Solidarity (Polish trade union) Solidarity (Polish trade union) Solidarity (, pronounced ; full name: Independent Self-governing Labour Union "Solidarity"—"Niezależny Samorządny Związek Zawodowy "Solidarność"" ) is a Polish labour union that was founded on 17 September 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard under the leadership of Lech Wałęsa. It was the first trade union in a Warsaw Pact country that was not controlled by a communist party. Its membership peaked at 10 million members at its September 1981 Congress, which constituted one third of the total working-age population of Poland. In the 1980s, Solidarity was a broad anti-bureaucratic social movement, using the methods of civil resistance
History of Solidarity Monument to Fallen Shipyard Workers was unveiled in Gdańsk, and on June 28, 1981, another monument was unveiled in Poznan, which commemorated the Poznań 1956 protests. On January 15, 1981, a Solidarity delegation, including Lech Wałęsa, met in Rome with Pope John Paul II. From September 5 to 10, and from September 26 to October 7, Solidarity's first national congress was held in Hala Olivia, Gdańsk, and Lech Wałęsa was elected its president. Last accord of the congress was adoption of republican program "Self-governing Republic". Meanwhile, Solidarity had been transforming itself from a trade union into a social movement or