TGWU Region 5 plots new

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Region 5 Secretary Mathers (left) and Chairman Davies-on The TGWU Region 5 Committee has embarked on a new witch-hunt. . This time it is against two members of the 5/35 drivers' branch in Birmingham, Mick Reagan and John Groves.

During the lorry drivers' strike these two were involved in an occupation of the TGWU offices in Broad St. in protest against lack of leadership from their official, Alan Law.

Law arranged a phoney deal with Midlands road hauliers to keep the Midlands lorry drivers out of the dispute.

Under this deal the Midlands men would have automatically got the best settlement agreed anywhere in the country.

Best organised

But since the 5/35 members are the largest and best organised in the country, this would have been a severe blow to the strength and unity of the strike.

It was correctly thrown out by the Midlands lorry drivers.

Although the occupation of the union office was a badly planned publicity stunt without the authority of the branch the move by the Regional Committee for the expulsion of Reagan and Groves is a flagrant diversion from the real issue, which is the undemocratic and divisive actions of Alan Law.

And there is a more sinister side to 'the moves as well.

Revelations not the most prominent in the occupation at all, but just happen to be those behind the revelations of Alan Law's election malpractices, and the cover-up deal in which the 5/35 branch was split into four as a price for silence.

At its last meeting the 5/35 branch voted to condemn the latest witch-hunt, in spite of determined efforts by local officials to prevent this.

But there is a danger that the campaign against the expulsions may be waged through press exposures which would only play into the hands of the regional leadership.

What is needed is a defence campaign within the union, which can focus on the political nature of non elected Regional Secretary Brian Mathers and the Region 5 committee, and the H'MMM... SO DUNLOPS ARE CLOSING DOWN, EH?) THESE WRETCHED CLOSURES ALWAYS ATTRACT THE EXTREMISTS... IT'S A CHALLENGE FOR YOU, STAN...

WE'LL BOMBARD M.P. 'S AND IMPORTANT PEOPLE WITH LETTERS •CARDS. PETITIONS.

RESOLUTIONS !. WELL SIT DOWN IN THE ROADS AGAIN AND AGAIN!.

SOD THIS!

AALt the witch-hunting trail again reasons for the continuing series of witch-hunts on which they have embarked:

All their witch-hunts are designed to destroy any centre of lay member power which could hamper their freedom to YES, THE LADY THING WE WANT IS A LONG / IRANGLE OVER A FEW THOUSAND JOBS.

WELL 11,3M MARCH, AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN... SHOUT OUR SLOGANS AND EVEN TAKE OVER RADIO MERSEYSIDE!. DONT WORRY MOSS, I CAN HANDLE IT— BUT ITIL NEED SOME UNUSUAL TACTICS. make any deals they like with the employers.

Any fight against the witch. hunts must therefore come within the broad perspective of the need to throw out the existing leadership of Region 5.

~ LIKE THIS!

WELL

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SOCIALIST •IH| / PRESS

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