Bill Peters

Scan page 5

present form was on violence.

When Nissan merged with the Prince Automobile Company in 1965 there were two unions in the new company. The Nissan union which even then was reactionary and affiliated to the Doriec Federation; and the union from Prince Auto, Zenkin, which belonged to Sohyo.

Dissolved

As soon as the merger was completed the Nissan union demanded that Zenkin be disolved and the member join the Nissan Many of the activists in Zenkin were opposed to being absorbed by a yellow union and refused to join.

Many of them were beaten up by goon squads and subjected to physical assaults in various ways. Zenkin was forced to take legal actions for such assaults against over 50 officials of the Nissan The bureaucrats who control the Nissan union also have means of intimidation other than physical violence.

In 1979 seven militant workers from the Atsuzi Parts plant were expelled by the Nissan union for persistently campaigning for trade union democracy. Because of the closed shop they were promptly sacked by the Company.

After they were sacked, militant activists in the area mounted a defence campaign to demand their reinstatement. Supporters of the campaign were promptly beaten up by goons and had their cars smashed.

Ideological

I don't want to give the impression, however, that the Nissan union rules its members of behalf of management simply through féar and intimidation; far from it. Like all the big yellew unions in