History of Solidarity History of Solidarity The history of Solidarity (, pronounced ), a Polish non-governmental trade union, began on August 14, 1980, at the Lenin Shipyards (now Gdańsk Shipyards) at its founding by Lech Wałęsa and others. In the early 1980s, it became the first independent labor union in a Soviet-bloc country. Solidarity gave rise to a broad, non-violent, anti-communist social movement that, at its height, claimed some 9.4 million members. It is considered to have contributed greatly to the fall of communism. Poland's communist government attempted to destroy the union by instituting martial law in 1981, followed by several years of
Solidarity (Industrial Workers of the World) had moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where it remained until March 3, 1917. The newspaper began publishing in Chicago, Illinois, on March 10, 1917. The first issue of "Solidarity" was published on December 18, 1909, and publication lasted until March 18, 1917. In November, 1917, publication of "Solidarity" was suspended and replaced by "Defense News Bulletin", which chronicled the IWW's legal campaign to defend union members and leaders who had been arrested under the government's anti-syndicalism campaign. "Defense News Bulletin" continued publication until July 1918. The following members of the Industrial Workers of the World were editors of "Solidarity": Solidarity (Industrial