Hi guys, here’s the second of the two requests I mentioned in Post One, again cross-posted to the PDF and Old Time forums, though I suspect in this case the latter is more likely to “bear fruit”…
This year will be the 40th anniversary of the 1978 Drivers’ Strike, and I’m looking to put together a feature about what happened, what effect it had for future generations, how it changed drivers’ views on trade unionism, and why it may or may not ever be repeated.
Were you around in the industry in 1978? Did you take part or specifically choose not to take part and why? What was the strike like in reality? I’m trying very hard not to ask leading questions here based on what I already know, but you get the gist…
Again, if you’d be willing to spare me 20 minutes of your time for a quick phone interview please post below and I’ll drop you a PM.
LUCY I am going to write my version of unions ,and the strike 8 weeks we were out over Christmas I will forward it when I have finished .I would have thought on this site not many drivers were in -volved .in fact very few as a lot of ex owner drivers or company owners are the main contributors on the old time drivers forum , drivers from very small companies back ,were not unionised, it was drivers from large unionised haulage companies not many, mostly from towns /citys with ports or car industry…
If you read[ MY WORK DRIVING HISTORY ][PEGGYDECK BOY]IT WILL SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENEDTO ME …Iwill write to you.dbp.
Good morning Lucy,
Have a quick look at " Paul Gee’s Photo Collection" page 249 I posted a small storey about one union issue i had that you may find enlightening. Under H R S
Would you believe the first hardship that reared its ugly head in that strike was the shortage of toilet rolls, ha !! funny times indeed. Harvey
Lucy I have been writing about my contact /membership with unions ,and I have got to the point and I think, hang on all them years ago not one other union or company gave two monkeys [zb]s about drivers, or their conditions or wages and the bright side of me and others being on strike for over 8 weeks over Christmas it got me involed after a time with European haulage,and fresh meat haulage all over like all the others who did it and that was believe it or not my forte like all the others middle east or European. I also met some brilliant self minded men ,and worked for some really good companies ,so in fact our /my dissatisfaction of the union drifted way ,and I never spent one sue on any union from the day I got made redundant ,and did I need them NO so zb-um.
so that is it with me sorry .im sure some other men may tell another story ?dbp.[vic]
On a brighter note I remember when I had my photo done for my union card I had a rollup stuck to my lip as every one said if I had not done that no one would recognise me.
At that time I was doing International work and there were union lines at the docks, had a load of Tampax on for Prato in Italy and as medical goods were excused we thought we would be good to go, to avoid obvious confrontation I went to Newhaven to ship out as we were told no picket line there but there was, after a bit of pleading and telling them a lot of Italian woman could bleed to death they let me cross strange but true, Buzzer,
Buzzer:
On a brighter note I remember when I had my photo done for my union card I had a rollup stuck to my lip as every one said if I had not done that no one would recognise me.
At that time I was doing International work and there were union lines at the docks, had a load of Tampax on for Prato in Italy and as medical goods were excused we thought we would be good to go, to avoid obvious confrontation I went to Newhaven to ship out as we were told no picket line there but there was, after a bit of pleading and telling them a lot of Italian woman could bleed to death they let me cross strange but true, Buzzer,
