-Support grows for Peoples March eastern legWOMEN from Royal Pride and Lee Jeans are fighting back against the dole and for a woman's right to work. They should be leading the march, not the mayors and the church people.
union recognition and the national pay agreement. cun see how Thatcher and bosses like ours are using unemployment to attack the unions as well as our right to work.
but now it's impossible in Manchester. My husband's been made redundant recently and 8 out of the 9 women at Royal Pride have husbands on the dole or on short time working.
ELSIE BROAD, marcher sponsored by FTAT and the Royal Pride strike LUSED to work at Perfection Tubing in Birmingham but then they sacked all the younger workers. I was only half way through the second year When I started everyone on my course had a job, now two thirds of them don't.
with 8,500 other people, which shows the way unemployment affects blacks.
really heavy in Handsworth. Three months ago it was all "community policing', but now it's panda cars all day and foot patrols in twos at night.
have done nothing except officially sponsor the march. GUS, sponsored by Birmingham Campaign against Racism and Fascism, is a 19 year old unemployed motor tuner and Revolution supporter from Handsworth. We've been on strike for 10 weeks now fighting for You I used to think that anyone could go out and get a job of my apprenticeship:
Half my mates in Handsworth are on the dole along Since the Brixton riots the police have been getting "he reception for the march in Handsworth could be but the black organisations like the IWA day visit to Wales last week.
At a May Day miners' Cecilia McGrath and Elaine Patterson were presented DOOK recording the history of the South Wales Miners' Federation.
Inside the cover was a special dedication from its author Hywel Francis and from Tower Lodge secretary Tyrone O'Sullivan: "YOU struggle shows the way for the whole working class The Joint Lodges of Rhondda and Aberdare support the 'Lee Jeans workers... this is just the beginning, so don't give up Elaine and Cecilia explained that they 'choked' bv this gesture. as they added the book to badges and miners' history presented by the Mardy Lodge committee, and signed by the South Wales NUM secretary Emlyn Williams.
Pithead Earlier in the week the Lee Jeans women were warmly welcomed at three pithead meetings specially called before the miners went underground teen Elaine miners: "There is no way we will take redundancy We will only take ur jobs, by rights they ar lot ours to sell. If anyon tries to move us, it will be with great difficulty as we are determined to win.' titty miners who gathered outside the steward, Sheffield WORKERS from all over Yorkshire will converge on Sheffield on Friday 8 May to against the devastating, effects of the Tories' economic policies. From Huddersfield in the west and Doncaster in the east two spur marches totalling 200 people will meet at the outskirts of the city, in this high point of the eastern leg Jobs.
green colours o he Chartist move.
the green ment. will set off on the 200- mile trek to London. There are 70 Sheffield, each sponsored for £75 raised mainly from the trade union movement. The AUEW's construction section, faced imminent Humber Bridge and Drax power station sites, of £1,000. shop stewards GKN Shardlow's Sheffield, British Steel Stockbridge, and Rotherham BSC crafts THE Lee Jeans occupation for jobs caught the imagination of South Wales miners when two young delegates from the factory made a four Penrhiwceiber lamp room the next day were moved by this determination, and overwhelmingly agreed to make collection. following day they spoke the Tower colliery near Averdare.
Almost £250 was raised the collections Penrhiwceiber, Tower, the The occupied Lee Jeans factory protest the Peoples March for Chartist movemarchers from redundancies at set the ball rolling with a donation committees in Joint Lodge social and a May Day miners' demonstration on 2 May addressed by Cecilia.
The Mardy Lodge plans to hold a collection next week, and at a halfhour meeting with South Wales NUM executive member Eric Davies, the occupallull was promised *a substantial donation.
Further pledges were
made by Newport Labour Party and delegates to the Wales TUC who took colletion sheets back to their branches. committee have matched this amount. And backing has poured in from other sources: the churches; personalities like Jack Charlton, Billy Bremner and Tony Capstick; and small business people ruined by the capitalist recession.
The 8 May Sheffield demonstration will show the shopfloor power needed to In the busy four day visit Cecilia and Elaine packed fringe meeting at the Porthcawl Wales TUC and at a rally Maesteg, the nearest town to the first pit strike for jobs February On Thursday evening 30 April they were welcome guests Newport Labour Club.
One of the high points of their tour, which caught the attention of the local press, was a meeting with six members of the trade Cravens, mittee already voted for march rougn une lown THE bably come to a standstill. The amount 'While we welcome given the way the TGWU has done.
union the British Aluminium Rheola Resolven near Neath.
This factory threatened closure later this year and Cecila and Elaine spent an hou discussing blems in the night to saojobs.
When Bill Howell, the chairman of the trade «union committee asked support the Lee Jeans women wanted, Cecila was quick with her reply: 'You can sit in We've come to South Wales to get financial and . moral suoDort. fo our occupation. But also here spread the message that workers. threaten ed with closure should occupy like us.
Commenting that could be in the same situa ths from now the Rheola officials agreed to send a donation to the Lee Jeans workers. Rallies Invitations to speak at May Day rallies with MP Michael Foot and Neil Kinnock Abertillry Ebbw Vale and Bridgend be • cancelled Elaine and Cecilia cut back for a mass meeting As their train preparec trip back to Scotland Cecilia explained t Challeng sup porters their visit: 'We've Wild organised had a great time, everyone nas belpful. is certainly band been friendly and Wales even though it's made us a bit tired!' solve the problem of unemployment Mass meetings at Shardlow's, Bone BSC Rotherham CalLs cont Lockwood and Carlisle's have r a walk-out to join the They will be met by 400 miners led by Arthur Scargill.
With more meetings being organised in other plants there is likely to be a rush ot spontaneous walk-outs as the marci comes through the industrial east end.
March co-ordinator Albert Bedford, a TGWU full-timer seconded to work or the march, claims that a similar respons south. devastated by the BSC closure, will pro.
of union support is for the eastern leg and. local AUEW militant, explained that the AUEW executive council could do a lot more to help:
formal sup has given no financial support or cive financial support or culated their branches urging support, in
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LIVERPOOL TO LONDON 1-31 MAY ON THE MARCH AGAINST TORIES