October 28, 2004: After the independently organized strike of the Opel workers in Bochum lasting for 7 days the management has now announced the dismissal of two workers. They will not succeed in this scandalous victimization of the strike at Opel (GM).

In a first press release of the solidarity group it is said:

Dear friends,
Two colleagues at Opel have been dismissed without notice, a member of the works committee and one colleague from the finishing assembly line.We from the solidarity group for the fighting Opel workers indignantly reject these dismissals and declare our unrestricted solidarity and support for the colleagues.The struggle of the Opel workers against the cutting of 12,000 jobs Europe wide is justified and it was supported by an overwhelming solidarity of the citizens of Bochum as well as of people from many other cities and countries.

We have decided:
To make known everywhere this victimization of the fighting workforce – everyone who attacks one of us is attacking all of us!To further organize and spread the solidarity – now even more! We are preparing a nationwide collection of signatures and will intensify our collection of donations.The dismissals without notice must be cancelled at once!We ask you to make known this and to develop the solidarity.
On behalf of the solidarity group

Anne Fuchs

Towards “rote-fahne-news” the press speaker of the Metal Workers Union of the district of Northrhine-Westphalia, Wolfgang Nettelstroth, declared:

“Concerning the affected member of the works committee the works committee of Opel Bochum has already filed an objection against the dismissal. The Metal Workers Union will give legal support for the other colleague. By these steps this issue will become a matter of legal settlement and will hopefully vanish into thin air.”

“rote-fahne-news” reported on the political background:

“Already on Monday a vicious smear article appeared in the magazine “FOCUS” which denounced two other Colleagues in Bochum as ring-leaders and one of them as alleged “MLPD man”. Allegedly a few “rabble-rousers” had radicalized the workforce. This is an attempt to split the Opel workforce and to stir up an atmosphere for political victimizations like those that have been published today.

More than ever the Opel colleagues, however, have learnt to distinguish better between real friends and enemies. The calling off of the strike was combined with the firm resolution to accept on no account the victimizations of individual so called “ring-leaders”. “If there are any we all are “ring-leaders”, some colleagues said. Then the principle of the working class movement will come alive: One for all – all for one!”

We have already received solidarity declarations from some enterprises. The dismissal without notice must be canceled.  The organization of the nationwide and international solidarity is decisive in such cases as we have learned from experience.

The MLPD supports the activity of the solidarity group against the dismissals. For this reason we have d the list of signatures of the solidarity group and the addresses for solidarity declarations.