Throughout the coalfield the miners stormed the mines to force the officials and stokers out.
ding NO! A mass meeting in the University square saw an overwhelming majority reject the call by the leadership to vacate the campus. But a few days later, the University managed to pressurize the F.I. LITHO NGA CHAPEL PROPOSALS The National Graphical Association Chapel at Fl litho where this is printed has already sent a four point programme to the National Secretary as follows:
1. A thorough campaign to explain to the membership the importance of the miners strike for the whole working class.
2. Bring out all NGA members working on NCB in-plant printing shops.
3. Blacking of any material issued by the NCB 4. A 50 p levy per week on the entire membership to go to the miners. The chapel does not yet know if the Union Executive will act on any of these points.
You too can help the miners In Oxford at a meeting in Ruskin College Tom Jackson, secretary of the UPW announced his solidarity with the miners and his willingness to do anything to help. He added that he did not think there was much that his union could do. He is wrong.
Solidarity action can be carried out in thousands of different ways by many sectors of the working class. For example. the first thing the UPW could do would be to black the Coal Board no letters in or out. They could also instruct their members to deliver all NUM mail free of charge. The postmen would be very happy to do this. NO MAIL FOR THE COAL BOARD Then there is the NUR. Well this has not yet officially blacked coal yet and to use every university and college in the country to organise mass solidarity with the miners, both on and off campus. We say now is the time to generalize Essex.
GUARDIANS OF THE PEACE OR OF PRIVATE PROPERTY?
Readers in the North might not know of the goings on in Dover. There have been big fights to stop scab lorries carrying imported coal being driven (literally) through the picket lines. The drivers are paid f20 a shift for such work. Many would brandish iron bars at any picket-student or miner-who approached them. One day the police asked the NUM to call off the picket. They said they would close the wharf to avoid further trouble. The NUM agreed. And the miners spent the day gritting their teeth with anger as lorry after torry was let through the police carrying coal!
Warning! There is now only a token picket at Dover. Many lorries are getting through. A previous offer by the NUM of free buses for students down to the docks has been scrapped.
given Sid Green's degree of militancy, it never will. But how about free travel for striking miners and especially for the flying pickets? The NUM is having to spend thousands of pounds on travel expenses. If the NUR won't bring its members out on strike in solidarity then this is the least they can do. This would also apply to the buses and the underground. FREE TRAVEL FOR ALL FLYING PICKETS.
We could continue, for instance, dustmen could black all the coal boards, so too could, night cleaners, electricity supply workers, milmen, etc. Journalists could black all Tory and NCB propaganda in their papers and expel any of their nembers who peddle such dirt.