Kazova: the Turkish factory under workers’ control

When in January 2013 the 94 workers of the Kazova Textile factory in Istanbul's central Sisli neighborhood were collectively fired under false pretenses after their bosses had neglected to pay their salaries for four consecutive months, a small group of workers decided to resist. They organized regular protest marches and set up of a tent in front of the factory to prevent their former bosses from stripping the factory of anything of value. Emboldened by the nationwide Gezi protests which rocked the country in the summer that year, the Kazova workers prepared for the next step and occupied their former workplace. What followed was almost two years of struggles in which the resisting workers were beaten by hired thugs, tear gassed by the police and were caught up in an exhausting legal case in an attempt to claim legal ownership over the textile machinery that would allow them to provide in their own livelihoods.

This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Worker-Rights-in-Turkey-20150423-0041.html. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/english

When in January 2013 the 94 workers of the Kazova Textile factory in Istanbul's central Sisli neighborhood were collectively fired under false pretenses after their bosses had neglected to pay their salaries for four consecutive months, a small group of workers decided to resist. They organized regular protest marches and set up of a tent in front of the factory to prevent their former bosses from stripping the factory of anything of value. Emboldened by the nationwide Gezi protests which rocked the country in the summer that year, the Kazova workers prepared for the next step and occupied their former workplace. What followed was almost two years of struggles in which the resisting workers were beaten by hired thugs, tear gassed by the police and were caught up in an exhausting legal case in an attempt to claim legal ownership over the textile machinery that would allow them to provide in their own livelihoods.

This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Worker-Rights-in-Turkey-20150423-0041.html. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/englishWhen in January 2013 the 94 workers of the Kazova Textile factory in Istanbul's central Sisli neighborhood were collectively fired under false pretenses after their bosses had neglected to pay their salaries for four consecutive months, a small group of workers decided to resist. They organized regular protest marches and set up of a tent in front of the factory to prevent their former bosses from stripping the factory of anything of value. Emboldened by the nationwide Gezi protests which rocked the country in the summer that year, the Kazova workers prepared for the next step and occupied their former workplace. What followed was almost two years of struggles in which the resisting workers were beaten by hired thugs, tear gassed by the police and were caught up in an exhausting legal case in an attempt to claim legal ownership over the textile machinery that would allow them to provide in their own livelihoods.

This content was originally published by teleSUR at the following address:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Worker-Rights-in-Turkey-20150423-0041.html. If you intend to use it, please cite the source and provide a link to the original article. www.teleSURtv.net/englishEmboldened by the nationwide Gezi protests which rocked the country in the summer that year, the Kazova workers prepared for the next step and occupied their former workplace.                             
                                    
                                                    
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        <p>What followed was almost two years of struggles in which the resisting workers were beaten by hired thugs, tear gassed by the police and were caught up in an exhausting legal case in an attempt to claim legal ownership over the textile machinery that would allow them to provide in their own livelihoods.&nbsp;                            
                                    
                                                    
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        <p>Inspired by the many solidarity visits they received and the stories of other worker struggles such as the National Movement of Recuperated Businesses in Argentina and the occupied Vio.Me factory in&nbsp; Greece the Kazova workers adopted the slogan of the Landless Movement in Brazil 'Occupy, Resist, Produce!' and started organizing themselves as a cooperative.&nbsp;