Hotel Workers Fight for Unions on Lodce Strike Committee
Socialist Press1977 1977-01-05Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 4 →
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conditions throughout the industry, have given an indication of the tenacity and militancy developing within the working class.
In this special feature we carry first hand accounts of these disputes, two of which are against a common enemy - the giant Trust Houses Forte group of companies which own the Randolph Hotel in Oxford and the Grosvenor House in Sheffield. Lord HOTRIA Haile TO Over the holiday they've been the only hotel in Oxford with free rooms. Un Christmas Day it was the only place which wasn't fully booked for lunch.
But I reckon we're having most effect on the workers in there. They hate us being there. They get quite abusive and niggly.
There have been plenty of threats and two pickets have been beaten up, one quite badly.
Who has supported you on picket?
Students, car workers. We've had nurses, schoolteachers and some unemployed workers. Some from the Simon hostel. And a lot of people have given to the strike fund.
We got about £20 over Christmas. Some Americans gave us £10. And others bring food and drink; we get soup every day from Blackfriars.
And what about the officials of the T&GWU?
No, they haven't given enough support. They were going to pull out the Gardner Merchant girls in the factory canteen.
But they kept putting it off and putting it off.
They were all ready to come out. They were down on the picket and said they were just waiting for the call.
But all the officials did was to call for the blacking which was useless.
Five minutes on the picket line is all they've ever done. They haven't got the time they say. They say we're not their only members. But we're the ones in trouble.
What should be the next step towards winning the struggle?
What we're trying to push for is to black all Trust House Forte and their subsidiaries. And strike action by all T&G members at Trust House Forte.
Until we do that were not going to hit them hard enough. That demand was passed at our union branch meeting. We also demanded an emergency meeting of the Oxiord District Committee of the T&GWU 4=i as have called for sym2000 8 002 T&GWL