Organiser Hands off Libya!

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GRINNING gleefully, US Defence Secretary Caspar missiles in Cuba were a threat to US security. They Weinberger announced on August 19 that the US had want to reassert the double standard that would deny shot down two Libyan planes off the coast of Libya. The Libyan air force - relatively poorly armed Libya any control over massive US forces sailing just The US may be wallowing in a slump, its inner and skimpily trained - tried to drive off the Americ- 60 miles off its coast, and yet would assert the US's cities may be sordid jungles with 35% unemployment ans. F14 planes (capable not only of evading the Lib- 'right' to be world policeman hundreds of miles and collapsine public services, it may be unable to do yan attack but even of flying faster than the missiles anything about Nicaragua of Iran, but it sure can fired by the Libyans!) seized the chance to down two They want to make the world - and in the first place the US people - accept that 'right' Reagan had decided on a deliberate challenge to Oil-rich Libya has become an irritation to Reagan And Reagan and Weinberger have the most deadly Libya. Before the air clash, Newsweek magazine because of its erratic nationalist policies - support military machine in world history to serve their for nanneition movements in Tunisia Morocco. etc. heamino honeheaded arrogance. Thev are willing to "After months of debating how to neutralise invasion of Chad, and high oil-price policy. risk blowing us all to bits for the sake of their drive to ULUI 16. HUYU HALYDRAT. ... Muammar Gaddafi, the Reagan Administration this The conflict is not absolute: the US controls 15% week will offer its first direct challenge to the Libyan of Libya's oil industry, US purchases are one-third of The Libyan people, like millions of other people strongman. On instructions from President Reagan, Libya's revenue, and Gaddafi has excluded the oil all across the Third World awakening to a sense of Defence Secretary Caspar Weinberger has ordered the industry from his "people's committees' scheme. Yet their rights, their power and their dignity, will not Sixth Fleet to conduci manoeuvres off the Libyan Reagan would dearly like to see Gaddafi overthrown accept Reagan's warmongering. Nor will a substantial coast in the Gulf of sidar, wnien vauuaj aecures w ana replaceu vy diegme une vaude sungyri, ovuurs -Janed her a nomime libe Carat'e in Fount enlidiv committed to furthering US influence in a crucial And nor should the British labour movement. We "US pilots and sailors have orders not to fire at area. should redouble our efforts to get US bases out of anything but practice targets - unless fired upon. Above all, Reagan and Weinberger want a show of Britain, to stop Cruise and Trident, to win unilateral Washington officials are also eager to see how Gaddafi US power. They want to go back to the days of the nuclear disarmament, and to get Britain out of will react to what they insist is a coincidence: Egypt- early '60s, when the US could arrogantly assert that NATO.

affiliated BALPA members labour movement defends its continue to pilot the planes. American brothers and TONY BENN says: 'The fight for jobs by workers at Laurence Scotts Electrmotors has given hope to millions. I hope the entire British labour and trade union movement will support this campaign'. And PETER HAIN of the Labour Coordinating Committee told the workers: 'Your occupation and courageous stand has shown the way for many other workers in the fight to save their jobs. I can only deplore the total withdrawal of support by the Executive of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions against the clearly expressed democratic wishes of the " would urge every trade unionist to ignore that decision and to give as much practical support as possible to the struggle. Obviously it will now be especially important for all local branches of the Labour Party and the trade unions to organise financial The money is needed c/o George Fryer, 20 Round push the Libyan Air'Force around.

reported: be Libyan territory...

ON MONDAY August 24 Vanity Fair Corporation fin- Vanity Fair Corporation finally announced that they ally announced that they were selling off the occupied wars cellino off the occupied Lee Jeans factory near Gourock.

But the new buyer is not (as widely expected) Nigel is Robert Charters, who until rares - ..Li.l radArfi Jonlaunnta start ian troops will conduct border at the same time Libyan planes.

YUL WE CAN'T DO THAT, COMRADE.

WHERE DO YOU THINK WE ARE? manoeuvres along WAILAVAN EED SU THE 12,000 striking US air-traffic controllers stay sacked; their union, PATCO, is being de-certified as a negotiating body; seven PATCO leaders have been indicted; the Justice Department is bringing criminal charges in 21 cities for the "crime" of striking.

But still 75% of scheduled flights continue, and Reagan gloats over his triumph: "There is no strike, what they did was terminate their own employment by quitting."

Only international solidarity can win this strike. But sympathetic action by Canadian controllers (who control the "Gander beyond its own shores. dominate lesser" nations.

certinn of the LIS nennle PPPORT Oceanic" quadrant of the international air traffic system) and the Portuguese controllers (who operate the "Santa Maria Oceanic" quadrant) lasted only 48 hours each.

J. Lynn Helms, chief of the US Federal Aviation Administration admitted, 'if both Santa Maria and Ganda went down, we wouid have major difficulties."

Elsewhere there has been no solidarity at all. In Britain CDCA and IPES rontrollers LIDA dIU ALU LUI and from America, and TUC- must The International Feder- sisters. ation of Air Traffic The sit-in has ended but lines membership at Laurence Scotts. controllers meeting in Amsterdam on Sunday 23 August, drew up plans for international action to force Reagan to the negotiating table.

But these plans have been kept secret because "it was felt that President Reagan would never react favourably to a public threat or ultimatum"

Trade unionists in Britain' must not sit back and wait for the IFATLA's secretive nians to unfold: members of *Black all US flights! - but the fight continues on the picket "EVERY black man is to be stopped, especially at night, and his identity document checked ... If he cannot produce such a document, keep him at gate, ask his clock number, his workplace and foreman's name... then keep him there till you have rung security office for those particulars to be checked."

Those were the orders issued to BL security officers at the Cowley Assembly plant last week. They were contained in a memorandum dated 18th August, and signed by Ray Coxon, head of security at Cowley and a former Oxford police chief When news of the memo reached the shop floor, black workers in a number of areas immediately waiked out. But anger is not limited to blacks; white workers too are furious about the memo, and there is strong feeling throughout the workforce that Coxon should be sacked.

In sharp contrast AUEW convenor Doug Hobbs opposed the call for Coxon's sacking and simply bleated about the memo being "bound to cause offence among our coloured workers"!

When news of the instruction reached the press, an embarassed BL "spokesman" said the memo had been withdrawn and an investigation would be held. Later it was reported that Coxon had been warned that he would be sacked if he did anything similar But racism is still rife throughout BL. Michael Edwardes himself is a white South African, and BL's treatment of its black workers in South Africa recently led to a major strike there.

At Longbridge, only tiny minority of black workers can get onto 'direct' (better paid) jobs, while the majority of 'indirect' (badly paid and dirty) jobs are black. And to transfer ..om an 'indirect' to a 'direct' job, workers have to pass an insulting 'progression' test.

Racist abuse from managers and supervision is commonplace in every plant, and usually black workers feel they've no choice but to accept it.

Senior stewards in the plants rarely take a strong stand against racism, and at Longbridge the works committee has actually supported the 'progression' test.

But times are changing.

Black workers are fighting back, and the Cowley walkouts are a warning to racists throughout BL.

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----- pull-quotes -----

-SACKED 12,000 continue to guide flights to EPS insist that the Britte

ANTH LEE

Wright of 'Dickie Dirts'. The factory's new owner

RT PHOTO: JOHN SMITH (IFL)

support for Scotts'. Croft, Romilly, Cheshire.

Sack this racist