environment – Working Class History

October 30, 2020July 7, 2025 Working Class History Podcast

E47-48: Green bans

Double podcast episode about green bans by building workers in Australia from 1970 to 1975 which held up billions of dollars of development which would have been harmful to the environment, or working class and Aboriginal communities.

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12 November 1956: Liverpool dockers boycott - On This Day in Working Class History

On this day, 12 November 1956, 70 Liverpool dock workers refused to load a Soviet ship, the Riazan, in protest against the USSR’s repression of the Hungarian uprising, which had begun a few weeks previously and saw workers' councils spread throughout the country demanding socialism with workers' control.The Liverpool dockers were asked again the following morning to load the ship with its cargo of rubber, and workers were told by their union that by not loading the ship they were in breach of their contract, but still they refused.PJ O’Hare, docks and district secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU), explained: “These ships are like the plague to the men.”The Riazan was due to be loaded with hundreds of tons of rubber, but eventually left Liverpool empty a few days later.The same day as the initial action by Liverpool dockers, Scottish mineworkers passed a resolution to send £1000 in relief to Hungary, including in the resolution a condemnation of “the aggression of the Soviet Union in Hungary.”The action by Liverpool dockers was subsequently followed by similar action on another Russian ship by dockers in Hull.More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/13009/Liverpool-dockers-solidarity-with-Hungarian-revolutionOur work is only possible because of support from you, our listeners on patreon. If you appreciate our work, please join us and access exclusive content and benefits at patreon.com/workingclasshistory.See all of our anniversaries each day, alongside sources and maps on the On This Day section of our Stories app: stories.workingclasshistory.com/date/todayBrowse all Stories by Date here on the Date index: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/dateCheck out our Map of historical Stories: https://map.workingclasshistory.comCheck out books, posters, clothing and more in our online store, here: https://shop.workingclasshistory.comIf you enjoy this podcast, make sure to check out our flagship longform podcast, Working Class History