The class struggle in Britain is hotting up. So far we have felt only the thin on the trade union movement have been led, so far, by the summons-server and the judge.
But in the next big offensive by the working dass movement the capitalist state will turn to the cop and the club - backed up by the rubber bullet and the CS gas canister, fresh from "peacekeeping" in the Six Counties of northern Ireland.
It is these weapons which we must leam to combat. Otherwise no struggle can be successful. The battle then continued between the strikers and the National Guard. In between skirmishes the strikers set up soap boxes in front of the troops and explained to them the nature of the strike and the role the troops were playing as strike breakers.
On the socond day, the guardsmen opened fire on the pickets, killing two and wounding 25. But over 6000 workers returned that night to continue the fight under the cover of dark, despite the fact that the area around the factory had been placed under martial law, On two occasions the fury of the workers assault forc-ed the troops to retreat back into the safety of the plant.
Eventually, ufter six days of running battles, the company decided to close the plant. A mass rally of 40,000 workers was held in support of the strikers, and 98 of the 99 AFL branches in the area voted in favour of a general strike, Three days later the company capitulated, granting exchisive negotiating rights for the union (the first time this had been achieved) Lite workers approached the local Unemployed and on immediate 5% wage incrense, With thi victory behind them the Toledo car workers were able to organise another 19 plants that year, and the following year led a successful strike in a General Motor plant, thus beginning the unionsation of this pinnacle of U.S capitalisan. Below: the maas funerci cortege of Henry Ness, militent murdered by police gun/ine tions to avoid disrupting their trade and driving them into the arms of the bosses.
Contacts were built up with the unemployed (of whom there were 30,000 in the city) who were organised by the union, rather than learing them to the bosses as scabs. Special organisations were set up to draw the wives and families of strikers into the struggle A highly efficient and well-coordinated system of mobile pickeis was formied to prevent the movement of scab vehicles. A military-type The capitalist stale resorts to its instruments of violence whenruer and whenever its power is this scene a docher — in the sane way as the Toledo Auto-Lite strikers — thier to put his cos across to the soldiers.
taco scenes from the crucial battle in the marketplace during the Mintapolis Teamster's strike. Pickets, armed with clubs, defeated hundreds of special deputies and armed police, thus showing that the power of the bosses was not invulnerable. This victory wes an inspir tion to the strikers, and to workers across the country, to curry the struggie on to final wictory