ALMOST one year ago the photo which shockirons and handcuffs.
Reagan's offensive against the US trade unions and also what his best friends Margaret Thatcher and Norman Tebbit have in mind here.
mended that Reagan's firing of the 12,000 air controllers should become the model for other countries. PATCO was forced to admit defeat last week when it declared bankruptcy. we draw any lessons for the ASLEF strike?
likely be a railworker as Reagan has forced a 60-day 40,000 locomotive engineers and is setting up the machinery to smash them as well.
check of earth' policy against PATCO in• denial of food stamps and unemployment com pensation • Federal Communications Commission ettorts to black out news coverage deemed 'pro-PATCO • Federal Administration attempts keep PATCO strikers jobless giving unfavourable references potential employers • general harassment through trials in 33 federal $150m in fines, and pending trials for participating in an illegal strike, wire taps, FBI surveillance and crude victimisations to force strikers Dack work.
Thatcher, Tebbit, and Parker's scorched earth poncy mcluaes.
deduction of £13 social security WECK TOl benefit on the assumption of a non-existent £13 strike pay use of the Tory press, radio and demoralise, confuse and intimidate the strikers, give the bosses' side and not the workers' • threat of sacking of all union members, renegoticontialis and force them to join another union • threat of closing down the rail network the 1980 Use Employment Act to stop support picketing other unionists.
Despite the 12,000 air controllers winning the support of rank and file throughout workers Socialist Challenge 16 July 1982 It dramatically illustrated The British weekly The Economist recomCan The next US worker in chains could very postponement of a strike called USA, air controllers overseas, ine comolalon of the union-busting Reagan and leadership of the US proved too much for PATCO.
The air controllers are highly skilled workers and system couldn't operate without They thought like the coal miners, 'you can't dig coal with bayonets' but some 9,300 strikebreakers ing at least 105 military ing at least military Beader rep of phe was the leadership equivalent to the TUC -the AFL-CIO AFL-CIO It decided against calling on its affiliates to sup port PATCO strike and boycott.
preslaenl Kirkland denounced those demanding active union SuDoOrl calling Lucil 'midnight-gin militants' The AFL-CIO meeting that voted not to support the air controllers did vote TOI Incensed millary spending.
bind of the American labour movethat leadership is tied hand and mouth to two big capitalist parties. The Democratic arty went along agan everything wanted. In fact the battle Do months earlier by the months earlier by the Democrats This strike didn't have down the drain. PATCO leader Steven Wallaert Striking coal miners in 1978 tore up Jimmy Carter's Taft-Hartley orders to return to work and won their through militant struggle. case The union leaderships the gangster-led teamsters union to the 'progressive' machinists union are running the Reagan Wage cuts, wage freezes,
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ed the world appeared: US air controller leader Steven Wallaert being dragged off to jail in leg