Setting the Laurence Scott example

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); 3-7 of 7; machine-segmented newspaper page; uncorrected Vision OCR.

page 2 of the scan

Tories in a mess AFTER ten weeks sitting-in, the strikers at Laurence Scott and chester, have learnt a great deal about how to fight redundancies.

organised engineering plants. In 1972 it was the first of over 20 factories in the area to occupy.

Dennis Barry, toolroom steward, was involved at that time: 'From that sit-in came forward the activists who are now today's stewards. They established a closed shop and strengthened their organisation but 'in those days, when you sat-in, least everyone knew they would be going back to a Electromotors, ManThe factory is one of Manchester's better job; now it's different.' Now all 650 jobs threat. Laurence scolde unluc We've got f2.7m worth of work here,' plains Dennis. "Any other orm of action would let LIC OWICh DIDC cal away at that and re-direct our orders.' Peter Rowen, chairperson of the joint stewards to committee, stresses 'that the sit-in has to be a base for organising and a base for unity. We have a rota system for the sit-in', he explains, involving the entire work force.

"The sit-in itself is like a nerve centre.' The sit-in is run by various rank and file controlled committees for finance, delegations, publicity, security and food. Base But the strikers know that the occupation won't win by itself. They have "to get financial support' as Dennis Barry explains. 'But that still won't win.

‹We have to get sup• port from other workers to lack Snipe's company. Mining Supplies.

The sit-in is from which to escalate the dispute even further. So in the next week Laurence Scott strikers will go to Doncaster, Norwich, and Wolverhampton owned by Snipe.

Peter Rowen explains their going for supportive tion and eventually we will by picketing Snipe's factory in Doncaster In the Manchester area the strikers are calling for a special meeting of shop stewards throughout the Confed unions to raise further support.

No one at Laurence Scott has any illusion that it will be an easy battle, but they all agree by sitting-in, they are in the strongest position to fight back.

'None of us should sell Dennis Barry. 'We've go setting the Laurence Scott example whenever there's a closure "There's no alternative but to occupy.' Support/ Donations to 1 .S.E. Workers Appeal Fund C/o George Fryer, 20, Roundcroft, RONIILY, Cheshire, SK6 4LL.