The Media Archive for Central England is the public screen archive for the East and West Midlands. An independent charity and company based at the University of Lincoln, MACE acquires, catalogues, preserves and makes widely available moving image materials that inform our understanding of the diverse cultures and histories of communities between the Lincolnshire coast and the Welsh border.
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British Leyland and the Dockers
An early sighting of British Leyland's Red Robbo - one of the most charismatic or notorious trade unionists depending on where you political allegiances lie.
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Overview
In 1972 Derek Robinson was deputy to Dick Etheridge as the Amalgamated Engineering Workers Union convenor at the Longbridge car factory. He also stood twice as a Communist candidate in the local Birmingham Northfield seat. In this early interview with Hugh Owens of ATV Today he has brought the men out in support of a group of dockers jailed for contempt of court. Allegedly the man behind 523 walk-outs over two years this would not be his last media encounter.
Derek Robinson, who had worked at Longbridge since 1941, was sacked by British Leyland in November 1979 following the publication of an unofficial union pamphlet calling for workers to mount disruptive action against the reorganisation plans of BL Chairman Michael Edwardes. The expected strike in support of Robinson was not forthcoming and the Edwardes reforms which closed several BL factories, but secured government funding to develop the Metro car, were implemented.
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