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Rozprawy — analizy — studia przypadków

Vol. 15 (2023): Efemery — ulotne i trwałe

The August days of the Gdańsk Lenin Shipyard in the light of leaflets from the Interfactory Strike Committee in Gdańsk

  • Łukasz Grochowski
DOI
https://doi.org/10.19195/2083-5345.15.10
Submitted
15 April 2024
Published
17-04-2024

Abstract

The article presents research conducted on leaflets produced at the Gdańsk Shipyard during the August 1980 strike by the Interfactory Strike Committee in Gdańsk. The period during which the materials were created was pivotal. Due to government-imposed meat and sausage price hikes in the summer of 1980, strikes erupted in Poland, leading to the formation of the Independent Self-governing Trade Union “Solidarity” (NSZZ “Solidarność”). Announcements and statements issued and circulated in the form of small-sized eaflets taking various forms played a significant role in the communication issued from the Interfactory Strike Committee to the strikers and their supporters. Many of them are now stored in the Historical Archive of the National Commission of NSZZ “Solidarność.” When properly organized, they form a kind of chronicle of August ’80. The leaflets distributed during the August strike provided information on the key demands of the striking workers from various workplaces represented by the Interfactory Strike Committee, the necessity of continuing the strike, and contacts with the Government Commission.