Direct Action: Paper of the Direct Action Movement (1980s)

Online archive of over 75 issues of Direct Action, an anarcho-syndicalist paper produced by the Direct Action Movement. Sources include the excellent collection at the Sparrow's Nest, Kate Sharpley Library and others.

Submitted by R Totale on May 6, 2020

Roughly 80 issues were published between 1981 and 1992.

Direct Action was also the paper of the DAM's predecessor organisation the Syndicalist Workers Federation. An archive of the SWF Direct Action can be found here.

In 1994 the Direct Action Movement became the Solidarity Federation which published its own version of Direct Action from 1994-2009.

Missing issues: 16, 53.

Comments

syndicalist

4 years 4 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by syndicalist on May 7, 2020

Excellent

freemind

4 years 4 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by freemind on May 7, 2020

From 86-90 DA was excellent and a great advert for AnarchoSyndicalism.I hadn't seen thearlest issues until now-Great stuff

freemind

4 years 4 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by freemind on May 7, 2020

From 86-90 DA was excellent and a great advert for AnarchoSyndicalism.I hadn't seen thearlest issues until now-Great stuff

tyneside anarchist

4 years 4 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by tyneside anarchist on May 7, 2020

As a matter of interest (there is a full story behind it which i wont delve into as i only know bits and iam sure some on here will know more) there is 2 different issues of number 32 one in July 1986 (the bogus issue produced by breakaway group) and one in Sept 1986.

R Totale

4 years 4 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by R Totale on May 7, 2020

Huh, looks like the Sparrow's Nest has scanned both, one as "32A" and one as "32B". Got a while to go before I reach that, though.

syndicalist

4 years 4 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by syndicalist on May 7, 2020

tyneside anarchist

As a matter of interest (there is a full story behind it which i wont delve into as i only know bits and iam sure some on here will know more) there is 2 different issues of number 32 one in July 1986 (the bogus issue produced by breakaway group) and one in Sept 1986.

Detailed story, for sure. having close relations with the DAM, having read the internal documents, I'm familiar with the situation. The issue at hand was the then Hull DAM published an unauthorized "DA" issue favorable to CNT-Victoria split from CNT-AIT. These folks later went on to form the current Spanish CGT. DAM withdrew that issue of "DA and published another issue, same number only "A" after number.

Edit: See "50 Years on" for outright support for the "CNT-U" split.: http://www.thesparrowsnest.org.uk/collections/public_archive/10237.pdf

Fozzie

4 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Fozzie on May 19, 2020

46 is here https://bibdig.biblioteca.unesp.br/handle/10/8905 but I think will need cropping?

Fozzie

2 years ago

Submitted by Fozzie on September 1, 2022

Sparrows Nest have now scanned some of the later issues...

R Totale

2 years ago

Submitted by R Totale on September 1, 2022

Have a huge amount of respect for Sparrow's Nest but I do wish they'd adopt some kind of tagging system or something to make sorting through their material easier, just searching for every anarchist paper that mentions "Direct Action" is a bit of a headache.

Fozzie

2 years ago

Submitted by Fozzie on September 2, 2022

Yeah I agree.

It is a bit better if you use the advanced search on the site (Direct Action “AND” DAM). Or their uploads at archive.org

Fozzie

6 months 3 weeks ago

Submitted by Fozzie on February 13, 2024

So this is almost a complete archive now - does anyone have issues 16 or 53?

Direct Action #01 (1981)

"Enough is enough" - photo of an unemployment office

Including: DAM Aims and Principles, NHS, British fascism roundup, health & safety and women, SMOT - Russia's free trade union, WW1 mutinies, Newcastle unemployment protest, etc.

Submitted by Fozzie on December 2, 2023

With thanks to Kate Sharpley Library for providing a copy to be scanned.

Attachments

Comments

Direct Action #02 (1981)

Issue #2 of Direct Action, with stories on Charles and Diana's wedding, the school kids strike of 1911, "work experience" schemes like YOPS, education, cuts, health and safety hazards in the workplace, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 6, 2020

Attachments

DA 2.pdf (14.25 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #03 (1981)

Issue #3 of Direct Action, with articles on the start of the 1981 riot wave, CND, war and the arms industry, sterilisation, health hazards at work, the repression of the historical IWW in 1917-23, a split in the National Front, the limitations of the "right to work", a Rochdale pub barring members of the Direct Action Movement, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 6, 2020

Attachments

DA 3.pdf (14.72 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #04 (1981)

Issue #4 of Direct Action, with articles on the summer 1981 riots and state repression, a workplace occupation at Laurence Scott being evicted, Leeds DAM members being fined for selling papers, a police killing in Toxteth and the official response, radiation, the long hours and short holidays of UK workers, occupational deafness, an introduction to anarcho-syndicalism, fascism, police, prisons, Ireland, a proposal for charitable work after a nuclear war(!), the effects of class on health during pregnancy and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 6, 2020

Attachments

DA 4.pdf (15.18 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #05 (1981)

Issue #5 of Direct Action, with articles on the threat of nuclear war, armed police carrying out terror raids against Leeds anarchists, health hazards at work, El Salvador, "outworkers" organising in Leicester, workers' control in Barcelona, a diary from the workers' occupation at the British Columbia Telephone Company, Ireland, Poland, the USSR, riots in British history, the debate over public sector union NALGO affiliating to Labour, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 7, 2020

Attachments

DA 5.pdf (15.71 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #06 (1981)

Issue #6 of Direct Action, with articles on Solidarnosc in Poland, Northern Ireland, birth policy in China, the dangers of epoxy resin, a typists' dispute in Liverpool, the army, squatting, "community policing", work, a review of a pamphlet about unions and racism, reports on the far right, Churchill's interest in anthrax, Greenpeace, deportations and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 7, 2020

Attachments

DA 6.pdf (15.79 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #07 (1982)

Issue #7 of Direct Action, with articles on the SDP/Liberal alliance and the bankruptcy of mainstream politics, occupations by Scottish workers at British Aluminium and Loveable, a strike against victimisation at the Jewel Razor factory in Sheffield, the dangers of YOPS "training schemes", the difficulties of selling anarchist papers in Sunderland, the limits of the "right to work", deadly cooking oil in Spain, dangerous industrial chemicals like PCP, Chile, EMI and the arms industry, the campaign against the framing of Newton Rose in Hackney, syndicalism, the death of Spanish anarchosyndicalist Miguel Garcia, sexual harassment, the army, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 7, 2020

Attachments

DA 7.pdf (16.13 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #08 (1982)

Issue #8 of Direct Action, with articles on the Bradford 12 case, the possibility of another "hot summer" of riots, the dangers of Depo-Provera, the dispute at Lawrence Scotts, childbirth, sport and South Africa, the Jewel Razors strike in Sheffield, a crackdown on the peace movement in East Germany, the history of ITT, a crackdown on the DISK union in Turkey, a guide to youth cultures, the YOPS training schemes, the dangers of air conditioning, the 50th anniversary of the Kinder Scout trespass, new restrictions on health workers' ability to strike, a report on the far right, sabotage during a strike at Bernard Matthews, new tory cuts, police brutality and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 7, 2020

Attachments

DA 8.pdf (16.7 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #09 (1982)

Issue #9 of Direct Action, with articles on CND, Bakunin on Marxism, the latest far-right developments, a Leeds DAM member arrested during the Bradford 12 trial, commando-style raids against workplace occupations in France, a review of the "We Want to Riot not to Work" pamphlet, the Catholic Church officially excommunicating anarchists, Poland and Solidarnosc, anti-terror legislation being used against trade unionists, French anarchists being excluded from an amnesty for political prisoners, life in "socialist Lambeth", Israeli anarchism, the Dutch squatters movement and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 7, 2020

Attachments

DA 9.pdf (16.38 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #10 (1982)

Issue #10 of Direct Action, with articles on asbestos, the police, union notes, Militant (now the Socialist Party), the formation of a new anti-militarist network, Arthur Scargill, the principles of revolutionary syndicalism, nuclear weapons in the Falklands, DAM support for a hospital workers' dispute, the Spartacist League, a plug for the French anarchist Radio Libertaire and the newly-launched US publication Ideas & Action, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 8, 2020

Attachments

DA 10.pdf (15.49 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #11 (1982)

Issue #11 of Direct Action, with articles on the Libertarian Workers Group and North American anarcho-syndicalism, the need for a general strike, a critique of the left parties, unreported riots in Liverpool, Towards Anarchism by Malatesta, the effects of tory economic policies, Czech dissident Ivan Jirous being imprisoned, a look at the managing director of Holcroft Castings in Rochdale, the pay of the rich, the anti-authoritarian left in Poland, a review of a pamphlet about the left groups, a dispute at Heathfields in Slough, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 9, 2020

Attachments

DA 11.pdf (14.99 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #12 (1983)

Issue #12 of Direct Action, with articles on unemployment, a dispute at Aire Valley Yarns in West Yorkshire, industrial news, a report from an anarchist group in Poland, a report by Albert Meltzer from a CNT conference, reports on the anarchist movement in Japan, Italy and Ireland, a critique of letter bombs, a racist arson in Croydon, the eviction of a squatted peace centre in Sheffield, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 9, 2020

Attachments

DA 12.pdf (16.25 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #13 (1983)

Issue #13 of Direct Action, with articles on the crisis, bus workers' struggles in Sheffield, the Aire Valley yarns dispute in West Yorkshire, the Polish anarchist movement, a review of "With the Peasants of Aragorn" by Augustin Souchy, a dispute at St. James' Hospital, job cuts at Horwich Works in Bolton, a dispute at Hindles Gears, anarchism in Latin America, the canteen food at Holcrofts in Rochdale, the NUM's attitude to Russia and refusal to support Ukranian miners, an occupation of an army recruiting centre in Sheffield and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 9, 2020

Attachments

DA 13.pdf (15.54 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #14 (1983)

Issue #14 of Direct Action, with articles on the arms industry, Stop the City, a CNT victory at Spanish supermarket chain Carrefour, the Polish mining industry, the ongoing Hindles dispute, bus fares in Teesside, the Thornton View hospital occupation, the Haymarket Martyrs, a post-mortem on the TUC's March for Jobs, radioactive waste, arson by disgruntled workers, the Vancouver 5 case, new Japanese management techniques, repression against Radio Libertaire in France, an anarcha-feminist conference in Doncaster, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 9, 2020

Attachments

DA 14.pdf (15.72 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #15 (1984)

"Beyond 1984" IWA conference, contents.

Including: ID cards and surveillance, Barcelona anarcho syndicalist co-ops, water workers, repression in Wales, IWA conference, lessons from Warringon print workers strike, unions banned at GCHQ, Augustin Souchy obituary, Frank Kitson book reviewed, etc.

Submitted by Fozzie on December 2, 2023

With thanks to Kate Sharpley Library for providing a copy to be scanned.

Attachments

Comments

Direct Action #17 (August? 1984)

Issue #17 of Direct Action, with articles on the miners' strike, the involvement of women, the policing of the strike, workers refusing to help with arms sales to Chile, a strike at Barking hospital, the EEPTU union helping Hitachi to push through redundancies, strikes at Austin Rover/Leyland, repression in Cuba, a strike at IG Metall in (West) Germany, reviews of recent DAM pamphlets, Bakunin on co-operatives, the policing of Reagan's visit to London, an apology for issue #16 disappearing, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 10, 2020

Attachments

DA 17.pdf (20.25 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #18 (September 1984)

Issue #18 of Direct Action, with articles on the miners' strike, an anarcho-syndicalist perspective on the strike, international solidarity with the strike from the CNT, FAU and IWW, police brutality and pressure from social security, solidarity with the strike from Dutch, French and Polish workers, a fundraising single recorded by striking workers in Bradford, the refounding of the USI in Italy, solidarity with Polish workers, a police raid on 121 Bookshop, an occupation of South London Women's Hospital, international news including class struggle in the USSR, a strike at Phillips Rubber in Manchester, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 10, 2020

Attachments

DA 18.pdf (19.44 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #19 (October 1984)

Issue #19 of Direct Action, with articles on the politics of the miners' strike, a dockers' strike being called off, low pay among secretarial and clerical staff at the BBC, closures in the steel industry, the 1984 TUC conference, scabs in Kent connected to the Freedom Association, a strike by Asian textile workers in Birmingham at Kewal Brothers, wildcat strikes at the Austin Rover Cowley plant, and a syndicalist critique of both the TUC mainstream and Scargill.

Submitted by R Totale on May 11, 2020

Attachments

DA 19.pdf (8.17 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #20 (November 1984)

Issue #20 of Direct Action, with articles on miners and the law, Ian MacGregor, the idea of an international miners' union as "the miners' next step", mutual aid, a strike by NCB repair staff, Burnley Claimants Union, violence and the class war after the Brighton bombing, the development of military robots, the FAU and anarcho-syndicalism in Germany, an anarchist paperseller arrested in Leeds, a letter from the Libertarian Workers Group, "Ireland - Britain's Vietnam", a strike at Disneyland, the death of Ukranian unionist Alexei Nikitin, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 11, 2020

Attachments

Comments

Kate Sharpley

3 months 3 weeks ago

Submitted by Kate Sharpley on May 16, 2024

http://www.thesparrowsnest.org.uk/collections/public_archive/6470.pdf

Fozzie

3 months 3 weeks ago

Submitted by Fozzie on May 16, 2024

Ah! Good spot KSL - the PDF was missing and I have now added it.

Direct Action #21 (December 1984-January 1985)

Issue #21 of Direct Action, with articles on solidarity with the miners over the Christmas period, the French CNT supporting the miners, the need to smash the state, Cammell Laird shipyard workers in Birkenhead being jailed for occupying, Ghanian sailors occupying a ship in Birkenhead docks, the Bolshevik counter-revolution, a policy document looking at possible outcomes for the class struggle in 1985, an article by Phillip Sansom on syndicalism, Eric Hammond and the EEPTU as an example of "company unionism", and a dispute by Dublin shopworkers refusing to sell South African food.

Submitted by R Totale on May 11, 2020

Attachments

DA 21.pdf (21.01 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #22 (February 1985)

Issue #22 of Direct Action, with articles on the need for solidarity action with the miners, a report from a conference to plan such action, job cuts on Teesside, the importance of solidarity, Polypipe in Doncaster, the Fitzwilliam Nine trial, Philip Kane on the relevance of anarchism today, reviews of Medway DAM pamphlets on feminism and porn, surrogate mothers and childbirth, prison abolition, syndicalism in Latin America, pollution in the Adriatic sea, the ZZZ and the history of Polish syndicalism, violence and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 11, 2020

Attachments

DA 22.pdf (16.97 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #23 (March 1985)

Issue #23 of Direct Action, with articles on the issues behind the miners' strike, the lack of effective solidarity from other unions, the threat of automation, a Mineworkers' Defence Committee conference dominated by the left groups, Willie Gallacher on direct action, changes to housing benefit payments, a critical look at Derek Hatton and Liverpool's Militant (now Socialist Party)-run council, an IWW strike in New York, Coca-Cola and death squads in Guatemala, free unionism in Romania, the history of the miners and British syndicalism, prisoners of the miners' strike, the anniversary of the Barking hospital dispute, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 11, 2020

Attachments

DA 23.pdf (18.5 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #24 (April 1985)

Issue #24 of Direct Action, with articles on the end of the miners' strike, nuclear weapons, strategy for miners after the strike, international news from the IWW, the COB in Bolivia, and the Guatemala Coca-Cola dispute, Esperanto, Albert Camus and syndicalism, poverty and the welfare system, cancer, the fighting union SAAWU in South Africa, the free trade union SLOMR in Romania, the history of British syndicalism and the miners, nuclear power, rising energy prices and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 11, 2020

Attachments

DA 24.pdf (21.92 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #25 (May 1985)

Direct Action #25 1985 cover

An issue of this anarcho-syndicalist paper including: trade unions and the political levy to the Labour Party, miners organise internationally, women workers and syndicalism, Conservative party and the far right, May Day in Poland, the roots of May Day, IWA Northern Sections conference, etc

Submitted by Fozzie on December 16, 2022

PDF courtesy of Sparrows Nest Archive.

Attachments

Comments

Direct Action #26 (July 1985)

Issue #26 of Direct Action, with articles on miners in prison after the strike, planned Europe-wide cuts in the coal industry, abortion and scientific research, a report from a Bolton DAM meeting addressed by a formerly imprisoned miner, racism, industrial news including a strike at Golden Wonder crisps and the Windsor Castle pub in Liverpool, the history and present of the IWW, opposition to nuclear power in Italy, the Fowler review of the benefits system and welfare cuts, football violence, a continued debate about the "Future is Ours" article from issue 21, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 12, 2020

Attachments

DA 26.pdf (17.67 MB)

Comments

R Totale

4 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by R Totale on May 12, 2020

The mention of a "Strike at Windsor Castle" in this one really threw me until I realised it referred to a pub in Liverpool and not a little-known outbreak of militancy among royal servants.

Direct Action #27 (January 1986)

Issue #27 of Direct Action, with a review of 1985's news, a critique of the right-wing leadership of the electricians' union EEPTU, the need for rank and file groups and a report from a "rank and file conference wrecked by Marxists", a guide to health and safety at work, an article from the French CNT about the situation in France, slave labour under the Nazis and in Brazil today, a history of the IWA-AIT and announcement of the IWW's planned conference in Chicago for the 100th anniversary of the Haymarket Massacre, a review of "The Good Terrorist" by Doris Lessing and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 12, 2020

Attachments

DA 27.pdf (19.19 MB)

Comments

Serge Forward

4 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Serge Forward on May 13, 2020

Heh heh... it's got a letter from me writing as "Chris Wells, Manchester" which the editorial group hammered. Although a couple of issues later, Dave Douglass backs me up. Memories, eh.

Direct Action #28 (February 1986)

Issue #28 of Direct Action, with articles on the start of the Wapping dispute and the need for real solidarity across the union movement, the electricians' union EEPTU putting out promotional materials with endorsements from managers and Norman Tebbit, Britain's low wages, the Westland Affair, syndicalism and class, reviews of books on Bolivia and Peru, benefit cuts, a unionist on hunger strike in Grenada, international news from South Africa, Turkey, France, Spain and Latin Ameria, the French CGT and WWI, an appeal to support Chilean anarcho-syndicalists, the Silentnight dispute and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 12, 2020

Attachments

DA 28.pdf (18.37 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #29 (March 1986)

Issue #29 of Direct Action, with articles on the Wapping, French Connection and Silentnight disputes, health and safety at work, privatisation at British Leyland, the push to turn workers into "self-employed" contractors, syndicalism and control, a review of a pamphlet about women's health in the workplace, a controversy over "natural childbirth" methods, resistance to the Fowler Review benefit cuts, international news from the Philippines and the French CNT, France '68, a special extra supplement on the Laings lock-out dispute in the construction industry, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 12, 2020

Attachments

DA 29.pdf (23.67 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #30 (April 1986)

Issue #30 of Direct Action, with articles on nuclear waste, the Protestant general strike in Northern Ireland, the Silentnight dispute, union officials sabotaging disputes, the new budget announcement, a DAM member being sacked by Michelin in Ballymena, syndicalism and war, a review of "Come and wet this truncheon" by Dave Douglass, "Red Wedge" and Labour, the latest news on the benefits system, international news from Nicaragua, Iran Australia, Uruguay, South Africa and the US, James Connolly, James Larkin and the Easter Rising of 1916, a report from the AFA conference where Class War were suspended, DAM activity, the lead-up to the Wapping dispute, a May Day poster and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 12, 2020

Attachments

DA 30.pdf (23.51 MB)

Comments

R Totale

4 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by R Totale on May 12, 2020

Think there's a typo on the first page here where it talks about "Ian Paisley, John Molyneux and the Orange Order" - I think they mean James Molyneaux there, there's a lot of criticisms I would make of John Molyneux but I don't think he was ever an important figure in Ulster Loyalism.

Direct Action #31 (May 1986)

Issue #31 of Direct Action, with articles on terrorism after the Berlin disco bombing and revenge attacks by the US, May Day 100 years on from the Haymarket massacre, privatisation of health and water, a short story about elections, a syndicalist perspective on guns and bombs, liberal vs syndicalist attitudes to education, a profile of the Dutch syndicalist union OVB, the French CNT's dispute with supermarket chain Mammoth, the 1926 general strike, Italian fascist terrorists in London, increased repression against Rochdale DAM, tensions between Ulster loyalists and the state, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 12, 2020

Attachments

DA 31.pdf (20.9 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #32A (July 1986)

Issue #32 of Direct Action, with articles on South Africa, Chernobyl, Richard Dawkins and The Selfish Gene, the environment, capitalism and food, a report from the IWW's international conference, Spanish dockers' struggles, a docks occupation in Gibraltar, repression against the CNT, rank-and-file revolt in the 1960s, a debate over an article on education from #31, sackings of militants at Donaldson Filters, attacks on travellers, and a special feature on Spain 1936 and report from Spain 50 years on.

Submitted by R Totale on May 13, 2020

The "Spain 50 years on/Spain 1986" feature in this issue caused controversy within the Direct Action Movement due to the favourable mention of the CNT split that would become the CGT, and so the next issue featured an apology referring to this as a "bogus issue", and was also numbered 32.

Attachments

DA 32A.pdf (31.9 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #32B (September 1986)

The "official" issue #32 of Direct Action, with articles on Labour and the TUC, Northern Ireland, the Silentnight dispute, workplace hazards, a successful strike at Bellhouse Hartwell, disputes at A1 Feeds and Nove Leather, an interview with a Wapping striker and critique of the printers' union SOGAT leadership, the defeat of striking cleaners at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge, eviction resistance at a Paddington hostel, May Day around the world, political manipulation of a Chilean union, repression against a Japanese anarchist, South Africa, benefit cuts, an apology for the previous issue's pro-CGT contents, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 13, 2020

Attachments

DA32B.pdf (19.36 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #33 (October 1986)

Issue #33 of Direct Action, with articles on fascism and antifascism 50 years after Cable Street, the Co-Op selling scab beds from Silentnight, a strike for equal pay at Yorkshire Imperial Plastics in Leeds, new TUC rules on strike ballots, a dangerous acid cloud over Manchester, the con of employee share ownership, Labour and the TUC's role in enforcing cuts, a no-strike deal in Italy, Norwegian unionists rejecting the UK's scabby electricians' union, an interview with an editor of the CNT paper Solidaridad Obrera, racist attacks, police racism, a class perspective on Ireland, the police, riots in St Paul's in Bristol, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 13, 2020

Attachments

DA 33.pdf (19.15 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #34 (November 1986)

Cover of Direct Action 34 1986

An issue of this anarcho-syndicalist newspaper including: Public Order Bill, Wapping, nuclear power, Antoine Turmo obituary, Restart interviews, plastic bullets in Northern Ireland, South Africa, etc.

Submitted by Fozzie on December 16, 2022

PDF courtesy of Sparrows Nest Archive, Nottingham.

Attachments

DA-34-1986.pdf (8.9 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #35 (December 1986)

Issue #35 of Direct Action, with articles on privatisation, nationalisation, and workers' control, TUC "realism", print trade unionists threatened with prison, a dispute at J E Hangers in Roehampton, the Silentnight and Wapping disputes, bus service and council cuts, rail news, pollution on the Rhine, repression against the BLF in Australia, anarcho-syndicalism in South America, the drug industry, Enoch Powell no-platformed in Bristol, Labour suggesting ID cards for the unemployed, the NF's Remembrance Day march, the NHS, the idea of a social general strike, reviews of writings about Hungary 1956, a new union-management deal in engineering, cervical cancer screenings, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 13, 2020

Attachments

DA 35.pdf (20.94 MB)

Comments

Serge Forward

4 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Serge Forward on May 13, 2020

No issue 34?

R Totale

4 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by R Totale on May 13, 2020

The Sparrow's Nest collection seems to be missing a few issues, #34 being one of them.

Direct Action #36 (January-February 1987)

Issue #36 of Direct Action, with articles on Wapping, the J E Hangars and Silentnight disputes, attacks on workplace compensation rights, the Sunday Sport, Reagan and Iran-Contra, legal cases in the US and UK about "foetal rights", the revolt in France, US meatpackers forming an independent union after the defeat at Hormel, Spain, the BBC and DHSS, co-ops, prison revolts, the need for rank-and-file groups outside Labour/TUC control, Poland five years after martial law, a special supplement on education for liberation in South Africa, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 14, 2020

Attachments

DA 36.pdf (24.79 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #37 (March 1987)

Issue #37 of Direct Action, with articles on the need for cross-sectional solidarity to win strikes, the lessons of Wapping, disputes at Ardbride/Laura Ashley and a Hackney sweatshop, the defeat of the Silentnight strike, strip searches of Northern Irish women prisoners, a court case over abortion rights, a debate on co-ops, the proposed poll tax, news from Italy, Brazil, Bolivia and the Netherlands, the COSATU organising the unemployed in South Africa, strikes at Wheelers fish restaurant in Brighton, the Trader print group, and a Caterpillar occupation, racism on the dole, life under the Australian Labour Party and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 14, 2020

Attachments

DA 37.pdf (21.49 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #38 (April 1987)

Issue #38 of Direct Action, with articles on direct action vs trade union inaction in the Laura Ashley/Ardbride dispute, a rank and file garment workers movement in the north east, a strike at Keetons in Sheffield, the effects of living in a class-divided society, the limits of the official TUC women's conference, the politics of boycotts after Paul Simon played South Africa, the re-emergence of Greek anarchism, benefit cuts attacking mothers, the Iran-Iraq water, repression after the Broadwater Farm riots, workers' control, a review of Scotswood Road by Jimmy Forsyth, the credit/debt boom and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 14, 2020

Attachments

DA 38.pdf (20.7 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #39 (May 1987)

Issue #39 of Direct Action, with articles on a strike against low pay in the civil service, the Ardbride/Laura Ashley and Midlands Trader disputes, tensions in the post office, Islington's "socialist" Labour council trying to break the union, the 1987 election, fascism, the USI and French CNT, Turkish anarchism, a strike wave in Brazil, chemical and biological weapons, the need for solidarity with South African workers, workplace hazards like RSI, a report from a DAM conference, the introduction of GCSEs, worldwide starvation and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 14, 2020

Attachments

DA 39.pdf (19.92 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #40 (May-June 1987)

Issue #40 of Direct Action, with an article about the Ardbride/Laura Ashley strikers breaking with the T&GWU union, YTS schemes and vocational education, nuclear power, a conference about VDU work, Direct Action Groups fighting the dictatorship in Chile, struggles against the "socialist" government in Spain, a Chilean exile banned from Northern Ireland, a special anti-electoral supplement, the need for a rank-and-file movement and all-out strike action in the civil service, the Keetons strike in Sheffield, SAS killings in Northern Ireland, the police protecting the BNP, compulsory sterilisation, the Midlands Trader dispute, an interview with the Australian BLF, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 14, 2020

Attachments

DA 40.pdf (26.6 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #41 (July-August 1987)

Issue #41 of Direct Action, with articles on the Coleman strike in Manchester, a conference of strike support groups, a strike over compulsory overtime at HFW Plastics in Gateshead, the racism of the British state, riots in Leeds, media coverage of cervical cancer, a defeat for the NF in Thurrock, the CNT struggle in Puerto Real, international news, the collapse of a joint union pay campaign in the civil service, sackings at Salford Plastics, the prosecution of two Leicester unionists involved in the Wapping dispute, Jewish anarchism in the East End, the Mujeres Libres, sectarianism in Northern Ireland, an interview with the French CNT, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 14, 2020

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DA 41 cover.png (2.72 MB)

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Direct Action #42 (September 1987)

Issue #42 of Direct Action, with articles on a strike support group conference, strikes by Frickley miners and London bus drivers, an occupation at Salford Plastics, state racism and the immigration system, reproductive rights, Reagan's "Star Wars" plans, anti-deportation campaigns, union "broad lefts" holding back action, the Midlands Trader dispute, a meat factory occupation in County Antrim, the COBAS movement in Italy, the CNT struggle in Puerto Real, a Wall Street Journal article on slowdowns, the Iran-Iraq War, a report of a tour about the Mujeres Libres and a play about Emma Goldman, repression against South African unionists and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 14, 2020

Direct Action #43 (October 1987)

Issue #43 of Direct Action, with articles on the Keetons dispute in Sheffield, disability rights, a DAM conference, welfare restructuring, the arms race, death squads in Northern Ireland, the poll tax, racial divisions in schools, cuts by Hackney's left Labour council, a victory for Bolton's Unemployed Workers Centre, the Dead Kennedys court case, bread riots in Romania, the CNT and the Puerto Real struggle, tulip growers in Holland, an interview with Eastenders actor Tom Watt, the Haymarket martyrs, gentrification and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 15, 2020

Attachments

DA 43.pdf (23.19 MB)

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Direct Action #44 (November 1987)

Issue #44 of Direct Action, with articles on a wage struggle and new disciplinary rules at Leeds Council, a successful strike at Metalastik, abortion and women in the class struggle in Britain and Northern Ireland, revolt and repression in the prison system, jailed miners, state racism, a "mischief-maker's handbook" from the 1 in 12, a special feature on 1917 in Russia and its effects in the UK, letters on contraception, patriarchy and working in the unions, an interview about Poland under martial law, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 15, 2020

Attachments

DA 44.pdf (23.95 MB)

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R Totale

4 years 3 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by R Totale on May 15, 2020

By the way, this one also has a brief mention of an avant-garde art group in Yugoslavia winning a government-sponsored poster competition by entering an old Nazi Party design. I imagine this is the sort of thing that it'd probably be possible to research, but without checking, what do people reckon the odds are that this is an early mention of Laibach/NSK?

Direct Action #45 (December 1987-January 1988)

Issue #45 of Direct Action, with articles on post, Liverpool rail, and West Yorkshire bus disputes, the poll tax, wrongful imprisonment, Northern Ireland and the Enniskillen bombing, the Manchester Martyrs march, Remembrance Day, AFA and the NF, a Hackney housing activist dying of chemical poisoning, a review of "The Killing Floor", deaths in winter, Australian apartheid, the gentrification of New York, solidarity between Norwegian and Polish workers, a solidarity conference in Leeds, letters on working in the trade unions, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 15, 2020

Attachments

DA 45.pdf (23.69 MB)

Comments

Direct Action #46 (February 1988)

Issue #46 of Direct Action, with articles on NHS disputes, unofficial strikes at Ford, Linda Bellos overseeing "left Labour" cuts in Lambeth, abortion rights and sackings of pregnant workers, Clause 27/Section 28, a post dispute being called off, a call for a rank-and-file council workers group, an interview with Dave Douglass, the USI and struggles in Italy, the first Intifada, women in the Puerto Real struggle, a Moroccan miners' occupation, anarchism and theory with reviews of The Heavy Stuff, Attack and a pamphlet on animal liberation, the divided working class in Northern Ireland, and more.

Submitted by R Totale on May 15, 2020