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The year-long strike at Brannans thermometer factory, Cumberland, which we have covered in past issues of Socialist Woman, has collapsed following a decision in July by the West Cumberland district of the AUEW and union executive to withdraw strike pay. Muriel Hillon, the leader of the strike committee, said she thought the strike had failed partly because the factory was so isolated, but also because their union had failed to mobilise other workers in solidarity. "If the union had let them know, and asked for support, it would have helped enormously." Failure by the union bureaucracy to use the potential power of their members in support of the weaker sections is an old storybut the recent success of another struggle which might have turned out like Brannans shows what can be done when the n September, 300 women workers at Tudor Accessories, Ystrad Mynach, South Wales-a firm which makes accessories for motors-came out on strike for a basic rate of £15.50 (their current rate was £13.48) and against pressure for speed-up via their bonus scheme, personal warnings, ete. Like the Brannans strikers, the women were threatened with the sack by management (by personal recorded delivery) and saw their strike in danger of being undermined by the scabbing of staff workersin this case the clerical staff, who resigned their membership of APEX to get an extra El a day for doing the women's work. Like Brannans, this led to violent confrontations at the gates, with management attempting to drive staff scabs through mass pickets of over 80 women every day.
Unlike the AUEW, the union involved in this case-the General & Municipal-doesn't even pretend to be militant, and the women made sure early on to get publicity and support from workers at the local pits and factories-flaunting their Red Knickers banner (to illustrate the slogan: * Tudors works the knickers off us") —as well as appealing for blacking of the firm's products by workers in the motor industry.
Towards the end of the second week of the strike, coachloads of the women went to confront the Cardiff regional office of the GMWU and to demand official recognition: their slogans as they occupied the steps of the building showed that at least they were in no doubt as to what the union bureaucracy was there for: "G& MW: You've had our support long enough. Now give us yours.* "United we stand, divided we fall, because our union is doing bugger all."
After two days of this the union's regional committee found itself sufficiently impressed by the arguments to extract an agreement from management which, although it was less in money terms than the women had asked for, was considered by a mass meeting of the strikers to be enough of a victory to go back to work on with their solidarity unshaken. Why such different results from the two struggles? The traditions of the surrounding area-and what practical and moral support can be expected there-of course plays an important part. But to leave the outcome of a struggle to geographical accident is to ignore everything that unions are supposed to stand for in uniting the strength of the working class for the defence of the living standards of all members. If women in the soggy GMWU can claim a victory after two weeks, the women membership of the "militant and progressive" AUEW might be entitled to ask what is the point of the union's much-vaunted industrial strength when it allows a basic union-recognition fight to die after a year's bitter struggle and sacrifice by their own members. The unions have some hard thinking to do if they are to emerge from the present government onslaught with their claims to represent the working class intact.
Anne Holloway
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29г facilities, day care centres and tinancial aid for every child