Hull drivers fight for jobs
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— with or without TGWU
• More than 200 lorry drivers attended a meeting held at the Walton Street lorry park in Hull on Sunday to discuss the action of the dockers in blacking firms and holding strikes, and the general feeling at the meeting was that these actions were threatening their jobs.
Unofficial leaders pledged to put up a fight for their jobs — with or without assistance from the TGWU.
One of the spokesmen for the men, Mr Eric Hird, who is a depot foreman in the port and a TGWU shop steward, said they were only seeking to earn a living and it cost them just as much as the dockers for a loaf of bread. He went on "There are seven drivers in the TGWU for every docker. It is a big union: yet the dockers go against the union and then turn round and tell them what to do. They have put us out of work". He continued, "Something has to be done and we have to fight for ourselves".
Unofficial leaders are stepping up the campaign and it is expected that a mass meeting planned for next Sunday will be attended by many of the 3000 lorry drivers in the area, and even by some of their employers, for, said Mr Hird, "It affects the bosses as much as it does us".