#rabbleReels: Victory To The Dockers.

In Blogby Rashers TierneyLeave a Comment

It’s nigh on 20 years this week since the Liverpool Dockers dispute kicked off. It centred around a group of workers who refused to cross a picket in support of other dockers.

Their sacking on September 29th led to a two year high profile struggle for reinstatement that propelled them forward as a symbol of resistance to globalisation’s casualistaion agenda.

Along the way they made some interesting allies, most notably there was the Robbie Fowler incident where he pulled up his t-shirt to unveil the brilliant subversion of Calvin Klein that decked out campaign materials.  This remarkably astute use of pop culture saw them hooking up with the KLF for a riotous live performance called Fuck The Millenium at Barbican Hall some years later.

Some great TV exists around the dispute. The most notable watch is Dockers, a hard hitting Jimmy McGovern TV drama penned with the help of some of those that worked on the docks and a certain Scot called Irvine Welsh. For those looking for a factual background on the dispute, then the Ken Loach doc above is your only man.

Read more about the whole dispute over at Urban75.com . While you can watch Jimmy McGovern’s Dockers on 4OD.

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