Word: shipyard
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Thatcher was hardly pleased, however, when Rakowski cited her policies as a precedent for another government assault on the outlawed Solidarity movement. As part of Rakowski's new economic reform program, the government announced, it would close down on Dec. 1 the famous Lenin shipyard in Gdansk, whose workers gave birth to Solidarity during a strike in 1980. Its 11,000 employees, including Solidarity's founder, Lech Walesa, a shipyard electrician for 21 years, would be forced to find jobs elsewhere...
Pruning such an unprofitable state-run enterprise may make economic sense -- the Lenin shipyard soaked up $18.6 million in subsidies last year -- but because the government's move was so obviously aimed at Solidarity, it threatened to set off a fresh round of political turmoil. The maneuver raised further doubts about whether the government would stick to the offer it made in August to Solidarity in exchange for ending labor unrest: "round-table" meetings during which the legalization of Solidarity could be discussed...
...however, is crucial for the TV image. When Dukakis faced rowdy antiabortion demonstrators in suburban Chicago last week, he tried to settle them with lawyer-like reasonableness ("I respect your right to disagree . . .") but looked sweaty and abashed on the screen. Bush's reaction to boos from shipyard workers in Portland, Ore., was similar, except for the forced-folksy dropped g's ("You're exercisin' your right; I'm exercisin' mine"). Bush's performance, however, depended on the particular network vantage point. On CBS his counterattack sounded namby-pamby; on ABC, with longer clips of his remarks, he came across...
...shipyard workers voted to end their strike following an emotional appeal from Lech Walesa, leader of the outlawed Solidarity union and an electrician at the facility. They were followed by steel-mill employees in Stalowa Wola and coal-mine workers in Jastrzebie, where the latest round of labor troubles began on Aug. 16. The last to settle were port and public transport employees in Szczecin, who abandoned their strikes around noon on Saturday...
...Shipyard workers generally greeted the news triumphantly. But some youthful militant strikers, dubbed the "young savages," were sharply critical that Walesa failed to get a firm commitment that Solidarity will be legalized again. "I have obtained over 100% of what was possible with what strength I have," said Walesa amid disapproving whistles during a speech at the Lenin shipyard. He later told the workers that he chose the "path of agreement" because a repeat of their earlier struggle with the regime could lead to civil...