1980-1: Class Struggle in Poland
As a follow up to our recent article about Solidarność (see: leftcom.org) we are republishing three of the leaflets that the CWO and Battaglia Comunista distributed in 1980-1 among workers in Britain, Italy, France, and the USA on the events unfolding in Poland.
Solidarność: Trade Unionism or Self-Organisation?
Political and economic crises led to the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc. The downturn in the post-war accumulation cycle, the Cold War, the USSR’s disastrous intervention in Afghanistan, as well as the popular revolts in Central and Eastern Europe all played a role. But it is the class struggles of 1980s Poland to which we turn our eye here.
Invisible labour and political participation: Women in the Solidarność movement and in today's politics in Poland
A feminist critique by Ewa Majewska of the old Solidarność and today's Polish politics. Originally published by and gratefully reproduced from the Baltic Worlds journal.
Solidarity: a union which betrays its name
Poland: Protests but no strike
"Solidarity" careerists denounce fired unionist and ZSP, defending the bosses
The so-called “Solidarity” union from a furniture factory in Bartoszyce has issued a scandalous statement in what seems to be a campaign organized by the bosses of Black Red White company to protect its image after the events of recent weeks.
Summer in Gdansk - Solidarity
Solidarity booklet produced in late 1980 about the mass strikes in Poland which had just ended in huge victory for the workers who had made a mixture of economic and political demands.
What's wrong with the unions (pt.1)
Last year Poland raised the retirement age to 67 and this year got rid of the guaranteed 8-hour day. Up til now, the main unions have responded with barely a peep. This lack of union militancy has no doubt given the green light to the neoliberal government to push ahead with such anti-worker measures. Now, as the workers demand some response, one wonders if this will be too little, too late. What are the factors that have lead to this situation? They are complex, ranging from the specifics of the local social conditions to the institutions of trade union collaboration. The following is the first in a series of articles on the situation of the unions in Poland.
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