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Inside VIO.ME, Greece’s Only Worker-Managed Factory That’s Operated For Over 10 Years

In 2011, workers at the Vio.Me factory in Thessaloniki, Greece, stopped receiving wages. Management and owners abandoned the facility shortly afterward. Instead of dispersing, the workers of Vio.Me held an assembly and voted to take over management of the factory themselves. Over the past decade, they’ve kept the factory running, jointly determining production decisions through…

Written by

Christos Avramidis

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Originally Published in

In 2011, workers at the Vio.Me factory in Thessaloniki, Greece, stopped receiving wages. Management and owners abandoned the facility shortly afterward. Instead of dispersing, the workers of Vio.Me held an assembly and voted to take over management of the factory themselves. Over the past decade, they’ve kept the factory running, jointly determining production decisions through democratic procedures, and sharing in the profits. Although their former bosses and the Greek state have attempted to auction off the land and evict them, the workers have held on with the power of solidarity from their community, and workers across Greece and the wider world. TRNN speaks directly to the worker-managers of Vio.Me about their ongoing struggle and the powerful example they’ve set for workers around the world. This video is part of a special Workers of the World series on the cost of living crisis in Europe.