Donations of food, honking of horns by passing motorists, and even the contribution of a caravan to help pickets keep warm during the winter are all signs of the solidarity the members of the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU) have earned through their struggle.

Recently four TGWU shop stewards from Ford Southampton visited, bringing with them a £3,500 donation, bringing the total given by Ford workers to more than £5,000 (£1 = US$1.45). During two visits to fellow union members by picket leaders, a TGWU branch in London added £1,000 to the war chest and the union's branch in Chloride, Greater Manchester, kicked in another £500.

Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, organized a benefit concert, with top Welsh artists donating their services, and all proceeds going into the union's fund. John Davies, a leader of the picket, said, "But for the donations such as these, we'd be dead and buried long ago."

On the picket line union members were packing donations of food to be distributed at a Christmas social for the locked-out workers and their families. In contrast, factory boss Smith held a Christmas party in Caernafon "where he lectured the scabs about the real meaning of Christmas for an hour and had to have a bodyguard and 16 other security staff at the event," said Gerald Parry, one of the locked-out workers.

Through our discussion with these workers, some of whom have been employed by Friction Dynamics--formerly Ferodo--for as much as 40 years, we've learnt about the history of struggles by these trade unionists. As the social crisis in the local area continues, the locked-out workers see this dispute as an important struggle not only for their own livelihoods but for the community.

Glynn Jones, who was due to retire after 40 years at the factory but is sticking with his fellow unionists in this fight, explained that local job opportunities are limited in the area as the bosses have closed factories and mines and local shops have closed their doors.

Strike committee member Bernard Ellis said workers struck the company for five weeks in 1969 and four weeks in 1971 for better pay and working conditions. These walkouts earned them a reputation for strength and resilience, of which they are proud.

Friction Dynamics, with a workforce of some 960 workers at one time, employed 150 people last April when Smith locked out the workers.

Smith, who bought the company in 1997, is "a union buster 100 percent," said Adrian Roberts, the secretary of the strike committee. Ellis added that Smith "tried to destroy the union, but he has brought us closer together. We are stronger now than ever."

"When Smith took over he didn't speak to any of us for a year," said Gerald Parry. "Then he held a meeting where he told us, 'You Welsh people have got to change your culture.' I didn't think that I would have been here at the beginning of the year. It is quite an experience--not just for what you find out about yourself but for the solidarity that you experience from others."

The locked-out workers are pursuing a claim for reinstatement to their jobs and campaigning to extend legal protections against sackings [firings] during the first eight weeks of a strike.

Young nonunion workers, who Smith has brought in as scabs, have themselves been subjected to pay cuts and have reportedly been told to expect a further 15 percent pay reduction in the next month. Injuries due to the substandard training and health and safety practices have been reported, such as a worker losing the fingers of one hand.

On the picket lines the workers express confidence in their fight. "It will not be easy to quench the fire that burns in the belly of the Welsh dragon," Jones pointed out.

The workers plan to continue building support for their fight with a demonstration in Cardiff in the New Year outside the Welsh assembly when British prime minister Anthony Blair is due to visit. For more information about this, contact the TGWU at 17 Segontium Terrace, Caernafon, LL55 2PN.

Xerado Arias and Raphael Ayala are members of the Young Socialists. Paul Davies and Seamus Sheridan contributed to this article.  
 
 
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