"One of the most elemental human rights [is] the right to belong to a free trade union."
~~ Ronald Reagan in a radio address to the nation on Solidarity and United States relations With Poland, October 9, 1982 http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=43110 In Context: My fellow Americans: Yesterday the Polish Government, a military dictatorship, took another far-reaching step in their persecution of their own people. They declared Solidarity, the organization of the working men and women of Poland, their free union, illegal. Yes, I know Poland is a faraway country in Eastern Europe. Still, this action is a matter of profound concern to all the American people and to the free world. Ever since martial law was brutally imposed last December, Polish authorities have been assuring the world that they're interested in a genuine reconciliation with the Polish people. But the Polish regime's action yesterday reveals the hollowness of its promises. By outlawing Solidarity, a free trade organization to which an overwhelming majority of Polish workers and farmers belong, they have made it clear that they never had any intention of restoring ONE OF THE MOST ELEMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS - THE RIGHT TO BELONG TO A FREE TRADE UNION. [caps added -jrm] The so-called new trade union legislation under which this contrary and backward step has been taken claims to substitute a structure and framework for the establishment of free trade unions in Poland. But the free world can see this is only a sham. It is clear that such unions, if formed, will be mere extensions of the Polish Communist Party... ~Full text at link: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=43110
