50 years ago, there was a wave of wildcat strikes in West Germany, in which a total of around 275,000 workers in 335 factories took part. The strikes were mostly organized by migrant workers. These workers had been recruited by Germany’s industry and government in southern Europe and Turkey since the 1950s as cheap labourers to sustain the West German economic boom of the post-war years. That these so-called “guest workers” (in German “Gastarbeiter”) were actually human beings and, what is more, human beings who would not put up with everything forever, became clear in the summer of 1973. Not only did they usually had to work more for less pay but they also often faced racism and other forms of discrimination. Additionally, they were frequently confronted with a lack of support and solidarity from their German colleagues along with the unions representing them. All this triggered a multitude of wildcat strikes in which the “Gastarbeiter” organised themselves and were the leading actors. Two of the larger strikes took place in August 1973 at Ford in Cologne and at the automotive supplier Pierburg in Neuss.
Wildcat strikes are labour disputes that originate directly from the workforce and are carried out without the call or prior approval of the union officials responsible for the workplace.
A rebellious cat with a hump has become the established symbol for these kind of strike actions originating from the rank and file of a company. Wildcat strikes are therefore often simply called “wildcats”. Thus, the slogan “Wildcats over Germany” symbolises the wave of wildcats that spread across Germany in 1973. At the same time, it is also an allusion to the stupid nationalist slogan “Deutschland über alles” (literally meaning Germany over everything). In this sense: Wildcat strikes are more important than Germany!
PS: For a further introduction to the topic, we recommend the documentary “Pierburg – Ihr Kampf ist unser Kampf”.
This design is available as black and white t-shirts as well as black and grey melange hoodies and was done by Berlin based tattoo artist Brian Kelly.
