFSINA, THE
MEMBERS OF WHICH WERE
FAMOUS FOR THEIR
INVOLVEMENT IN THE
RESISTANCE. THE

ADMINISTRATION OF GSEE

MET THE SAME FATE.

ATTEMPT TO
EXPEL THE
WORKERS’
CENTER +

ALL MEMBERS
OF THE
ADMINISTRATION
OF THE WORKERS’
CENTER OF
ELEFSINA
ARE ARRESTED.

THE COLONELS’
JUNTA +

FALL OF THE JUNTA. FIRST
ELECTIONS OF THE
METAPOLITEFSI PERIOD,
WHICH ELECTED THE PARTY OF
NEA DIMOKRATIA TO
GOVERNMENT AND
KONSTANTINOS G. KARAMANLIS
IN THE OFFICE OF PRIME
MINISTER. THE METAPOLITEFSI
REGIME BROUGHT VERY
IMPORTANT REFORMS FOR
THE SOCIETY AND THE
POLITICAL SYSTEM.

GOVERNMENT
OF PASOK
+

FALL OF THE
GOVERNMENT
OF PASOK,
WHICH +

GOVERNMENT OF
NEA DIMOKRATIA +

WORKERS’
HOUSING
ORGANIZATION +

EUROPEAN
COAL AND
STEEL
COMMUNITY +

WORKERS’
HOUSING
ASSOCIATION (ΟΕΚ) +

EUROPEAN
ECONOMIC
COMMUNITY
(EEC) +

ON JANUARY 1st,
GREECE IS OFFICIALLY
INTEGRATED INTO
THE EUROPEAN +

1944-49 CIVIL WAR

During the Greek Civil War, Greek industry was rebuilt through loans granted as part of the assistance provided to Greece through the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan. Such loans were beneficial for industrial units of Elefsina such as the Halyvourgiki steel company, the munitions plant of PYRKAL, the paint factory of Iris, and the cement company of TITAN. This restructuring through the Marshall Plan was initiated as a means of curtailing the expansion of communism and Soviet influence abroad. The foreign powers banished the Greek Left from Greek unions, placing the latter completely under their control. American intervention and the imposition of complete American control over domestic Greek affairs was finalized in 1947 with the arrivals of Paul Porter, US ambassador and chief of the American Mission for Aid to Greece (AMAG) and Lincoln McVeagh, another US ambassador. In their report addressed to the United States of America, they explained the reasons which justify, according to their view, that military and financial aid towards Greece would be necessary. They wrote that "the authority of the Greek government would break down within a few weeks as a result of inflation, strikes, seditions, and panic, thus paving the way for power to be seized by the bold triumphant communist guerillas". Two other arrivals that had a crucial impact on the operation of Greek trade unions and the development of the Greek trade union movement in general were those of Irving Brown, representative of the American Federation of Labor in Europe and expert in "countering communist infiltration in labor organizations and splitting trade unions" who drafted a report on the resolution of the Greek trade union movement, and Sam Berger, US Labour attaché in London. Brown and Berger, in collaboration with the Greek Government, the American Embassy, the British and American unionists, and the Greek right-wing parties, achieved the expulsion of the Left from the administration of the GSEE. What Brown and Berger essentially did was "resolve" the trade union issue by employing tactics such as continuous postponements of legal procedures and blatant coercion. At the same time, many members and officials who were affiliated with the Left, as well as leading executives, were being eliminated. This occurred in tandem with the criminalization through various laws and regulations of any labor and trade union mobilization that fell outside the control of both state and deep state elements. The only trade unions considered legal were those deemed to be "nationally-minded", and any voice that opposed the dominant political line was either dismissed, arrested, exiled, or even murdered.

PEOPLE AND FACTORIES - LABOUR STRUGGLES

The labour movement is inextricably linked with the history of industry in both Elefsina and Greece in general. Workers responded to employers with actions of solidarity and demands, strikes, and squatting.

In a city like Elefsina, the heart of nationwide industrial production, mobilizations and strikes in factories became milestones in both local and national history. During the great strikes of 1929 and 1936, and the one at Chalyvourgiki in 1962–as was written in an issue of the newspaper "Avgi" at the time–besides the uprising of workers, factory owners also had to face the uprising of an entire city.

PEOPLE AND FACTORIES - LABOUR STRUGGLES

Each period of industrialization also entailed incidents of increased or reduced labour exploitation and abuse of rights, which simultaneously marked different phases of worker demands, collective organization, and unionizing.

PEOPLE AND FACTORIES - LABOUR STRUGGLES

The need to establish human rights related to labour rose through workers’ demands. As Hannah Arendt said, before people can enjoy rights, any rights, we must be entitled to the right to have rights. Before the establishment of humane working conditions and wages, an eight-hour work day, Sunday rest, and the recognition of trade unions, there must be a right to demand all the above.

PEOPLE AND FACTORIES - LABOUR STRUGGLES

In 1935, Kanelopoulos, master of industry and owner of TITAN, was appointed minister of National Economy. We formed a committee and decided to visit him at his house. He received us in his office. One of our demands was to not work on Sundays. Back then, the work was exhaustive, we worked from sunrise to sunset.
And he said: "And what will you do on Sundays? Surely, you’ll go to church and afterwards at the coffeehouse".
He took a sheet of paper and calculated the unnecessary expenses. "This is how much you’ll pay for candles, this is how much you’ll tithe the church, and this is how much you'll pay for coffee and cards. There will certainly be more, and you’ll also lose the day’s pay.
You can’t have these things. The state does not want you to be lazy".
We returned to Elefsina empty-handed.
"I POLI" | 1986

PEOPLE AND FACTORIES - LABOUR STRUGGLES

The relationship between workers and employers was greatly influenced by the relationship between industry and state, similarly to how the methods of formulating the workers’ demands and collective organization were shaped by the obstacles and the political and legal framework from one period to the next.

PEOPLE AND FACTORIES - LABOUR STRUGGLES

Since the initial stage of industrialization in the late 19th century, workers’ unions were being established in areas with intense industrial activity, such as Syros (shipyards), Lavrio (mines), Piraeus (port and various industries) and, naturally, Elefsina.

PEOPLE AND FACTORIES - LABOUR STRUGGLES

The Builders’ Guild was the first union to be established in Elefsina in 1910, owing its creation to the intense building activity in the area. The Club of Factory Employees of Elefsina was founded in 1912; however, being more favorable to employers, it was coordinated by the directors of TITAN and the Elaiourgio (Olive Oil Mill).

PEOPLE AND FACTORIES - LABOUR STRUGGLES

Three very important strikes took place from 1924 to 1936. These strikes shook the entire town and were attended by male and female workers alike from all factories in Elefsina.

The basic demands in these early stages of the workers' movement in Elefsina revolved around the increase of the hourly wage along with regular payments, reduction of working hours (which, at the time, included 10- to12-hour shifts every day), Sunday rest, and the legalization of the workers’ unions.

ΡΙΖΟΣΠΑΣΤΗΣ | 25.05.1924 — RIZOSPASTIS | 25.05.1924

PEOPLE AND FACTORIES - LABOUR STRUGGLES

Over the next years, the workers’ movement grew exponentially and acquired political characteristics. The Greek constitution enshrined the freedom of association, and Law 281/1914 guaranteed the rights of trade unions.

Thus, the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE in Greek), the highest trade union body consisting of 214 unions that represented 65,000 organized workers, was founded in October 1918.

During the early 1920s, KKE (Communist Party of Greece) set up a party organization in Elefsina, which was followed by the establishment of OKNE (Federation of Communist Youths of Greece).

PEOPLE AND FACTORIES - LABOUR STRUGGLES

I found some guys here and told them what I had heard. At first, there was Vasilis Vasileiou and I, we were the first who said: "Let’s create something, let’s make a youth organization". This guy arrived from Athens to organize us. In the meantime, a team of 6-7 people had been built, some of whom were refugee children. Anyway, this guy came from Athens, taught us theory, how to speak, how to do things, how to organize ourselves, how to form a union; and we enlarged it, found others, gathered about ten people. Who was that guy, you ask? Nikos Zachariadis, who was head of OKNE back then.
MYRON GEKAS | EXCERPT FROM THE DOCUMENTARY “100 CHRONIA KKE” (100 YEARS OF KKE), SECTORAL ORGANIZATION OF THRIASIO-MEGARIDA

PEOPLE AND FACTORIES - LABOUR STRUGGLES

In the interwar period, during which the second stage of industrialization of Elefsina took place, the city's human geography changed with the arrival and settlement of refugees from Asia Minor and internal migrants from various regions of Greece.

The Union of Longshoremen of the port of Elefsina was established in 1928, mainly by Symiots and refugees from Asia Minor, followed by the Union of Technician Workers of Elefsina, which was set up by workers at the TITAN factory. The administrations of Elefsina's factories refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Union.

PEOPLE AND FACTORIES - LABOUR STRUGGLES

Furthermore, this period is also notable for the significant activity and actions of the organized labour movement, such as the great strikes of 1929 and 1936.

PEOPLE AND FACTORIES - LABOUR STRUGGLES