14th August 1980: Lech Walesa leads a strike in a Polish shipyard that leads to the Solidarity union

A week into the strike, a government commission began negotiations with the striking workers. By August 30, an agreement was signed with representatives of the Gdańsk workers, addressing many of their demands.

On August 14, 1980, electrician Lech Walesa initiated a strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. This pivotal event sparked the creation of the Solidarity trade union. The action followed a decade of economic and political instability in Poland.

The immediate cause of the industrial action was the dismissal of Anna Walentynowicz, a popular crane operator and activist at the shipyard. She was fired just five months before her retirement for her involvement with an illegal trade union, a decision that angered the workforce and prompted demands for her reinstatement.

The success of the workers' action, which even led to political changes including the resignation of the Polish Communist Party’s General Secretary, emboldened the Polish people and fueled the formal establishment of the national labor union, Solidarity. Within two years, up to 80% of the Polish workforce joined Solidarity or its affiliated organizations, regularly employing strikes to achieve political aims. A significant four-hour warning strike in March 1981, involving 12 million people, demonstrated that the Communist Party was no longer the dominant force in the country.