SocialistAction 1983–88

The paper of the Socialist League, formerly the International Marxist Group, 1983–88

Refused

· Socialist Action No. 161, 19 March 1987 · p. 10 of the scan · 595 words

The scan: 161-mar-19-1987-SA-UK.pdf (PDF, Marxists Internet Archive, opens at this page)

Uncorrected machine reading. This text was read by machine (Apple Vision OCR) from a scan of a newspaper page, and the page was cut into articles by machine, at the headlines found by their type size. Nothing has been corrected: expect misread words, text from a neighbouring article, and titles that are the machine reading of the headline, some of them only fragments. Quote from the scan, not from this page.
How this article was cut and titled: headline found by type size in the OCR geometry (split_tabloid.py); 3-3 of 7; machine-segmented newspaper page; uncorrected Vision OCR.

page 10 of the scan

True To say that we were sold out is true. Golding and his executive wanted a strike and did nothing that wasn't designed to get called off three full weeks. But this doesn't explain how we managed to first ouaco seriel in thr place, despite leaders, we voted ourselves back work three weeks later.

In fact we overlooked the most important lesson orme ames aru cuc biullFREE NELSON to use the whole weight of our class on our side. The mistake we made was think we were different, that we could go it alone and avoid the problems the „lles and printworkers faced. When arter three weeks it became clear that this wasn't true the majority of engineers simply saw way Jol waru the strike to go.

Neither of the union's main currents of opinion were prepared to tell the truth about our fight. The NEC and Golding played on the fears of a drawn out Our fund drive still has To date, we have collected £2,371. The fund is due to be concluded at the end of this month.

The last weeks have seen a pick-up in donations «b VuI supporters have responded to our • days wages for Socialist ACUUT av ocal. Please consider making such a donation yourself. And if you can't get the actual money in immediateto print the article we submiLLed I to the o rebruart issue of the paper, which tried to put forward, from the experiences Lae miners and printworkers The esson we rawoca if we were to beat BT.

substituted an article which concluded that the main task facing activists NCU was to build the Broad Left (BL).

The view expressed in SA mirrored exatly preoccupation of the BL A day's wages for Socialist Action ly, please let us know what pledging betore the end of the drive.

Here is a list of donations to date:

£84.39 Cardiff £24.00 Huddersfield £100.00 Leeds £6.40 Newport E London NW London £133.00 London £112.41 OW London £130.00 Swindon® Anonymous £687.40 TOTAL £2,371.10 right wing and that they themselves be elected June. In the course of the however the Broad ottered SCLIO UN evidence that it would have done anything fundamentally different Golding. Grasp We will have to grasp that simply downing tools isn't enough. We have to go all out to build the strike in walks. our spouses and families so members: fight the 70.000 redundancies BT estimated vCU its part in with other nationally shocked last week to receive a scurrilous red-baiting letter from their former union branch secrew —luwa manager and active strike breaker. Arriving five days before the City branch AGM, it is a clear attempt by management to influence its outcome.

By Jim Gordon and The letter comes in the aftermath of the NCU's first ever national strike, and is part of a management offensive against one of the strongest and most militant branches in the union. Since the strike branch AGM. The management letter mentions these and other left wing activists by name, and warns NCU members against those who argue for solidarity with other workers in struggle, and who stress the need for politics in trade unions.

Using the old tactics of divide and rule management are trying to smash the unity forged on the picket lines. NCU members learned during the strike the importance of support from the rest of the working class, when many union and Labour Party branches offered support, and MPs and others visited picket

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a long way to go to meet its £10,000 target.

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