5000 TRADE unionists and supporters marched through Shildon, Durham to stop the threatened of the local Rail Shildon an old style 'company town' with the works accounting for 86 per of male manuracturing jobs in the town with many more employed in servicing and comUnlike the steel plant Consett, which was the last major closure in the North East, there has been immediate liaison between the various official unions and local Party. This gives campaign DOLt strength weakness.
enables Shildon to become the centre larger anti-Tory movement but the movement becomes hampered by the deadweight of 'officialdom'.
For example, at the first rally on 13 May Weighell, leader, spoke ing the 'triple alliance' along with the miners and steel workers and gave British Rail just two weeks to respond.
But May Weighell wasn't present at all and none of the NUR spokespeople any specific action.
Albert Booth, Labour's spokesperson on transport, concentrated entirely on how profitable works were and could be if only greater investment was forthcoming This exactly the line taken the Consett campaign with the result that direct action became submerged in an argument about facts and figures.
Messages and support can be sent to: John Priestly clo BREL shildon. Shildon Works, Durham.