Solidarity

Independent Self-governing Trade Union "Solidarity"
Niezależny Samorządny Związek Zawodowy "Solidarność"
Founded	September 1980
Members	1,185,000 (2006)[1]
Country	Poland
Affiliation	ITUC, ETUC, TUAC
Key people	Janusz Śniadek, Lech Wałęsa
Office location	Gdańsk, Poland
Website	www.solidarnosc.org.pl (In English)

Solidarity (Polish: Solidarność (help·info) IPA: [sɔli'darnɔɕt͡ɕ]; full name: Independent Self-governing Trade Union "Solidarity" — Niezależny Samorządny Związek Zawodowy "Solidarność" IPA: [ɲeza'lɛʐnɨ samɔ'ʐɔndnɨ 'zvjɔ̃zɛk zavɔ'dɔvɨ sɔli'darnɔɕt͡ɕ]) is a Polish trade union federation founded in September 1980 at the Gdańsk Shipyard, and originally led by Lech Wałęsa. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Inaugural Congress The founding and first congress of the ITUC was held November 1 - 3 2006 in Vienna The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC is a Trade union organization which was established in 1973 to represent workers and their national affiliates at the The Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC is a Trade union advisory committee with consultative Janusz Śniadek (born 1955 is a Polish politician who has been leader of Solidarity since 2002 Gdańsk ( Polish pronunciation; 'Danzig', Gduńsk Gedania Dantiscum is the City at the centre of the fourth-largest Metropolitan area in Poland Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming A federation ( Latin: foedus, covenant is a union comprising a number of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central ("federal" Gdańsk Shipyard ( Stocznia Gdańska) is a large Polish Shipyard, located in the city of Gdańsk.

It was the first non-communist trade union in a communist country. In the 1980s it constituted a broad anti-communist social movement. Anti-communism refers to opposition to Communism. Historically the word "communism" has been used to refer to several types of communal social organization and Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of Individuals and/or Organizations focused on specific The government attempted to destroy the union with the martial law of 1981 and several years of repressions, but in the end it had to start negotiating with the union. Martial law in Poland (Stan wojenny w Polsce refers to the period of time from December 13, 1981 to July 22, 1983 The Roundtable Talks between the weakened government and Solidarity-led opposition led to semi-free elections in 1989. The Polish Round Table Talks took place in Warsaw, Poland from February 6 to April 4 1989 Contract Sejm (Sejm kontraktowy is a term commonly applied to the Polish Parliament elected in the Polish parliamentary elections of 1989. By the end of August a Solidarity-led coalition government was formed and in December Wałęsa was elected President of Poland. The President of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, shorter form Prezydent RP) is the Polish Head of

Since then it has become a more traditional trade union, and had relatively little impact on the political scene of Poland in the early 1990s. A political arm was founded in 1996 as Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS) won the Polish parliamentary election, 1997, but lost the following Polish parliamentary election, 2001. Solidarity Electoral Action ( Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność, AWS is a Political party coalition in Poland. The Polish parliamentary election in 1997 to the Sejm and Senate of Poland was held on the 21 September Polish parliamentary election in 2001 to Sejm and Senate of Poland were held on the 23rd September. Currently, Solidarity, or the remnants of it, has little political influence in modern Polish politics.

Contents 1 History 2 Catholic social teaching 3 Influence abroad 4 Organization 5 Chairmen 6 References 7 External links 8 Further reading

History

Main article: History of Solidarity

Solidarity began in September 1980 at the Lenin Shipyards, where Lech Wałęsa and others formed a broad anti-communist social movement ranging from people associated with the Catholic Church^[2] to members of the anti-communist Left. The history of Solidarity ( Polish: sɔlidarnɔɕt͡ɕ a Polish non-governmental Trade union, began in August 1980 at the Gdańsk Shipyard ( Stocznia Gdańska) is a large Polish Shipyard, located in the city of Gdańsk. Anti-communism refers to opposition to Communism. Historically the word "communism" has been used to refer to several types of communal social organization and Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of Individuals and/or Organizations focused on specific Solidarity advocated nonviolence in its members' activities. Nonviolence is a philosophy and strategy for social change that rejects the use of physical Violence. ^[3][4] The government attempted to destroy the union with the martial law of 1981 and several years of repressions, but in the end it had to start negotiating with the union. Martial law in Poland (Stan wojenny w Polsce refers to the period of time from December 13, 1981 to July 22, 1983

In Poland, the Roundtable Talks between the weakened government and Solidarity-led opposition led to semi-free elections in 1989. The Polish Round Table Talks took place in Warsaw, Poland from February 6 to April 4 1989 Contract Sejm (Sejm kontraktowy is a term commonly applied to the Polish Parliament elected in the Polish parliamentary elections of 1989. By the end of August a Solidarity-led coalition government was formed and in December Wałęsa was elected prime minister. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland represents the Council of Ministers (the Cabinet and directs their work supervises territorial self-government Since 1989 Solidarity has become a more traditional trade union, and had relatively little impact on the political scene of Poland in the early 1990s. A political arm founded in 1996 as Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS) won the parliamentary election in 1997, but lost the following 2001 election. Solidarity Electoral Action ( Akcja Wyborcza Solidarność, AWS is a Political party coalition in Poland. The Polish parliamentary election in 1997 to the Sejm and Senate of Poland was held on the 21 September Polish parliamentary election in 2001 to Sejm and Senate of Poland were held on the 23rd September. Currently Solidarity has little political influence in modern Polish politics.

Catholic social teaching

In Solicitudo Rei Socialis, a major document of Catholic Social Teaching, Pope John Paul II identifies the concept of solidarity with the poor and marginalized as a constitutive element of the Gospel and human participation in the common good. Sollicitudo Rei Socialis is an Encyclical written by Pope John Paul II on 30 December 1987. Catholic social teaching encompasses aspects of Catholic doctrine relating to matters dealing with the collective welfare of humanity Pope Solidarity is a principle of Catholic Social Teaching and a Christian virtue articulated by Pope John Paul II which amplifies the concept of the Common good The Roman Catholic Church, under the leadership of Pope John Paul II, was a very powerful supporter of the union and was greatly responsible for its success.

Influence abroad

The survival of Solidarity was an unprecedented event not only in Poland, a satellite state of the USSR ruled (in practice) by a one-party Communist regime, but the whole of the Eastern bloc. The People's Republic of Poland or Polish People's Republic ( Polish: Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL Russian The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The Polish United Workers' Party (PUWP Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza - PZPR was a Communist party in the People's Republic of Poland from 1948 to 1990 Communist state is a term used by many Political scientists to describe a Form of government in which the State operates under a one-party system During the Cold War, the term Communist Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) was used to refer to the Soviet Union and countries it either controlled or that were It meant a break in the hard-line stance of the communist Polish United Workers' Party, which had bloodily ended a 1970 protest with machine gun fire (killing dozens and injuring over 1,000), and the broader Soviet communist regime in the Eastern Bloc, which had quelled both the 1956 Hungarian Uprising and the 1968 Prague Spring with Soviet-led invasions. The Polish United Workers' Party (PUWP Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza - PZPR was a Communist party in the People's Republic of Poland from 1948 to 1990 A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 ( Hungarian: 1956-os forradalom) was a spontaneous nationwide Revolt against the Stalinist government of The Prague Spring ( Czech: Pražské jaro, Slovak: Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during

Solidarity's influence led to the intensification and spread of anti-communist ideals and movements throughout the countries of the Eastern Bloc, weakening their communist governments. The 1989 elections in Poland where anti-communist candidates won a striking victory sparked off a succession of peaceful anti-communist revolutions in Central and Eastern Europe^[2] known as the Revolutions of 1989 (Jesień Ludów). Anti-communism refers to opposition to Communism. Historically the word "communism" has been used to refer to several types of communal social organization and A revolution (from the Latin revolutio, "a turnaround" is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. "Fall of Communism" redirects here For the fall of the Soviet Union itself see History of the Soviet Union (1985–1991. Solidarity's example was in various ways repeated by opposition groups throughout the Eastern Bloc, eventually leading to the Eastern Bloc's effectual dismantling, and contributing to the collapse of the Soviet Union, in the early 1990s. The Soviet Union 's collapse into independent nations began early in 1985

Organization

Formed in 1981, the union's supreme powers were vested in a legislative body, the Convention of Delegates (Zjazd Delegatów). A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation The executive branch was the National Coordinating Commission (Krajowa Komisja Porozumiewawcza), later renamed the National Commission (Komisja Krajowa). In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. The Union had a regional structure, comprising 38 regions (region) and two districts (okręg). During the communist era the 38 regional delegates were arrested and jailed when martial law came into effect 1983 under Jaruzelski. After a one year prison term the high-ranking members of the union were offered one way trips to any country accepting them (Canada, United States, South Africa, Germany, Switzerland).

Solidarity was organized as an industrial union along the lines of the Industrial Workers of the World and the Spanish Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (workers in every trade were organized by region, rather than by craft as is the practice in American trade unions). The Industrial Workers of the World ( IWW or the Wobblies) is an international union currently headquartered in Cincinnati Ohio, USA Template talkInfobox Union for usage --> The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo ( CNT; English ^[5]

Currently, Solidarity has more than 1. 1 million members. National Commission of Independent Self-Governing Trade Union is located in Gdańsk and is composed of Delegates from Regional General Congresses. Gdańsk ( Polish pronunciation; 'Danzig', Gduńsk Gedania Dantiscum is the City at the centre of the fourth-largest Metropolitan area in Poland

Chairmen

• Lech Wałęsa 1980-1990
• Marian Krzaklewski 1991-2002
• Janusz Śniadek 2002-

References

External links

• Solidarity official English homepage
• Presentation The Solidarity Phenomenon (PL, EN, DE, FR, ES, RU)
• Solidarity 25th Anniversary Press Center
• International Conference 'From Solidarity to Freedom'
• Advice for East German propagandists on how to deal with the Solidarity movement
• The Birth of Solidarity on BBC
• Solidarity, Freedom and Economical Crisis in Poland, 1980-81
• The rise of Solidarność, Colin Barker, International Socialism, Issue: 108
• Arch Puddington, How American Unions Helps Solidarity Win
• Solidarity Lost, by Daniel Singer
• (Polish) Solidarity Center Fundation - Fundacja Centrum Solidarności
• A Simple Way to Learn an Old Song A radio programme about the song "Mury", the anthem of Solidarność. Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Colin Barker (born 1939 is a British Marxist writer and historian a long-standing member of the Socialist Workers Party in Manchester and author of numerous articles International Socialism (ISJ is a Quarterly Journal of Socialist Theory published by the Socialist Workers Party (Britain Daniel Singer can refer to Daniel Singer (journalist (1926&ndash2000 British journalist and socialist writer Daniel Singer (actor In Russian with English transcript

Further reading

• Garton Ash, Timothy (2002). Timothy Garton Ash CMG, (born 12 July, 1955) is the British author of eight books of political writing or ‘history of the present’ which The Polish Revolution: Solidarity. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09568-6.  
• Eringer, Robert (1982). Strike for Freedom: The Story of Lech Walesa and Polish Solidarity. Dodd Mead. ISBN 0-396-08065-0.  
• Kaminski, Marek M. (2004). Games Prisoners Play. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11721-7.  
• Kenney, Patrick (2003). A Carnival of Revolution : Central Europe 1989. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11627-X.  
• Kenney, Patrick (2006). The Burdens of Freedom. Zed Books Ltd. . ISBN 1-84277-662-2.  
• Osa, Maryjane (2003). Solidarity and Contention: Networks of Polish Opposition. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-3874-8.  
• Ost, David (2005). The Defeat Of Solidarity: Anger and Politics in Postcommunist Europe (ebook), Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-4318-0.  
• Penn, Shana (2005). Solidarity's Secret : The Women Who Defeated Communism in Poland. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-11385-2.  
• Perdue, William D. (1995). Paradox of Change: The Rise and Fall of Solidarity in the New Poland. Praeger/Greenwood. ISBN 0-275-95295-9.  
• Pope John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, on Vatican website

Pope

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