Re: AUT: Re -Liverpool dockers

[Paul Mattick <mattickp@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

One other point (after rereading Steve's post): in my opinion it does not
follow from the point made in my previous post that other sorts of
struggles are beside the point, misguided, etc. Every struggle is what it
is, and (speaking generally) all to the good. Sometimes good things can be
won by lawsuits alone--far from the shop floor! Henri's point (I take it)
was about this particular struggle. It was a workplace struggle, and it
was a skirmish in a serious war over the reorganization of the conditions
of exploitation at the present time. Given the importance of the issue for
the employers and the state, only utilization of workplace power was
likely to be of any aid. I take Henri's point to be about the limits of
solidarity, which did not extend to actually downing tools, against union
contracts and the law; his other main point being that left types should
really not be shocked by the "betrayals" of unions any more--the issue is
not what unions do or don't do but what workers do or don't do.
Paul



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