 After both the British Industrial Syndicalist Education League ( ISEL ) , a short @-@ lived syndicalist organization heavily involved in the strike wave in Britain from 1910 , and the Dutch syndicalist union National Labor Secretariat ( NAS ) published proposals for an international syndicalist congress in 1913 , the FVdG was the first to express support . There were difficulties in organizing the congress , and the largest syndicalist union worldwide — the CGT — refused to participate because it was already affiliated with the social democratic International Federation of Trade Unions . Despite these challenges , the First International Syndicalist Congress took place at Holborn Town Hall in London from September 27 to October 2 . British , Swedish , Danish , Dutch , Belgian , French , Spanish , Italian , Cuban , Brazilian , and Argentine organizations — both labor unions and political groups — had delegates in London in addition to the FVdG , which was represented by Karl Roche , Carl Windhoff , and Fritz Kater . There were also links with Norwegian , Polish , and American groups . Kater was elected co @-@ president of the congress alongside Jack Wills . After Wills was forced to resign , Kater served as co @-@ president with Jack Tanner . The congress had difficulty agreeing on many issues , the main source of conflict being whether further schisms in the European labor movement ( as had occurred in Germany and the Netherlands ) should be risked . The FVdG generally agreed with their Dutch comrades in calling on other unions to decide between syndicalism and socialism , while their Italian , French , and Spanish counterparts , most notably Alceste De Ambris of the Italian USI , were more intent on preventing further division . Accordingly , the congress was divided on the question of whether its purpose was to simply pave the way for deeper relations between the syndicalist unions or whether a Syndicalist International was to be founded . The opponents of a new organization prevailed , but the congress agreed to establish an Information Bureau . The Information Bureau was based in Amsterdam and published the Bulletin international du mouvement syndicaliste . The congress was considered a success by most who attended , with the notable exception of De Ambris . A second congress was scheduled to take place in two years ' time in Amsterdam . Due to the outbreak of World War I , the congress did not take place . The Bulletin only published for eighteen issues before the war caused it to cease publication . 
