Die radikale Rechte in den Betrieben – Strategien und Praxen der Gegenwehr

In the organizer's words:

The Bundestag election brought the AfD the expected high election result and also further consolidated the growing social influence of the radical right. The social terrain gained by the far right also includes the fact that authoritarian to fascist interpretations are increasingly present in organizations, movements and milieus that see themselves as left-wing, democratic and in solidarity rather than exclusionary. Trade unions and organized employees are not unaffected by this either: Right-wing attitudes, patterns of interpretation and voting decisions are becoming increasingly popular.

A study by the trade union-affiliated Institute of Economic and Social Sciences (WSI) from November 2023 on the political attitudes of AfD-voting employees confirms this trend. Post-election surveys by Infratest dimap on federal and state elections also show that between 45 and 49% of AfD voters describe themselves as "workers".

Although the trade unions are taking a fundamental stance against the prevailing right-wing trend and the AfD, in some places at company level there is a tendency to duck away - especially where authoritarian, racist or misogynistic attitudes penetrate company communication spaces, from break-time or canteen conversations to social media.

Right-wing extremist opinions are therefore definitely present in companies - even if they are not (yet) an organizing force. The AfD as a supposed "workers' party" has so far lacked an organizational basis in companies. There have been attempts from the right to compete with trade union interest groups with the help of their own works council lists. But so far, committed colleagues have managed to successfully push back such initiatives.

How should we respond to this development? How can aggressive and exclusionary rhetoric from the right be prevented from gaining a foothold in workplaces? What successful experiences have colleagues already had with anti-fascist actions in the world of work? And what projects of solidarity-based crisis management and democratic co-determination need to be developed locally in order to counteract social insecurity and the loss of material rights in workplaces and society?