Red Miner no. 8

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Last month RED HINER argued for a campaign to stop the retreat in the NUN. We said this should culminate in a national "stop the ‘betreat” conference which all rank and file organisations and papers should sponsor, This month we repeat the call for such a campaign. The NCB offensive continues unchecked. Since our last issue, the NCB have ignored the independent review procedure and gone ahead with the full closure of Bates colliery in Durham.

This has exposed the lie that closures

can be stopped through building broad campaigns to influence "public apinion” In the coming weeks all over the country, there will be meetings, rallies, and conferences all commemorating the Great Strike,

If these events are to be of any use they must turn their attention to discuss how to rally and mobilise the rank and file to stop the retreat in our union. Part of RED MINER‘s contribution ta this task will be the holding of an open forum in Sheffield on March 15th to which we invite militants in the NUM and the womens organisations who want to stop. pit closures, smash the UDM. and build a truly national union committed to class struggle policies.

At the same time RED MINER supporters will continue to argue within the National Rank and File Movement for a change of direction in line with the policies outlined in the last issue of RED MINER,

To this end RED MINER supporters have sent a letter to the editor of Rank and File Miner spelling out ovr views on the direction of that paper and the need to return ta building a serious rank and file movement.

We reprint that letter below.

TO ‘Rank and File Miner’

Dear Comrades

Last autumn a meeting of the Nationa. Rank and File Miners Movement discussed how to build the Rank and File Movement in the areas, through using a series of Meetings and by producing a smaller more regular paper,

We were therefore disappointed to fina the latest issue was no more than a giossier version of "The Miner” with nothing much from the areas and no feel of being a militant, anti-bureaucratic paper with a base in the coalfields

While we accept that the editor could not possibly do all the work on the paper, more co-ordination with Rank and File Movement members could have produced more articles on the NUN. As it is the paper does not reflect what is going on in the union and it does not explain to militants what needs to be done. It is more like an information Sheet on general topics for interested observers of our union. There is nothing in it about the numerous disputes and strikes that have taken place, (at Silverwood - for example, and around the campaign to keep Darfield Main open). Nor is there anything about the issues in the union like the election of Des Dutfield in South Wales and it’s significance in the NUM, about what the Notts lads are doing on the ground to fight the scabs, significantly none of the letters in the letters pages seem to be from miners,

We think a new direction is needed if the militants within the NRFMK and the paper are not to become fed up and drop out of activity. We propose a recall meeting of the NRFMM committee,but a meeting open to all members of the NRFMM wha should be circulated in advance. At the meeting we should discuss:

i/ The drift to the right in the leadership of the NUM and what rank and file militants need to do about it.

2/ How to produce a paper/bulletin that reflects the struggles of rank and file miners and guides their activities politically,

Will the secretary of the committee act on this proposal. We hope so.

Coal News (the NCB paper) propaganda keeps dropping through the letter boxes of our members, the latest edition attacks the National Executive Committee decision that pension rights should not be tampered with. Misleading statements have been made by the National Union of Mineworkers, claims Coal News. Misleading statements ah! — the board should know, they've got it off to a fine art. What was it they said before the strike - they wanted 4.7 million tonnes taken out of capacity we would call that a misleading understatement.

Whitwell Colliery seems ta have got a stay of execution : FOR NOV.

Warsop Colliery has been chosen in the boards campaign to raise standards and efficiency (that word again). 15 selected eollieries in England, Scotland and Wales are being put to the test to increase and sustain productivity to at least an average of five tonnes a manshift. These will set a standard - if these cannot be maintained at your pit get ready for them putting the lid on it.

. f

An article in the Guardian (Feb 14th) started by saying ‘Six hundred feet down a North Derbyshire pit (Highmoor) a group of miners were discussing the most dangerous offence to threaten any pit..’ Contraband was the offence it went on to say, but a more dangerous situation confronts the miners today : jefings. Already 600 people have been trained on 43 courses to put the boards propaganda to the miners face to face. These briefings are to be extended through review meetings where representatives of the miners teams meet wanagement for two hours to discuss issues in more detail.

The brainwashing gathers momentum.

Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Staffordshire and North Wales are the next places where the team briefings will try to undermine the role of the union, this is expected in Spring. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

BONUS SCHEMES -The area bonus scheme in MWNorth Derbyshire is to be scrapped, in its place will be an individual pit bonus, setting pit against pit, face team against face team, and men against men. It's the same old story - DIVIDE AND RULE.

ROUND-UP

Neil Greatorex one of the leaders of ‘the UDM has got his complaining men in Derbyshire won’t join the

UDM because of a campaign of terror. Does

he really believe we are going to swallow this crap, is this what happened in ‘thé Leicestershire vote Neil, or should we say kneel .

handkercheif out:

NORTH DERBYSHIRE TEAM BRIEFINGE

One Highmoor miner says, "It snows the coal board extending the aand oat friendship.” Guavedseun Fula 4 4 bbs

Chartwomie toy GWwh.

As was feared in the last issue of RED MINER, South Wales has lost another pit with the ciosure of the Coedely ena of the Cwm-Coedely complex in Mid-Glamorgan. 200 out of the 300 workforce at Coedely will transfer to the Cwm shatt, with iow taking redundancy, The lodge voted to accept closure after advice from Peter Heathtield that they could not put forward Coedely alone to the review, Cwm would also have to go for review. Because of the £12 million loss of the complex this year it was feared that all 1300 jobs would be at risk, so therefore there was no “alternative” but accept, closure. With “leadership” like this is it any wonder that the NCB continue to run riot in South Wales

Likewise Nantgarw is definitely up against it now. The pit is on course to jase 44:5 million this year and has only one face left open, though two more are expected to open in April and August. A recent fire at Merthyr Vale has now put the pit's relatively healthy future in some

REGIONAL ROU

doubt in putting out the fire the NCB (by accident???) have flooded several potential new faces below

GOOD RIDDANCE!

Emlyn Williams officially retired from the presidency last . month. Most miners around the country will not be sorry to see the back of him, particularly after such parting shots as, “I firmly believe that the final outcome of us all marching back tagether did nothing less than save the union. I'm proud of that”, South Wales miners aren’t fooled by such rubbish and refused to vote for Williams’ stooge Terry Thomas as new area president, choosing instead Des Dutfield.

However Dutfield himself now appears to have jettisonned his militant background and seans to pin all his hopes on saving pits with the new review procedure: "We now have a new 9 month review procedure which if it's treated with sincerity by the NCB, gives us time to argue the justice of our case, which is all we ever wanted” Hiners at the former St. Johns and Bedwas pits found out how sincere the NCR were when they began ripping out machinery before the review had even started.

SCABS BEATEN

On the scab union front, 3 lorry drivers at an NUM lodge at Ammanford who recently left the NUM for the scab UDM, have now rejoined. The NUM now claims full loyalty of the coalfielid’s 13,600 miners, despite continued JDM claims that it has recruited in the area.

This succes against the UDM mirrors events at point of Ayr colliery in North Wales, where after a vote last year to join the UDM, only a handfull of scab union members now remain.

from

news for the RUA Varwickshire where men are leaving the UDM

Good

to rejoin the NUK. At Keresley, UDM membership has gone down from a claimed 200+ to less than 100. And at Daw Mill the NCBs "great scab hope” NUM membership has increased to 300 and is rising.

One of the main reasons for the men rejoining was that they felt conned over the wage deal, and were not told that Lynk and Co had agreed to link it to the pensions scheme, Many miners oniy found Qut about this when they read it in COAL NEWS, democracy in action Roy Lynk style. But also a good example of the need for more propaganda from the num both locally and nationally to win miners back and Smash the scab union.

On an even more positive note, after a short stoppage at Daw Mill at the beginning of February, with both NUK and

UDM members coming out, some UDMers rejoined the NUM because they felt the UDM was ® basically useless.

However the National Union are not filling militants with confidence.

The NUM executive has agreed that Warwickshire can be a new area of the national union, If this means more rank and file controi all

well and good, but if it more independence for the area leadership from the national union we must. fight it.

So far the rules are going to be revised so it will need a 55% majority for strike action, as opposed to the national 50%.

This can only be a setback for the fight for a truly national union,

YOUR Iss ET Ie

means

BRODSWORTH

At EBrodsworth last Thursday

they eventually arrived at the surface.

Vere the management ready to compensate

them for this trauma - of course not

they were told in no uncertain terms that they would not even be paid for that lhr After all, management have no

10 mins. control over electrical faults!

LOOK! RED MINER COMPETITION GUESS THIS YORKSHIRE OFFICIAL

Tae winner will recieve a cardboard cutout of Niel Kinnock to put on their next picket line. (more use than the real thing)

MORE REGIONAL REPORTS OVER THE PAGE 43>

(20th February) at the end of the shift men were stuck in the lift shaft for lhbr 10 mins. They had no idea of what was going on and obviously were suffering from shock when

FLYING PICKETS

Miners from all over Yorkshire have been down to the Wapping picket at the request of rank and file printers, in recognition af the enormous support recieved during the strike. Kany miners who were at the Kinsley Drift rally a few weeks back remember hearing Peter Heathfield call on NUM members to picket Vapping. Since then the area officials have been putting a dampner on it, telling members that they will not be covered by the union if they are arrested. Taylor has even said that the union has not been asked for support, and we would not be welcome.

Sounds like he has been talking to Dean and Dubbins and not the rank and file printworkers who have written to every branch asking far support - financial and physical. With or without Taylor's blessing Yorkshire miners will continue to go and support our comrades on the line at Wapping.

= SURE

An article in the Feb, edition of the Miner headlined "First Victory Under New Procedure began” " The future of the Northumberland Bates colliery looked promising as the Miner went to press.... For the first time the Independent Review Body.... hag ruled in favour of prolonging the life of a pit which the Coal Board wants to shut..." Well so much for the Independent Review Body the NCB ignored it and planned to close Bates last week. HcGreggor said on Wed (Feb 26th) “we would still make the final judgement on whether that pit had a future or not",

As we always said placing hopes in the review body to save pits is a waste of time. Mr Norman Willis is reported to be angry ~ pity he didn't get angry during the strike, it would have been more use then.

Send €3.501 / ceive ten issues of our paper " Workers Pc ACM 7750, London WCIN IXX

The latest plan is to try and save the closure through the courts,with the same judges who jailed our pickets and stole our funds, The NCB feels so confident about the views of the judges that it has already ceased production,and is preparing salvage work despite being ordered to postpone the closure until his lordship decides.

As kky MINER went to press miners at Bevercotes colliery in Nottingham NUM and UDM members are on strike over the sacking of the branch secretary Paul Whetton for putting up 4@ union notice in the canteen.

Another union afficial has been warned not ta be seen in the middle of a group of people in the canteen as this could be construed as a meeting!

With the spread of the UDMN halted Management are clearly worried that their union is going to be threatened in the Notts heartland and are out to make life as difficult as possible for those fighting to build the NUM.

However such an arrogant approach can be turned to our advantage, and the fact that some UDM members have struck for Paul’s reinstatement shows that not only can Paul's job be won back but that the UDM can be smashed in Notts as well

Vell well! Ken Toon UDM president of South Derbyshire is to retire soon. UDM members anxious to know when the election of a new president is going to be wiil be more than a little disappointed. Having taken a tip

from the NCB on how te fii. leading positions Toon’s succesaur is to be appointed.

Did I hear anyone say they wanted a

baaaaa’liot |

Send #1 to the address below and recieve the next 4 issues of RED MINER. Make cheques payable to Workers Power and send to:

RED MINER 138 Grookesmoare Road Shetfield S6 3FS

ITERNATIONAL

EPRENCH MOT BCE IRS

IT'S THE SAME THE WORLD OVER

lf you think the situation in the British pits is bad, take a look at France. Without a major struggle, the French bosses “Charbonnage de France’) are succeeding in their plan to cut production from 18m, tonnes per year to 106m tonnes per year by the end of the 1980's. And as British miners know only toca well, a drop in

production means job losses - getting on for 50% of French miners are to be threatened.

Worst affected are the Pas-de-Calais and Nord regions, around Calais, Boulogne, and Lille. Virtually all the pits have now been closed in this region. Lens, once the coal capital of the north, saw face 4/19 closed on the Ist of February this year - the last active face jn the town. For the workers, this means eerily retirement (many miners ¢re already close to the retirement age of 50), or, for the 40% of face workers who are from North Africa, financial "aid” to go “home”. And the reason for all these closures, all this unemployment? You'll have heard something similar before: "We need to prune away the unprofitable pits” zaid the basses,

Coal production in the North of France has been in decline for the last 30 years due to the bosses’ criteria of "profitability’. in 1660 the region produced 27m tonnes of coal. In 1984, 3m tonnes. And all this with a "socialist” government with, until mid-1984, *communist” party ministers! What happened?

| ro sommes le por

“SOCIALIST” CUTS In 1981, Mitterand was elected rrasident, A massive Socialist Party

Communist Party majority in parliament ‘allowed a week later. Workers throughout the country were optimistic. Mitterand and ais allies launched a massive programme of axpansion of coal production. 10,000 miners were hired, wages increased, the working week shortened, and output was planned to itrease by 33% over the decade.

apa 1 OMGWY : my ME 4 «HAT

The rank ak and file le grouping 79-84 hold their banner

There was only one major problem. The coal industry - all of French industry - remained part of a capitalist system, dedicated to profit, not need. So when the crisis began to bite, it was the working class, not the capitalists, who had to pay. In 1982 Mitterand, with the backing of the CP, slashed public spending, and let unemployment rip - all for the good of “the nation". All state aid to -the Charbonnages de France was frozen ~ hence the vicious austerity drive, thanks ta the dreams of the Socialists and the

Communists who thought they could reform capitalism out of existence. Let that be a warning to any British miners who put their hopes in a labour gavernment.

Unfortunately, management have been able to get away with their attacks largely unhindered. A 24 hour strike in March 1984 led to a march in Paris. Pits in Ladrecht and Saint Quentin have been occupied in an attempt to stop closures, But there has been no sustained national action capable of beating the bosses’ offensive. there are two reasons for this,

continued over....

» INTERNATIONAL

French. Miners..

Firstly, the pits in Lorraine, in the East, are not immediately threatened, solidarity action from these miners has been difficult to organise. Secondly, although french miners are well organised, there is no closed shop. Only 40% of miners are unionised, with four different unions - each with different political affiliations - competing for members. And given that the strongest union - the CGT - is affiliated to the Communist Party, which was part of the government which began the attacks, you can see why the union bureaucrats might not be too keen on launching an all out response. The structural weakness caused by the split union system, together with the cowardice of the union leaders have helped to limit any nationwide fightback.

And the answer? French miners need both an organisation - a cross union rank and file movement, based in the pits, capable of mobilising unionised and non-unionised miners, and a programme ~ a national, all out response to the bosses attacks, no matter what government introduces them. The prospect of a right-wing victory in the parliamentary elections in March makes these tasks all the more urgent,

ANC leaders Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela.

FREE NELSON MANDELA

As RED MINER goes to print, Nelison Mandela is still in jail, now in his 24th year of imprisonment. The Apartheia regime jailed him for his part in organising the freedom fighters Umkhonto We Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress. The real reason for his long incarceration is that he is seen by both white minority rulers, and the biack majority, as the major leader of opposition to Apartheid.

Pressure for Mandela’s release is now so great that president P.W.Botha has to appear keen. That became clear when he made his bizarre "offer" that Mande:a would be released when three other prisoners - including Russian dissident Anatoly Scharansky - were freed. Botha nad been given advance information of the Scharansky deal. The prospect of Mandela's release undoubtedly helped South Africa negotiate new financial help trom big western banks. But Botha is stiil not making a real offer of freedom. He wants to send Mandela into exile where he would have less influence.

The western governments would like to see Mandela free because they realise that the black working class, especially the youth, will not give up their struggie. They realise that only Mandela has the authority to negotiate.

Why does Mandela command this huge support? And what would he negotiate if freed?

MANDELA i AN INSPIRATION

Mandela's courage has inspired ail those fighting for freedom. Like ail active opponents of apartheid in South Africa, he faced death and long imprisonment. In his trial an 1964 he explained his preparedness to die for his ideals. Several times now he has refused the regimes fake offers of release despite the fact that he is now ageing and has been seriously ill, refusing to accept any conditions which would betray his cause or gag hin.

. SOUTH AFRICA There are other ways represents the long struggle against apartheid. As a leader of the major black opposition, the ANC he was influential in it's stages of development since the second world war, Along with other young activists he turned the ANC into a mass campaigning organisation in the 1950's, and when non-violent methods failed, argued for taking up the armed struggle in the form of sabotage,

Mandela is primarily a nationalist rather than a communist. On many occasions

in which Mandela

he has said that he believes in the Western type of parliamentary democracy, Like the other leaders of the ANC, he

believes that the immediate goal is getting rid of apartheid, and that all classes can unite ta do this. It is these ideas that pose a great danger for the black working class in South Africa. Even if there were big changes in the law, and black majority rule,- such as Zimbabwe ~- there would still be fundamental equalities in society, in

During the first three weeks of March some representatives of MAWU, Workers Union) one of South Africa’s largest unions will be doing a speaking tour of They want to speak to as many trade unionists as possible on their fight against the apartheid regime, If you can arrange a meeting or want to find out if there

Britain.

are any méetings in your area then ring:

Julian Biid;Camden Nalgo 01-278-4444 ext.2281

DEE OLAA ATED OEE REET OA TAH eee eo eee reser eran

MINER’ &

who owned and controlled the wealth. The black working class in South Africa has the power and the ability, if armed with the programme of revolutionary marxism, not only to remove apartheid, but to destroy capitalism in South Africa as well.

FOR A WORKERS BOYCOTT

So although black trade unionists join with other forces in demanding the release of Mandela, they shouldn’t hand aver the leadership of the struggle to him and the other ANC leaders, The working class must ensure the struggle goes on for real workers democracy and socialism. It needs it's own party to do that.

Qur duty here is to help our fellow trade unionists in South Africa through supporting the new federation COSATU, arguing for a workers boycott of South African goods, and joining their campaign for the release of all the courageous fighters languishing in South Africa’s jails.

FREE NELSON MANDELA FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS

(Metal and Allied

or Mike Murphy 0203 78877

I NLERNAT I ONAL

Plans of the coal bosses to coordinate their actions internationally show how vital it

is that miners are organised as an international force.

South Africa that broke the

The scab coal from Poland and

strike and the international solidarity that helped to sustain the strike show just how vital internationalism is.

We need an INTERNATIONAL

file mi 1 i

At present there are two rival miners internationals.

International Federation (MIF). unions,

The smaller is the Miners

It is based on the German and other social democratic it is pro-western and anti~communist.

The NUM has recently left it ta join the

THQ which is a larger international based primarily on the state run unions in the Soviet bloc and Communist Party led unions outside that bloc.

NUM members cannot put their trust in either international.

working within the capitalist system.

The MIF is committed to

The IMO contains unions run by appointed officials of states like Poland which scabbed on the Great Strike.

Both outfits are run as

coalitions of the top officials of the national unions.

NUM members should not oppose affiliation to the IMO. But we should demand that the NUM uses its affiliation to That means that it must fight to create one In walking out of the MIF the NUM leaders may have left a federation which contains key militant miners unions in South Africa and Bolivia. miners unions belong to neither international.

fighter for miners interests. fight for the interests of all miners. international union.

international fighting unity of all miners,

The MIF is in no way a better

Many The NUM must spearhead a fight for

The NUM must lead the fight for class struggle unionism and rank and file democracy. This means fighting the class collaborations of the MIF and fighting all such tendencies

in the IMO too.

Crucially it means using IMO affiliation to take the fight into the state run East blac unions against the scab role of their patron bureaucracies;

against every

injustice or repression against workers and for full backing to independent struggles of workers against the privileges of the oppressive rule of the state bureaucracies. The NUM must never again be allowed to be used against independent workers struggles as the speeches of its leaders were against Solidarnosc,

CLASS STRUGGLE IN MINNEAPOLIS If Britain in 1986 was a tough place for class fighters -- with anti-union laws, picket busting police, witchhunts against militants, and the ever present threat of

the dale ~ then the lessons of the Minneapolis strikers are invaluable. Because, without a doubt, Minneapolis in

1934 was tough place for class fighters.

That year unemployment in America was 25%. The bosses had vicously put down resistance from workers to the effects of the siump using armed police and the National Guard. The Roosevelt gavernment had introduced industrial laws to defuse strikes, enforce ballots and stitch up settlements,

The union leaders response had been to witchhunt the militants! These leaders - whose pro-business outlook is a madel for Hammond today - had presided aver a decline in union membership from 4 million in 1920 to about 2 million by the early 30's. Besides which, the unions were organised along narrow craft lines and excluded the masses of unskilled or semiskilled workers.

In Minneapolis, a city where the transport industry was central to the economy, the drivers vunion was typical, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 574 “organised” 70 or so members, The local executive was the mouthpiece of the scabby national leader Daniel Tobin. It had no plans to recruit the thousands of unorganised transport workers and even less idea of fighting for their interests.

This suited the Citizens Alliance, a federation of bosses dominated by big capital, which had crushed every strike attempt in Minneapolis for 20 years.

The American Trotkyists, the Communist League of America (CLA) had other plans. The Minneapolis branch set out to organise the transport industry in one industrial union using local 574's charter. They had to fight even to get admitted to the union at all against Tobin's local stooges. But having got in, they launched a recruitment drive around the needs of the truckers.

RANK AND FILE CONTROL

The truckers demanded union recognition, job protection, increased wages, and shorter shifts. The trotskyists stressed that only clas struggle could win any of these and to organise struggle the rank and file would need to control their own union.

The organising drive sterted in the coal industry where the local CLA leaders worked, In Fabruary 1934 a mass meeting elected a strike committee to negotiate and give the employers 48 hours to settle. The Citizens Alliance backed the employers urging them to stay firm, But when the union struck nothing moved, 600 pickets, some of them in cruising squads ,(today's flying pickets) stopped the coal in sub-zero temperatures. The employers quickly buckled, The union was recognised, Wages were improved,

The organising committee now became an official body by rank aad fille consent. A recruitment drive on industrial rather than craft lines was launched. By April over 3,000 had been recruited,

Wacause of the o depress -gorkers have bes rewalted in the vonecal acod, and of the standard of living. The increase in the cost of living hos resnited in further wage cuts,

WHAT MUST WE DO? ‘The Only Answar Is ORGANIZATION!

pO YOU KNOW?

‘That uader Section 7-A af the N.LRA. workers ore not

eal granted ed the right to ooganize, bok are jotrentnd the DO YOU KNOW?

“That the coal drivers of Minneapolis teok edvantige of thio porilege w ocqunize 4 sod through cur organizagon meine ‘ + 258 w wage tncreare

sion, wages of all of: ‘ail

Shubert Theatre, Suny, April 15

-will open the tig oo ty organize

Gevernor Floyd B. Olson Wil Speak on “The Right to Organize”

Speakers fost your union will outliae 4 definite program of orgenixecion for 9 your 1 approval

A wass meeting then elected a broader strike committee to fight for the union's demands in the rest of the haulage industry, Meticulous planning was done’ in advance by the Trotskyist leaders,

Alliances were built with the unemployed, to get their support and with the poor farmers whose livelihoods would be disrupted by the strike. A womans auxiliary was set up to support and spread the action. And the union's office became HQ. of a force which operated like an army, but an army under rank and file annten

Minneapolis

On May 15“ this army went into action. Nothing moved in Minneapolis. The angry bosses sprang a trap on one team of pickets, 5 of them women. Who were brutally beaten. From then on the strikers organised their own defence, pickets armed with clubs. ,

The struggle heated up. In one battle after 30 cops had been hospitalised, the cops drew their guns only to be thwarted by Bob Bell. ”..a Auge man and utterly fearless, He was told to rush to the market ignoring all traffic rules, and to drive straight into the midst of the cops. Bab did just that. The pickets jumped out of the truck onto the cops who, being unable to shoot without hitting one another, had to continue fighting with clubs. After that, Police chief Johannes decided to call it a day" (Farrell Dobbs: Teamster Rebellion)

The pickets couldn’t be intimidated and the Trotskyists were busy spreading the action to other unions, The alliance conceded improved pay and conditions and union recognition. Membership soared to over 7,000

The Trotskyists knew the alliance was only buying time. So they prepared for a showdown. Leading national members of the CLA were sent to Minneapolis to give the benefit of their experience. Together with local 574 they launched a union paper - the Weekly Organiser. In the final strike the paper became a daily and was a powerful weapon to counter the bosses attacks and lies For example the day after "Bloody Friday” when 2 strikers were shot dead by the police the Organiser countered "You thought you would shoot Local 574 into oblivion. But you only succeeded in making 574 a battlecry on the dips of every self-respecting working man and working woman in Minneapolis. You thought you would seperate the rank and file from their leaders. You only succeeded in cementing the bond that holds them together in an efficient fighting army. You thought you would alienate the labour movement from 574, You only succeeded in rallying every section of the labour movement to qur cause’.After reading the Organiser construction workers armed with iron bars helped to clear the hated cops out of the district

STRIKERS KILLED

The third strike was the longest and most brutal. The national guard and the police were mobilised. Two strikers were shot dead and many were wounded. The

strikers were red-baited by Tobin and the press, then imprisoned.

But local 574's strength ran deep into the rank and file. Regular mass meetings, a strike committee of 100, a daily paper gave direction to the determined strikers. Militant defence of their picket lines, and succesful arguments with other workers for solidarity action won the day.

In the end president Roosevelt himself stepped into the fray fearful of it's powerful example. Too late. Local 574's victory was watched carefully by workers throughout America. If the truckers could win against the forces of the Citizens Alliance and the state, then other workers could defeat their bosses,

Following Minneapolis the American working class made a ‘giant step for dabour". A wave of mass strikes in 1935 and 1936 gave rise to the industrial unions srouped in the CIO.

In the battles of 1934 the small forces of Trotskyism, often derided for their bookishness, exposed the lie, so often levelled at the Trotskyists by the Communist and Labour parties, that they are incapable of winning mass support and leading workers to victory.

In the battles to come we firmly velieve that the power of the working class united with the programme of Trotskyism will bring lasting victory. Against the Communist party who preach that class struggle is dead, and the Kinnockites who ask us not to struggle but to wait for a labour government, we put the task of organising class struggle first.

peepee x , s + 4 8. Has Don’t Fail We Mow Boys!’ = Be Sa ee fey

Hlaod by Order of Mishoal Iphanaan tht Murdacen, Died Juty Bleb, 1904 DAILY STRIKE BULLETIN UNITED ORGAN; SMASIE THE um qe ha,

The Fight Has Just Begun

Linidry Mea "Phe First Martyr of 574 tow Threat ———e

Strike ‘hueednys ail iv Worry Sotid with 374 + Picketere

trap F 1 ¥ih Baws: Johauan

Were Yew tat Pasa Ever Tosa oll Tied ip

AML DHA ter

Penny at '

Front page of the July 23 Organizer following the death of union member Henry Nes,

Be

This start a series of articles "What is capitalism?" of idle curtosity, As Marx would say : "Many philosophers have interpreted the world, the point is however to CHANGE it”, We invite miners and their families to participate. Any explanations you don't understand, any questions you want to ask - write to us. -Abave all join us - not just in understanding capitalism, but in

putting an end to it !

Question ~- Where do profits come from ? Answer - Yes, you’ve chosen a good place to start from. Making a profit is the only ceason for production under capitalism. wapltalists make a profit by selling a commodity for more than it took to produce it. Marx showed how they did this in his ‘Labour Theory of Value’...

month we that try to answer the question We don’t do this out

Question - Hold on; ‘heorles of value’, commodity 7

Answer - A commodity is anything - from a

Before we get onto what exactly is a

nail to a Rolls Royce - that is made, or produced, for exchange.

Years ago these commodities were exchanged for other commodities. Nowadays, under capitalism, they are

produced for sale.

Question - And who decides their price ? Answer ~ Well, the bosses like to tell us that prices are magically set in the imaginary place called an ‘open market’, Or they're the result of supply and demand. They like to tell us that high prices are a direct result of high wages.

Question - Don't tell me - now you're going to say that this is a pack of lies ? Answer - Well they certainly have their reasons for telling us this, It's why they tell us we can't have any wage increase this year. But you're right this isn’t true. To a certain extent prices do vary according to supply and demand, but they fluctuate around an average price and this average price of a commodity is determined by it's VALUE

ue

Question ~ I wondered when you were going to get back to the ‘Labour theory of value’. Q.K. What is value ?

Answer - Every commodity needs a certain amount of labour to produce it. The more

that is commodity, the greater is it’s value, has a high value because it needs a lot of

labour needed to produce a

Gold

labour to find, mine and refine it. for pound (in weight), value because it takes produce it,

Question ~- So the value of a commodity varies according to the labour entailed in producing it ?

Answer ~- Yes.

Question - That's all very well, but it stil] doesn’t answer my original question - Where do profits come from 7?

Answer - Ah! Now we have come to the central point of the whole argument. When capitalists sell commodities at their value, they get paid for all the labour contained in these

Pound coal has a lower far less labour to

sate mm nih we

MARXISM...

Question - Yes but don’t capitalists have to pay the workers wages ? Answer - Yes that's true. But not because they particularly want to. They have to pay us enough to be able to eat, be clothed, housed, bring up our children etc., in short, our wages are necessary to be able. to buy commodities that we need in order to be able to live and continue to be of use to the capitalist,

These commodities also have a combined value - a value equal to our wages.

Question ~ And is there a difference between the value of our wages and the value of the commodities we produce 7?

Answer - Yes, and this is the crux of the matter. It only takes a part of the working week to produce the value of our wages - or what Morx called our labour~-power. The rest of the week is worked FREE for the bosses ~ it’s unpaid labour! They own the factories, the raw materials and the products of our labour, hence they also own the products of our unpaid labour.

Question - So in actual fact there is no such thing as "A fair days work for a fair day’s pay", Unless we get paid the total value of everything we produce.

Auswer - Yes, but the capitalists could never allow this as it would mean they would make no profits at ali! There is no such thing as fair wages or fair profits. The source of ali profits is this unpaid labour. Exploitation is not unfair wages but the wages system itself. That’s why we have nothing in common with the capitalists. The only way we can ena ‘unfair’ wages, or exploitation, is by ending the capitalist system itself.

Question - Well If agree with that, but before I ask how we can do that, perhaps you can explain why it is that capitalism sometimes can't make a profit - where do all these recessiens we hear about come from ?

Answer ~- I'm afraid you'll have to wait till next month for the answer to these questions.

| «

TERVIEWS »

RED MINER interviewed Gethin Jones a 24 year old miner from Taff Merthyr colliery. He was victimised for his active role in the strike and sacked. He was reinstated Smonths later but with loss of service,

@. Do you get the impression that South Waiee miners feel isolated at the moment, particularly militants?

A. Hach pit is isolated. This isn’t the fault of management it’s the fault of the union. There's a need for greater information and participation after the strike. But we've had very little backing off the WUM, if any. Miners are afraid because up front they haven’t got the support, haven’t got the backing,

Q. Is that the problem, lack of confidence in the leadership 7

4. Yes the confidence in the leadership has gone, both in South Wales and nationally.

Q, Why are miners critising Scargill ?

A. They're blaming him for the defeat, but they don’t realise that we didn’t fight because Scargill was there, we fought to save our jobs, To blame Scargill for the defeat and strike was ridiculous, it was forced on us,

@. Da you feel that the leadership in South Vales take their membership for granted, not just during the strike, but since by saying "our lads will never join the UDM”? A. Yes that's a fact, We’re still taken for granted by Ponty-pridd, they know we were solid during the strike. But there is going to be a change.

Q. The election of Des Dutfield as President was a surprise to many outside (and inside ) the coalfield, Terry Thomas was seen as the favourite. How did Dutfielid come to be elected, what kind of campaign did he run ?

A. He didn’t run any campaign at ail, that's the reason he became elected. Terry Thomas's head had to fall for being seen as leading ‘Area vice President )» a lost strike, Des spent his time during the strike in Oxford and wasn't seen much in South Wales, He wasn't seen as a militant who might bring us out on strike again.

Q@, What would you like to see Des Dutfield doing for the South Wales miners ?

A. As far as the rank and file are concerned, get us involved now, not when it’s too late. Let everyone know what’s

sontinued over

(continued...)

happening and let us be part of it. If we lose the battle again then fair enough, but let us be part of it, let everyone know step by step what he is doing and not try and spring a strike on us again.

Q.Warkers Power feel that the NUM should be rebuilt. There is a need to organise naw to defend NUM rights and gains, a need for elected representatives on every shift, every face, who need to meet regularly,more mass meetings, a regular pit bulletin ~ these would actually involve the membership. What are your views 7

A.We already have NACODS, BACM and the NUM putting their bits in the Taff Merthyr

bulletin. As for more reps. in the pit,yes, we need greater reprecentation between them and the rank and file. Lodge committee members are nat prepared to tell you what's going on, they hold meetings like Freemasons,

@. These representatives must be made

accountable through mass meetings.

A. Yes, What’s happening at Taff Merthyr, the lodge itself make the policy decisions for us. They don't ask anymore.

CAS ee

@. Red Miner recognises the need for building a rank and file movement in the union, rather than relying on the leadership all the time, During the strike a lot of the more successful

a seal actions were organised by ordinary te, miners. Ls f A. Yes, they’re treating us like an donkeys. They're not prepared to educate people. They're prepared to

tell you what to do, but nat prepared to tell you why. They tel. you to do these things in case you get your own thoughts and think why should I do it thelr way, why not another way They don't want that._ Bureaucracy is the name of the game as far as the NUK in South Wales is concerned and you can underline that !

The interview with Gethin covered several other areas such as the sacked and jailed miners, Wales Congress, role of the support groups scab unionism and the election of a Labour government. Limitation of space has prevented them being printed.Red Miner would like to urge miners to send in their views on the state of the union since the strike and what they are doing in the different areas. We will be happy to print any information and letters we receive

Red Miner also interviewed Anthony Williams, a sacked miner from Narkham Colliery, South Wales. Anthony was cleared in court of any part in the death of scab taxi driver David Wilkie, but was immediately sacked by his pit manager for "gross industrial misconduct " Q. What treatment did you at the tribunal hearings ?

A.It wasn't worth going through then. was us against then.

get

it

Q. Could you comment about the part played by the NUM in your case 7?

A.They could have done a lot more. They seem to have sat back and kept their faces out of it. They could have come up front much more.

Q. Do you feel the union. has abandonned you ?

4.It's beginning to look that way. They haven't come to the house, they haven’t sent a letter, they haven’t said anything. I thought someone would have come, if just to say how are you feeling.

how

Q. other sacked miners in the coalfield ?

Have you been in contact with any of the

No. { haven't talked to any of them. But I think the Wales Support Group are going to

organise a meeting to find sut who is sacked and what’s happening. They’ve said that they will find out what we can do together. We've got a chance then.

Q. Hopefully it would be possible to link up sacked miners from all over the British coalfield.

A. The ones that were sacked are the strikers not those on strike. There’s a difference, For the union to abandon them now is wrong. If it wasn't for a lot of the

people who've been sacked the strike wouldn't have lasted 2 weeks. There’s a lot been found guilty and nat sacked. Their

names have been brought up in Crown court, the NCR are trying to say they don’t know who they are. They look. at and vick on certain people and say let's get rid of them,

Q, How do you think you can get your back ?

A. Not with this government. The union has no power to ask for jobs back. What can I do 7?

jab

The UDM recieved a major setback in February when Leicestershire miners voted 885 to 490 to stick with the NUM,

Leicestershire - where only 30 miners came out in: 1934-85 was the next big target for Lynk and his scabby crew. It’s a small and declining coalfield, but the Vale of Belvoir superpit has been sunk in the area,

Having failed ta win Leicester the UDM's strategy is in disarray. How will they pay for all their new union houses and cars?

But this “victory” for the NUM was won at a terrible cost.

FLOWERS FOR A SCAB

The NUM leadership relied totally on Jack Jones, the scab president of Leics NUM ta deliver the goods, They stayed from the area during the campaign and allowed him to write rubbish on the front page of THE MINER, Terry Thomas of South Wales even sent him a bunch of flowers! what have we won?

1500 scabs remain in the NUM. None have lost a days pay. None have been disciplined or expelled, Meanwhile the "Dirty 30” Leics, striking miners have been swept under the carpet. These men and their families stuck out the strike till the very end. They have had to stick up for themselves every day down the pit since last March, They even had to get a court order to get into their own union meetings,

As for Jones he’s forgotten nothing. His whole campaign was based on the slogan "Keep Leics. Local”. He told his men that Leics’ independance would be guaranteed in the NUM, but that they'd be swallowed up by Notts. if they joined the UDM. So far not one member of the executive has contradicted hin.

In the end -

But what did Leics' “independence” mean in 1984? It meant the whole area stayed at work because they'd had a local ballot against the strike,

Jones won by telling the local miners that Scargillism has been beaten, that the NEC's ruled by moderates, and that they won't be called on to strike again. So the leics. vote was not a vote against scab unionism. It was a vote for scab unionism with an NUM badge instead of a UDM one, This is the reality in Leics, today

135 men voted for a "Dirty 30” member as Vice President. These militants trust Jones as far as they can throw him. He is already talking about an eventual merger with the UD.

Instead of putting him on the front of

THE MINER, and sending him flowers,the Executive should be helping get rid of Jones. If he's so loyal to the NUM he should

accept it’s discipline which can only mean

removal. .from office, expulsion, and Fiscati f his }

There is an alternative to letting scabs and their friends run the NUM. A campaign which said:- "If you vote yes to the NUM you're voting for a real trade union, this will mean coming out on strike when asked by the National Union’.- may not have won so many votes. It may have led to a split with a minority staying in the NUM as in Notts:

But this would have been far better than leaving Jones at the helm in Leics.He is worse than useless, he is a dangerous agent of scab unionism in our ranks.

Rank and file miners in militant areas should have this message for their Exec. representatives: Stop campaigning with Jones.....Discipline all Leics. officials who scabbed.,..Expel Jones now.

JOBS NOT JAIL

Last month RED MINER argued that branches should not

affiliate. to:the Justice for Miners Campaign as we believed that-their. policy was a selective one defending only those whos 77-773 "acted in good faith’ .rather than all those victimised and is? A

imprisoned during the course of the strike.

However we have since received information showing we had “7 a wrong impression of the campaign which is fighting for all § The misunderstanding arose‘ because of the wording in the "Justice for Mineworkers Bill's which refers to those "who acted in good faith”, maintain this criticism of this selective approach in the Bill. al

imprisoned and sacked miners.

We therefore:

while urging branches to affiliate to the Campaign, which, although backing the Bill, is committed to campaigning for all

miners. long sentences for their part in the strike.

-We-must never abandon men like the Rymney 2 serving

Due ‘su lack. of space the letters page has had to be held over till next issue

Militant miners and women trom support grou, aave demonstrated their solidarity with printers sacked by multi-millionnaire press owner Rupert Murdoch by joining the Wapping picket. They have wanted to repay the enormous (f4m) financial support for the miners strike and haven't forgotten when the presses stopped to prevent vic.ous slurs on Scargill being printed.

Nany militants are at Wapping because they recognise that, like in our fight, this attack is part of the bosses plans to destroy union power and they understand

that all workers must be won to support

the printers Ta a - .

A defeat at and more confident attacks by all the other bosses, it will strengthen any moves

to build a scab union federation of scab miners, electricians and railwayworkers, and it will see more and more union

leaders backing away from a ment.

wire Sa DISPUTE

For the printworkers it would be a disaster. Trade unionism in the media would be struck a deadly blow and these "new" papers built on smashing unions will bring

renewed anti-union fervour to their headlines. Already Maxwell has sacked 400 workers at Glasgow and the Express Telegraph and Mail all want up to 50% redundancies

Miners and Wives who have picketted at Vapping have been surprised and disappointed by the print unions’ response to this threat. The mass pickets have been positively discouraged by Dean and Dubbins ‘and are not planned to have an effect. They are part of a strategy to win the support

apping will mean faster

of "the

pubic’, to try and Bet pecp.e oh to) 06vbuy)=6 os Murdoch papers. Meanwhiie Fle Street works on and any effective action is prevented.

Apart from going down to Wapping and arguing ior eftective picketting what can miners do?

We know the terrible effect of ietting the cancer of scab unionisn in Notts. fester and grow within the NUM, when it could have been cut out at the beginning. The same is true of the EETPU. We must pass resolutions to go to national NUM and the TUC demanding that they are expelled immediately.

ot eT,

ct

We can set up pport groups ane get printers invited to as many local unions and shop stewards committees as we can,

And finally we can hammer home at every meeting and in every discussion the crippling effect of the anti-union laws, They have outlawed effective trade unionism anyone taking solidarity action will be breaking these laws,

As well as doing as much as possible ourselves to support the printworkera we

6000 SACKED! Ter nora

lover!

must also fight to stop the TUC sitting on the fence. What have the TUC done so far? Absolutely nothing! We must be clear, the printworkers cannot win alone arainst Murdoch and the Tory laws. The only way to get rid of the laws is for the whole trade union movement to respond with a general Strike. It) was mass strike action which got rid of Heath’s laws, thats what we need to get rid of Thatcher's

RED MINER spoke to miners wives from Askern, Armthorpe, Kirk Sandall, Bentley and Brodsworth ¢ Doncaster Area ) who joined the 3,000 strong march of women printworkers and supporters to the Wapping picket. ¢ 8.2.86. >)

A.M. Why did you decide to go to Wapping ? Bobbie Because Fleet Street supported us fully in our dispute so [ thought it was only right we support them, Not just money - we should go and be solid that way.

Rf, How did you get organised ?

Bobbie Well I rang Ollie (SOGATDand asked if any pickets were going on. When he said yes I went to Doncaster Women Against Pit Ciosures and asked if we should put a minibus on. They said yes ~ so we went,

RM, Can you describe the march ?

Bobbie Well, we all met near Tower Bridge and went up to Wapping where the printworks are, There were thousands of men and f women on the march, but ‘ mainly women.

RM. Was it a militant picket ? Bobbie. Well, no not really. When we got there as we were walking down all the blokes were clapping us. We were shouting, come on, get in the road with us - they just ummm'd and arrr'd.

(The road was one of the main entrances to the printworks and could have been blocked) :

RM. How many were there on the pavement then ?

Bobbie. Thousands I] would have said. If we'd all got together, if we'd got down in the road we could have done something to stop the lorries and buses. We could have sat down. They should have had more guts about them

R.M.Bobbie and Brenda earlier have both suggested sitting down in the road. Wouldn't that just make us unable to defend ourselves from attacks from the cops. Aggie. Vell, I would have done it if they had but there would have been a lot of people hurt as it does take longer to get up - people would be trampled on. But just standing there like the SOGAT pickets - it was pathetic.

RH. So you didn't printworkers tactics !

Aggie. Pathetic,,

think much to the

1Y WE WENT TO

WAPPING!

Bobbie. Well 1 thought it were slack, very Slack, There were lots of streets uncovered, lots of ways in and the pickets were like sheep all flocking in one place.

Aggie. Well, they hadn’t got any tactics, have they really - they just stand and shout scab. They should put up more of a fight, they aren't even trying to stop lorries. I was down the week after and at 9 O'clock the cops started charging us with horses ~- and that picket wasn't as big as the previous week’s so I was surprised we hadn't done anything then.

Ri, So the police have learn’t their lessons from the miners strike better than the printers ?

Aggie. Yes I think so.

RM. You went back on the picket at 5am Bobbie Yes, two women got out of a cab - the men just let them walk in ' We started shouting scab at them and the pickets asked us to stop and not cause any trouble - but that’s only the natuaral thing to do, if you're scabbiing you are a scab - they didn’t even try to stop buses or talk to anyone,

Brenda, I didn’t think it was a strong picket at all. I think the women were stronger than the men when we were there, they wouldn't even come off the pavement to block the road. We saw lots of backways in that had ‘no pickets on.

RM, What should the printers do now ? Bobbie. Stick it out and get harder, and get more support down there. And I think it should be everybody, not the Mir-or going to work and all the others, get tlem out, get them all out of Fleet street. That’s the ouly way. If we'd got Notts out we could have won, If they want to win now - all out !

RM. What should we be doing now ? Bobbie. We should twin with the printers and build support for them. We should send money so they can stay out and win.

RM, Finally what do you think should be done about the electricians ?

Aggie. Well, they should be kicked out - they are in with the scabs in the UDM. And now the management at International Harvesters in Doncaster are after the same sort of scab agreement, arn't they. If they are let off they will not keep TUC policy and we'll get them (scab agreements) everywhere never mind London !

Bobbie. Yes they should be kicked oub, that's my opinion. I'm sick of everything they have done.

' 7 4

RED RINER

The Red finer is produced by members and supporters of Workers Power. Workers Power is a revolutionary organisation fighting to build a new revolutionary party to overthrow. capitalism - at home and abroad.

WORKERS! STRUGGLES

We support all workers’ struggles against the bosses. We fight to turn all struggles into cons- ‘cious anti-capitalist struggles.

FEF ORMISA

The trade union and Labour leaders believe capitalism can be reformed, made better, but they do not ain for the. bosses with the workers. Even militant leaders limit their strugles to the. fight for gains within capitalism. For this reason we are for building rank and file movements politically independant of the. bureaucracy and committed to transforming the unians ints democratic, class struggle unions.

REVOLUTIONARY PARTY

A revolutionary party will be a workers! party, @ party that, built in struggle, can learn and pass on the lessons of the 1984-85 strike and other struggles. We stand for miners taking their place in the front ranks of building such a party as they did in the 1920s. Only by building a new revolutionary party can we create the class army that can Fight and destray the stinking capitalist system that threatens us with always having to fight to protect our jobs, conditions and organisations.

INTERNATIONAL ISA

We are committed to fighting capitalism internation-— ally. We strive to build an international organisation of revolutionary parties. (Workers Power works with Irish, German, French and Chilean revolution~ aries in the Movement for a Revolutionary Internat~ fonal). In particular we fight nationalist solutions to the crisis put forward by reformists like calls for import controls. Such demands merely divide the working class.

DIVISIONS

We fight all divisions in the working class. Divisions are fostered by the bosses to weaken us. We are implacably opposed to racism immigration

to overthrow capitalism. They act as go-betweens |

HERE. WE STAND

controls, fascism, discrimination against and. oppression of women, gays or black people,

THE OPPRESSED

We support all struggles by people oppressed by the bosses of Britain, America, France, Italy and the other capitalist (imperialist) countries. Immediately in 8ritain this meams we support the right of the Irish people as a whole (not just those in the north) to detrmine the fate of their country. lie unconditionally support the republicans and socialists in Ireland fighting for this Tight and demand the immediate withdrawal of all British troops from Treland.

WORKERS’ STATES

The USSR, Eastern Europe, etc are workers! states, Capitalism has been abolished. However, in each of these states a bureaucracy, based on the Stalinist Communist Parties, holds political power. This situation arose out of the international isolation of the Russian Revolution in the 1920s. The revolution degenerated at the hands of the bureaucracy headed by Stalin. The other workers! states were degenerate fran birth in that they were created in the bureaucratic image of the USSR,

Therefore we call for a political revolution in all of these states to overthrow the bureaucracy and realise the full potential of these nan-capitalist economies thruogh democratic planning. At the same time, in order to preserve the gain for the working class represented by these economies, we defend the USSR and degenerate workers! states unconditionally against imperialism which, through war, will seek to re-introduce capitalism in these countries.

QVERTHROW CAPITALISM

The revolutionary party we seek to build will have as its strategic goal the overthrow of capitalism by workers organised into workers’ councils and armed so as to defeat the police and army that the bosses have used, and will use again, against us. We are for a socialist society in which all property is in the hands of the workers' state and all production is directed towards meeting human need - nat satisfying the profit greed of the capitalists. we stand on the old slogan of Karl Marx: ;

WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE, - YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT YOUR CHAINS, AND A WORLD TO WIN.