Forty years ago, in August 1976, six workers walked out of the Grunwick Film Processing Laboratory in Willesden, igniting an historic two-year dispute.
As the first workers left the factory, one - Jayaben Desai - offered a parting shot to the management: "What you are running here is not a factory, it is a zoo. But in a zoo there are many types of animals. Some are monkeys who dance on your fingertips, others are lions who can bite your head off. We are the lions, Mr Manager."
The first half dozen women were soon joined by most of the workforce - and thousands of trade unionists from around the country, including miners, came to the aid of the mostly female Asian work force. Grunwick became one of the most bitterly fought trade union battles of the 1970s, with police arresting and assaulting hundreds of people on the picket lines.
Next Saturday 3rd December, the Mary Quaile Club pays homage to the Grunwick workers and marks the forty year anniversary of the strike with a screening of a sixty minute documentary, The Great Grunwick Strike, made in 2008 by Chris Thomas for Brent Trades Council. It tells the story of the strike, and includes interviews with the strikers and their supporters.
Also speaking at the event will be Sujata Aurora, Chair of the Grunwick 40 Steering Group, an alliance of Brent-based trade unionists and community campaigners formed to mark the 40th anniversary of the Grunwick strike. She has been active in anti-racist and solidarity movements for three decades.
There will also be a speaker from one of today's most important disputes - Lisa Turnbull from the Durham Teaching Assistants, a group of mainly women workers who are facing huge wage cuts imposed by Labour-controlled Durham County Council, and have voted overwhelmingly to strike.
The event has been organised in conjunction with the Manchester and Salford branch of the National Union of Journalists and Manchester Trades Union Council.
`We are the Lions'
Looking Back at the Grunwick Strike 1976-1978.
Saturday 3rd December 1pm-3pm
Working Class Movement Library
51 Crescent M5 4WX
Entrance is free with a collection to defray expenses. Seating is limited in the Library Annexe, so to be sure of a seat book in advance by emailing maryquaileclub@gmail.com
Website: https://maryquaileclub.wordpress.com