Solidarity Strike! (March 27, 1981)

On this day in 1981: More than 12 million Poles go on strike for 4 hours as part of the Solidarity movement.

When you look back at historical moments like this, they can be very revealing about how a movement can change the world.

Solidarity (Polish: Solidarność, pronounced [sɔliˈdarnɔɕt͡ɕ]), full name Independent Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarity” (Niezależny Samorządny Związek Zawodowy „Solidarność”, abbreviated NSZZ „Solidarność” [ɲɛzaˈlɛʐnɨ samɔˈʐɔndnɨ ˈzvjɔ̃zɛɡ zavɔˈdɔvɨ sɔliˈdarnɔɕt͡ɕ]), is a Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. Subsequently, it was the first independent trade union in a Warsaw Pact country to be recognised by the state. The union’s membership peaked at 10 million in September 1981, representing one-third of the country’s working-age population. Solidarity’s leader Lech Wałęsa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 and the union is widely recognized as having played a central role in the end of Communist rule in Poland.

In the 1980s, Solidarity was a broad anti-bureaucratic social movement, using methods of civil resistance to advance the causes of workers’ rights and social change. Government attempts in the early 1980s to destroy the union through the imposition of martial law in Poland and the use of political repression failed. Operating underground, with significant financial support from the Vatican and the United States, the union survived and by the later 1980s had entered into negotiations with the government.

The 1989 round table talks between the government and the Solidarity-led opposition produced agreement for the 1989 legislative elections, the country’s first pluralistic election since 1947. By the end of August, a Solidarity-led coalition government was formed and in December 1990, Wałęsa was elected President of Poland.

Following Poland’s transition to liberal capitalism in the 1990s and the extensive privatization of state assets, Solidarity’s membership declined significantly; by 2010, 30 years after being founded, the union had lost more than 90% of its original membership.

Wikipedia

They say timing is everything, which is ironic, since I have purposely set the clock to 9 am local time in Warsaw. However, that one inconjunct, amongst all the stress-filled oppositions and squares, could be the key.

Uranus Inconjunct Ascendant

Your need to be free and do what you want is often in conflict with what others require of you and even with what you feel you ought to do. Sometimes this conflict can cause considerable physical and emotional pain. The task you face is to organize your life in a disciplined way that will enable you to satisfy your need for freedom through your everyday activities. One way to accomplish this is by figuring out your own methods for doing your work.

(Or, in this case, NOT doing your work.)

Comparing this event with the Truckers’ Freedom Convoy shows the differences between truly organized ‘civil resistance’ and a minor (but extended) inconvenience.

Okay. I didn’t expect so many links to show between these two charts: Solidarity’s Uranus is conjunct the Convoy’s South Node; Solidarity’s South Node is conjunct the Convoy’s Sun; the Convoy’s Part of Fortune is conjunct Solidarity’s Midheaven. And their two Moons are almost exactly conjunct. Hmm.

On second thought, maybe the Truckers’ Freedom Convoy will also change Canada and the world forever. Stranger things have happened when people come together in Solidarity!