It does not matter how you work, anyone can join.

Freeters are included, but so are others.

Compared to other individual membership unions,

there are many people working on non-regular contracts.

So-called “precariato”, those whose jobs and survival became unstable

due to the neoliberal economy from the core.

People ask us what are Freeters. I guess they like the word Freeters.

But it is really hard to explain what is it about.

We define it ourselves most of the times in terms of

the contracts being in behalf of the employers.

That is often we work as temporary workers,

independent contractors and you are more or less working in a

corporate environment like any other employee, but your contract is

a temporary one, meaning you have no rights what so ever.

But then again, there are other opinions saying that

we don't really want to define ourselves

in terms of our contracts with our employers.

That is not where we want to begin from.

It's more about our entire lifes, how the changes that

are taking place since the 1990ies in Japan are affecting us.

The question is who are the Freeter?

A lot of us are people who just refuse to enter

more into the traditional cooperations.

It's very difficult to try to explain where we stand.

in relation to these older more secure pasts.

Because a lot of us didn't choose it and a lot of us

refuse to join, a lot of us where part of a cooperation or

had more secure jobs, but dropped out.

As we chose more the alternative lifes

the whole landscape, the whole employment process of cooperations

sort of changed over the last ten years.

So what was more like voluntary dropping out or voluntary freelancing

became more and more difficult to the point that our daily lifes

became pretty much unliveable.

Not to say they're all the same (Mainstream Unions)

but separate unions developed for each company throughout the post-war era,

company unions in short.

Perhaps out of fear that if the company were

to decline the union would follow its fate,

interests of the company could take priority over workers interests.

With some unions being exceptions, of course.

As an union for individual workers we are able to focus

on the interests of our members.

But this is the advantage of all individual membership unions.

What makes the Freeter Union unique among unions

with a similar structure is ...

There is something unsettled? This is my impression. How should I say?

Tight dicipline and control isn't our style. Like...

Even with unions there could be top-down tendancies.

Like someone could be patronizing to others.

These kinds of unions could still work for its membership,

but there is already a power structure within the union.

You can't criticize or raise questions towards this person.

The freeter union isn't like that, is it?

Let's see: I sense that the people present at the time

when the freeter union became active in labor disputes

and those who understood its importance and joined later,

had been involved in movements in one way or another.

So that was around 2006 and 2007.

Up til then, that was the 3rd May Day, that this organisation coordinated,

but it has always just been about May Day.

There were not really other activities on a daily basis.

In 2006, the police arrested the DJ of the Sound Car and 2 demonstrators

After this repression many of the members spread and so

at the end, there were only three or four members left.

And a new movement came out of the repression.

And that's the Freeter Movement.

The reason why I'm a member of the Freeter Union

that before I have also organised demos against war and poverty

and the Freeter Union did the same.

Why I went to the Freeter Union?

I have organised a Demo against the war in Iraq and the

Freeter had that demo therefore, coincidentally, I was taking part.

After the arrest of a person

I worked for his release and then I became a member.

From having observed oppression within movements at close hand like

macho leadership and its destructive effects,

efforts are being made constantly to ensure

it does not happen in this union.

There is a broad consensus to leave that culture out.

It seems to go without saying.

Due to extremely insecure jobs and lives, while having little or no savings,

members are critically effected by 'dry periods'.

It could mean not being able to pay rent and

forced out of home within a short period of time.

There are hurdles to applying for welfare which require assistance.

So the union is more then a work-centered association.

Sharing a will to life and survival and the need for each other.

in defending multiple aspects of our livelihoods is also characteristic of the Freeter Union.

I am working on the problem of living space, because

at the end of last year (2008) a lot of temp workers were fired.

How can the problem of unemployment be solved quickly?

Since this March (2009) we are building up the Freedom and Survival House.

So, we thought let's find suitable housing to make into a shelter,

and create minimaly exploitive workplaces together

for when there is no work.

We're initiating these kinds of projects right now.

Spider TV 1 Interview with residents

It does look a bit dirty,

but in general things are fine.

This is the room for materials and tools.

And later there will be a room, too.

That is the room of the Indy Union. And I am from the Movie Union.

Vegetable City Narita Farmer's Market

Making Mochi at New Year

The current Labor Union Law differs from e.g. the U.S.

According to the code employers must hold negotiations

if there is one member from the union at the workplace.

You always say soon, but then nothing happens.

Do you understand?

After deciding, the next negotiations will be held on the 23rd of October.

Hey, you are always making suggestions for negotiations

but nothing concrete.

You are not doing anything and Mr. K is just talking rubbish.

Do you betray us?

We don't betray you at all.

Why are you not answering then?

You only say, that you are talking to each other and

decide, if you are going to answer.

Are you a board member?

Your colleagues are saying, that Mr. K

has changed the date of the negotiation. Is that true?

I haven't heard about that.

Some employers do not admit their mistakes right away.

In which case we take action in front of their business

with many union members present to add pressure.

The employers will understand that the union is not to be taken lightly

and be ready to negotiate or settle.

Finally there is the rodo iinnkai, like a labor relations board.

It is a municipal government organization that regulates

according to the Labor Union Law.

A company might just choose to flee.

In which case we take this next stage

of taking direct action to the company.

And you see, this is 2 hours from Tokyo

but that happens a lot, where a person might be

working in Tokyo and the manager or the president

or the owner of the business is living 2 hours out of Tokyo.

In which case we would make the trip directly to their homes.

And make it clear that we are not going away.

And that there is no use in prolonging the process,

that what they are doing is clearly illegal and

make it clear, that going to court or hiring lawyers

isn't going to be a solution for them.

After direct actions we have even other steps.

That's when we come with the megaphones,

and we also publizes everything on the internet.

And also a lot of us were working in just NPOs

Labour Unions or Independent Publishers sort of part of the left,

whose employment practices were horrible, but the

other mainstream unions wouldn't take on their cases.

So a lot of people working in non-traditional work also came

to us and we negotiated with an NPO or an alternative political party

e.g. like the Okinawa Independence Party.

And we treat them as any other employer.

There he is! Long time no see!

Hello! I am here to claim negotiations.

We are claiming negotiations. Mr. Yaara!

Mister Yaara!

Hello? Why can't you meet with us?

Don't you refuse the negotiations.

Administration problems? With you?

No! This is simply refusing to negotiate.

Shut up and come out now!

We want to negotiate with you, Mr. Yara.

Mr. Yara, come out! We want to negotiate.

We are from the General Freeter Union! Good day!

Today we are here to negotiate with the Manager of Alice's T-Shirt-Center

Yara, Chosuke.

Comrades, let's make the first chant!

Chant! Yes! Chant! Yes!

Yara, Chosuke should negotiate with us.

Alice's T-Shirt-Center Yara Chosuke should negotiate with us.

We are fighting together! Until we will win!

Fight! We will make it!

Many of the independent membership unions have paid staff.

The Freeter Union is the only union we're on the few unions

where we are all volunteers and not professionals.

And in these unions it would be that each paid union staff

has somewhere between 30 to 50 disputes, cases at any time.

The person who joined the union or has scribed in to would go

with the Union staff, they work one on one and go to negotiations

with just the two people, the aggrieved and the union staff.

Whereas for here, pretty much everyone's a volunteer for each dispute

and each individual case, you have a turnout of like seven people.

And that's what makes this union pretty special.

In that way we follow in the footsteps of the struggles of like many

parttime female workers, because of course they were the ones, who

had been fighting that for a long time, being considered dependent,

and not receiving any benefits, being paid incredibly low wages

for long hours and not really being considered a worker

by any of the unions.

So we are not really new.

We are just continuing something that other groups have always been doing.

Especially female workers.

There has been criticism that the whole issue is sort of sexist, because

that has been the norm. It has always been normal for women and then

as soon as men begin to make these wages or work under these conditions

suddenly the media is exploding: What's wrong with this world?

Or something like that.

The freeter union website has a form for work related problems.

First a person could contact us by email.

People describe their problems in detail and send them in.

Also there are certain hours for telephone consultations,

twice every week.

Finally, a person can settle a labor dispute,

referring to could a person for consultations and negotiations.

Now a lot of women from the Amusement Industry are coming to us.

That was not to be anticipated.

I am working in a Cabaret.

My boss abuses me. Sexual harrassment, power harrassment

He doesn't pay us and e.g. he has called me on my day-off.

He asks us to work.

If we say no, then he says, we are going to loose our job.

There are all sorts of cases, but the most frequent are sudden dismissals.

People are fired without given prior notice.

They have no income from the next day, so

they come to the union seeking assistance.

After collective negotiations, either the dismissal is taken back or

compensation corresponding to “dismissal notification pay” will be paid.

That was - campaigning against these temp agencies, that are

becoming really large and powerful over just a few years

e.g. the Goodwill Cooperation has bought a Baseball Stadium.

The TWU is an individual membership union for temp agency workers.

Goodwill is a day labor agency that has become a public scandal

and so a Goodwill Union was created together with them.

Mcrew Union is a joint effort against yet another