It magnificent tribute to the power of the Women Against Pit Closures movement that the first mass demonstration against Murdoch organised last weekend was a march of women Tower Hill to the Wapping plant. Over 3000 took part in a mass picket that held up deliveries of the scab papers for over an hour while police plotted alternative all avoid demonstrators.
Women print workers. print workers families, and OIneT women trace unionists marched down The Highway singing 'Here we go' I'd rather be a picket than a scab'. The impact on the men who lined the route to welcome the march tremendous.
Large contingents of Women Against Pit Closures up down the country made explicit the connection that is already being made between the strikes. Speaking al a rally al wapplig alle! the march, Betty Heathfield spelled it out.
Her theme was comDiele sondanily print workers fighting to protect their iobs and their families. Women from the communities, she their jobs,' Ann Scargill told Socialist Action at the beginning of last Saturday's women's march on Wapping. 'Our door is always open to them just as theirs was to us. Murdoch is trying to do to the print unions enough is enough. We've got to stand together now.' what this was all about. Miners already had direct experience of Murdoch and his newspapers used against them during their own strike.
Everything was ranged now against the print workers just as it was rang ed against the miners during the 1984-85 strike. The government was trying to smash the print unions like Ine tried to smash the NUM.
Heathfield raised the possibility of a consumer boycott of the Murdoch titles, identifying it with LEC DOVCOLL South African goods that black workers there called for. It chola become second nature not to buy the The Times. she said. just as it is not to buy South African goods There will come a time very soon, she explained, when everyone will say 'give up, go back, stop Bighting a You a Nelson what Nelson Mandela had given up when people said the same to him? In Africa today people have the pro'So get down-hearted. When you don't have a choice -as we didn't have a choice then you've got to fight'.
To drowning cheers Betty Heathfield conclud'Mandela "the struggle 1s my late That's what I say and that is what you should say too.
Brenda Dean, speaking from the same platform, related the fact that a ship carrying paper had been turned away from a ScotWorkers, she told the dock. dock alli dience, were approaching their Belgian counterparts olzarise a DoCoL ol ink supplies to Murdoch. Talk solidarity too showed the impact of the Already print workers are adapting the songs of the miners strike to their own dispute.
ANEW
MY DAD HELPED
MR MURDOCH MAKE MILLIONS. NOW HE WANTS To POT HIM ON THEDOLE.
DONT LET HIM DON'T BUY THE SUN, NEWS OF THE WORLD, TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES At miners support group, Lambeth, has taken on board that message. They have reconstituted themselves into a print workers support group and, under the auspicies OI the local trades council, have set up shop in Brixton to organise solidarity, including public meeting this Friday with speakers SOGAT, NUJ, AUEW and others.
• SOGAT strike can be contacted on 01-261 9302; Lambeth group on 01-733 5670. Th Lambeth public meeting starts .7.30pm, at the town hall. ALL telecom engineers in London City, the NCU branch which covers both Fleet Street Murdoch's Wapping plant, have been issued with instructions not to cross picket lines.
The circular, dated 24 signed branch secretary Jock Campbell, clear: 'The policy of the TỤC, the National Communications. Union and the London City branch is that members must not cross a picket Confronted with a picket line, telecom engineers are advised to comply, notify their supervisor and seek alternative WOK Following the NCU instruction could be one sure way to that scab journalists working on the titles are starved of the telephone. actions:
PRINT workers on the Express Newspapers group are standing firm on their decision not to print the northern edition of the News of the World at the Ancoats works in Manchester.
This is despite MurInjunchon agalns!
SOGAT despite threat by local manage. ment to make 600 printers Newspapers lose the Murdoch contract. lonv Dub bins spoke to an NGA meeting there last Friday after which NGA members agreed to continue their Dan Another ban affecting Murdoch is the decision by council to ston Manchester librarie taking copies of his four titles during the dispute Meanwhile officers of the City Labour Party will be Whitehead, NEC member of the NUR.
Whitehead told Socialist Action that scab papers won't rail because the NUR is com guidelines and will respect mitted TUC all picket lines.
At any rate this work offer the railways. British Rail has £27 newspaper Murdoch's is million. For us it involves 780 jobs.
'But Murdoch doesn't care about jobs in the print or on the railways. He had a well worked out plan around including massive investments In road naulage The would avoid inreckoned rail workers would take in opposition smashing operation Wapping. Kent miners: THIS Thursday, february, Kent miners are holding a rally in Conway Hall in joint solidarity the NUM and striking print workers.
Originally called to end a tive-dal "Save liman stone' march, the trek from Kent to London has now been called off because the Coal Board has announced a reprieve for the pit. But the rally, group MPs Dennis Skinner and Bob Clay on its platform, will now hear the case for News International strikers.
Kent secretary Jack Collins told Socialist Action: "The theme will now be that Kent NUM is on the verge of a victory workers can do ikewise.
'Printers poured in money and food convoys to us during our dispute Because they've not yet asKcu doesn't mean we should wait to give it. The TUC should be compelled to act defence of the print workers.'
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Women lead the way what Thatcher and MacGregor tried on us.
said, had been through a sag trid so they kha SOC 'I'M HERE for the print workers' right to fight for