[The first WSL document attempting to draw an…]

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The first WSL document attempting to draw an objective balance sheet of the post-war history of the Trotskyist International, and analyse the roots of its current crisis. Adopted by the Founding reach a compromise formula which they hope union officials will try to sell to their members.

In Britain the offensive by Fleet Street press barons continues-with threats by the Times management to shut down completely and an attempt by the Daily Express management to launch a new tabloid paper with drastically reduced manning levels.

Conscious leadership The real crisis on both sides of the Atlantic is that unless a principled and politically ranerinuc laarlorchin ic fanned nafinı sı dilanda cnninenn inside • the union membership to defend gains made over several generations.

To underline the international nature of the capitalist „vI onslaught, the employers in New York have been gathered under the banner of Rupert Murdoch, a proprietor who has earned the undying hatred of newspaper workers on three continents.

He owns papers in the USA, Australia and Britain; where his titles are the best selling soft porn hard Tory politics Sun and News of the World.

The pressmen's union had been trying to negotiate new nantranto maith than Als... Mout untracts wita tne ivew york papers since the end of March. on all three papers.

Partly because a recent journalists strike on the Daily News had been won after scenes of intense fighting on the picket lines, other unions on the papers came out in solidarity with the pressmen.

Scabbing

When management attempts to induce scabbing from anyone except a very few of the most reactionary journalists failed, the papers ground to a halt.

Since then attempts by US Federal mediators to square the circle nave tajled.

But major indications that station must be shut down.

This blacking must be international. In Britain the Post Office Prestel system still uses NYT data. British journalists ana engineers must black tnis copy.

Internațional appeals for solidarity action and finance should go out to Australia and Fleet Street to Murdoch's other papers.

The attacks in New York are unrelated to new technology which remains a threat in Britain, and in every country.

Murdoch has in any case been recruiting journalists in Australia to take to New York.

The New York strike has highlighted again the crying Fourth Tasks:

International: Problems and Conference of the WSL, in late 1975. Published as three supplements to Soc- . jalist Press. Price 15p plus 10p p&p.

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IDUSTRAL Vauxhall TGWU workers on the assembly line by opening up to scrutiny by should not be made to pay for The mass meeting called at Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant to report back on the 4.8% pay offer voted not to take immediate action against the Phase 4 5% wage This followed a stewards committee meeting the previous day at which a move to call all-out immediate strike action was squashed by right wing TGWU convenor John Farrel.

At the mass meeting Farrel, despite much left' sounding demagogy, drew the absurd conclusion that the 5% Phase 4 policy could not be breached in the foreseeable future.

Therefore, he argued, the only answer was to carry on negotiating on a productivity deal as a way around the 5% guidelines.

The massive Fords strike against the 5% policy taking place a few miles away at Halewood was barely given a mention.

He ended by calling for strike action "if the company made no . further offer at the next meeting"

But the claim for an unspecified "substantial wage increase" and his equivocal position on the need to smash the 5% policy is designed to give the maximum room for manoeuvre and leave the door wide open for a sellout.

After Farrel had finished speaking one member from the night shift unsuccessfully attempted to propose an alternative resolution from the floor of the meeting calling for all-out immediate strike action against the 5% limit alongside the Ford workers.

Noisy opposition

This was met with noisy opposition from more conservative elements in the meeting.

The chairman, T. Woodley. attempted to snatch the microphone away from him before he had finished speaking, claiming that resolutions from the floor were not. acceptable and he arbitrarily ruled it out of order.

Despite the insistence of the speaker that the meeting should be allowed to vote on the motion, he was eventually forced to stand down, and Farrel declared that no resolutions would be accepted NEWES from the floor.

Farrel went on to attack the speaker's proposal, stating that he would not lead any fight against the 5% policy because Moss Evans and the national officials ought to be doing it.

This, of course, deliberately ignored the fact that Moss E: had actually stated earlier in the week that he would support any group of members fighting against wage control.

Farrel went on to say that last year they had managed to get a pay increase without all-out strike action, and that he didn't believe in losing money when it "could be done by negotiations."

The meeting ended with a vote on the stewards' resolution which was carried.

Alongside Ford Vauxhall workers must ask themselves whether their interests lie with fighting alongside the Ford workers against wage control or in allowing themselves to be sold short by leaders who prefer to evade the issue of wage control and who are willing to sit by and see Ford workers remain isolated in this struggle.

According to the Financial Times the trade union negotiators for Vauxhalls "privately believe that the company's financial position will not allow it to offer much more than the government's 5% pay rise limits".

For this reason they "do not at present foresee industrial action over the claim similar to that which closed down Fords UK operation."

If the company is claiming to be unable to pay its workers a living wage due to bankruptcy then they can easily prove it elected trade union committees the company's books and financial accounts including those of suppliers, bankers and the subsidiaries of General Motors at home and abroad.

Should the company in fact prove to be bankrupt then the demand should be for nationalisation without compensation under workers' management.

But on no account should the demand for a living wage be dropped because of the bosses' alleged bankruptcy.

The workers are not responsible for the bosses' crisis and Ellesmere • Port convenor Farrel is fond of saying "keep politics out of union affairs"

His performance at this mass meeting has revealed his political position for everyone to see.

The time has come for Vauxhall workers to begin to build a principled political leadership which will not evade struggle to defend living standards against the attacks of the Labour government.

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