HELP US BUILD AN AUTONOMOUS CULTURAL SPACE FOR SBPS WORKERS

Serikat Buruh Progresif Sejahtera (SBPS) or Workers Unions for Prosperity and Progressive is one of the most influential medical equipment labor unions in Klaten, Central Java, Indonesia On December 2, 2024, due to unfair contracts, the dismissal of union officials, and unpaid wages, SBPS went on strike, and they won. As an emerging union, the inspiring success of the strike radicalized the labor movement in Indonesia. Although small, they became a role model and their militants were involved in a number of expanding worker organizing in the surrounding garment and textile factories (SBBS and SBGS).

At the same time, the labor and anti-authoritarian movements in general in Indonesia are threatened by the rise of a civil-military dictatorship that we call Neo-Orba, in which the military expands its authority beyond the defense realm and increasingly enters and gets involved in school, campus, factory and plantation affairs. SBPS militants have also been subjected to very tight surveillance. In the Mayday 2025 action, the government has arrested and imprisoned 25 demonstrators from students and non-union workers due to clashes in several cities such as Bandung, Jakarta and Semarang. They were labeled as "anarchists" by the police and the press, and for several years there have been massive raids and repression against the anarchist movement in Indonesia.

But this did not dampen our struggle. With the above considerations, and the need for the costs of managing the secretariat, we took one step forward by establishing our social center, Sanggar Budaya Merdeka (Freedom Cultural Workshop). In addition to being a space for organizing workers from several factories, we also wanted to expand it to a library, public kitchen, arts and cultural activities, and even anti-fascist organizing. Thus, our activities would reach more sectors of local society besides factory workers.

Freedom Cultural Workshop is not subject to the interests of certain powers—whether state, market, or elite—but rather relies on the values of togetherness, solidarity, and individual and collective autonomy. The anti-authoritarian nature of this workshop rejects oppressive hierarchies and provides space for all voices/people, especially marginalized ones, to appear, be heard, and be appreciated. More than just a reading and art space, Freedom Cultural Workshop is expected to be a social laboratory, a place where art, thought, and resistance meet.

PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT NEEDS

Epson L3210 Printer - (IDR 2,300,000 / 124.92 EURO)

Lenovo Thinkpad T480 i5 gen 7 (2nd) Laptop - (IDR 2,700,000 / 146.64 EURO)

LG Minibeam PH150G Projector - (IDR 5.900.000 / 320,44 EURO)

FIRST AID KIT BOX - (IDR 450,000 / 24.44 EURO)

LIBRARY NEEDS

2x1 meter wooden bookshelf (2pcs) - (IDR 2,000,000 / 108.62 EURO)

Whiteboard - (IDR 135,000 / 7.33 EURO)

Purchase of books - (IDR 3,000,000 / 162.94 EURO)

Table for writing and reading (10 pcs) - (IDR 380,000 / 20.64 EURO)

Stationery and whiteboard eraser - (IDR 150,000 / 8.15 EURO)

3 pcs COSMO LOVE carpet/mat - (IDR 750,000 / 40.73 EURO)

KITCHEN NEEDS

MIYAKO Rice Cooker MCM 508 SBC - (IDR 280,000 / 15.21 EURO)

RINNAI RI 202s 2-burner gas stove - (IDR 300,000 / 16.29 EURO)

MIYAKO PORTABLE WD 189 H dispenser - (IDR 169,675 / 9.22 EURO)

Food and drink ingredients - (IDR 1,450,000 / 78.75 EURO)

TOTAL NEEDS IN IDR 19,964,675

TOTAL NEEDS IN EURO 1084,32

Solidarity!

Progressive Prosperous Labor Union (SBPS)/ Freedom Cultural Workshop

Note: This fundraising campaign will be removed from the Firefund website to clean up the union's links to radical political elements.

This fundraising campaign is supported and sponsored by:

Perhimpunan Merdeka, an anarchist federation specifically in Indonesia, from its local in the Yogyakarta

AFFC, an anarcha-feminist collective based in Yogyakarta

Pustaka Catut, an anarchist book publisher in Indonesia