Nerve 11 - Title

24th February 1969: First National Ford Strike (see also: 15th March 1985)

The Ford International Workers Conference took place in the Adelphi Hotel Liverpool —March 15th-18th 1985. As you can see (in the picture below) ‘Delegate’ Bohanna is busy explaining to the Conference of the need for more folk singing and the merits of Bob Dylan;’s ‘Freewheeling’. Look close and you can see Steve Broadhead at the back with what appears to be a blowpipe possibly constructed to aim poisoned darts, this till aimed at Bohanna’s neck — Steve was a Shirley Bassey fan!

The first National Ford Strike was called for on the Monday 24th February 1969. Halewood anticipated the strike and began to leave the plants on Friday 21st responding to a call back to work on Tuesday March 18th (Halewood fully returned as memory serves me around the Thursday) Maintaining a tradition, a re-enactment of ‘first out last back’ in Merseyside, continued in that place of work for the next three decades (The Merseyside Post Office workers have continued that practice and folklore in the very recent past). Incidentally while a lot of our Industrial Relations Customs progressed from the history of Dock Workers in relation to ‘first out last back’, it was usually the Birkenhead Dock workers who were prominent in that convention.

The second major strike lasting 10 weeks began on January 29th 1971 with again spontaneous walkouts beginning at Halewood which ended with a return at Halewood (after all the other plants had returned) on April 8th.

The third and the biggest in terms of political impact on industrial warfare and change began on 21st September 1978 with immediate walkouts by Halewood. Halewood workers met on Wednesday 22nd November and agreed to accept rejection of the National Agreement, but to also accept a return to work from the following day - all other plants had returned or were that very day returning. Many in Halewood didn’t return until the following Monday. And so began the Winter of Discontent with Callaghan 5% well broken.

History will not show the countless strikes that took place in Halewood from its opening until a sectional dispute around 2002/3. I understand the Government did not record stoppages of work or days lost until two days had been recorded. There were umpteen one day’ers. There were also many internal countless strikes at Halewood which workers would of felt to be ‘major’. But the three mentioned above in the ‘70’s were the really big and important ones in my memory log book.

Within them were not just a straight forward battle with the Ford Motor Company but a struggle of ‘right v left’ in the leadership and representation. At the same time, a continuing struggle to unite and identify all Ford hourly paid Workers as one, with some of us learning to think and to act with a political perspective and ‘internationalise’ the Ford hourly paid Workers.

The Ford Workers International Conference had to be sanctioned by the Ford National Committee in which existed opposition. It did not evolve and develop from them, nor from the Convenors committee, nor from any National Shop Stewards Conferences. It came from a tiny bunch of committed Ford hourly paid Workers aligned with various far left parties, groupings, or chapters etc. who attempted to change the role of the majority from ‘passive economists’ to permanent agitators. They were usually known as ‘The Fraud Combine’ who sadly went the way of all flesh — but might throw a final reminder to the agitators to come during next year’s 30 year anniversary of the Winter of Discontent.

In comradeship and friendship

John Bohanna: jboha96269@aol.com

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