RedCeltic
5th May 2004, 16:47
Most of you are probably too young to remember Solidarity and their big strike in 1981.
Solidarity was an illegal independent labor union in Poland. Poland which was a communist country at the time did not have legal independent labor unions like the rest of the Warsaw Pact nations. Workers worked in corporations owned by the state and had labor unions that were also run by the state.
In 1981 however Polish workers went on strike for several basic fundamental rights.
They wanted higher pay, they wanted the right to form independent labor unions, and they wanted the right to strike. Also the right to print independent labor press.
The Polish government was at a loss for what to do and received no help from Moscow which just reiterated their bafflement, "Free unions? Not under communism!" So the Government waited 15 days which made the union grow stronger. At the end the Polish government gave into their demands and Solidarity was recognized as a legal independent labor union in Poland.
In just a short few months Solidarity grew throughout Poland and organized hundreds of Polish under one independent union. That is until in December of that Year when the government realized what a threat Solidarity really was and cracked down on it, declaring Martial law!
The leaders of Solidarity declared the maneuver a desperate move by a desperate Government that has lost its control over the people.
In 1988, even though it had been banned Solidarity continued to grow in size and influence and the Government were forced to sit down with Solidarity at a round table and carve out the future for Poland. Out of this meeting came Freedom of Press, free and open elections, etc...
In Just a short time voters voted 10 - 1 for solidarity and the communist party of Poland was defeated.
Today under Capitalism it seems that the lives for workers in Poland are far worse than they had been under communism. Solidarity may have been able to create an independent voice for than workers that is important, yet at the price of making their lives much worse and truly giving the unions something to strike about.
One has to wonder, how could Poland avoided this? Could they possibly have allowed for independent unions in a manner that would not have brought about their own downfall?
One also has to point out that government run unions is not something only found in communism, one of the reasons Mexico is appealing to foreign investment to set up export possessing zones is that unions there are weak, government run, and very ineffective.
Solidarity was an illegal independent labor union in Poland. Poland which was a communist country at the time did not have legal independent labor unions like the rest of the Warsaw Pact nations. Workers worked in corporations owned by the state and had labor unions that were also run by the state.
In 1981 however Polish workers went on strike for several basic fundamental rights.
They wanted higher pay, they wanted the right to form independent labor unions, and they wanted the right to strike. Also the right to print independent labor press.
The Polish government was at a loss for what to do and received no help from Moscow which just reiterated their bafflement, "Free unions? Not under communism!" So the Government waited 15 days which made the union grow stronger. At the end the Polish government gave into their demands and Solidarity was recognized as a legal independent labor union in Poland.
In just a short few months Solidarity grew throughout Poland and organized hundreds of Polish under one independent union. That is until in December of that Year when the government realized what a threat Solidarity really was and cracked down on it, declaring Martial law!
The leaders of Solidarity declared the maneuver a desperate move by a desperate Government that has lost its control over the people.
In 1988, even though it had been banned Solidarity continued to grow in size and influence and the Government were forced to sit down with Solidarity at a round table and carve out the future for Poland. Out of this meeting came Freedom of Press, free and open elections, etc...
In Just a short time voters voted 10 - 1 for solidarity and the communist party of Poland was defeated.
Today under Capitalism it seems that the lives for workers in Poland are far worse than they had been under communism. Solidarity may have been able to create an independent voice for than workers that is important, yet at the price of making their lives much worse and truly giving the unions something to strike about.
One has to wonder, how could Poland avoided this? Could they possibly have allowed for independent unions in a manner that would not have brought about their own downfall?
One also has to point out that government run unions is not something only found in communism, one of the reasons Mexico is appealing to foreign investment to set up export possessing zones is that unions there are weak, government run, and very ineffective.