Lech Wałęsa

Shipyard workers begin a strike that becomes a national movement

📅 14 Ougùstùs 1980

Workers at the Lenin Shipyard struck after Anna Walentynowicz was dismissed, building on earlier labor protests and local grievances. The strike committee connected workplace demands with political...

Government and strike committee sign the Gdańsk Agreement

📅 31 Ougùstùs 1980

The agreement accepted independent self-governing trade unions and a right to strike, alongside other demands. Polish workers shaped the settlement through collective action; Moscow’s regional power...

Independent trade unions unite as Solidarity

📅 17 Sèptèmber 1980

Delegates from workplace committees agreed to form the national union Solidarność. It became a mass organization rooted in Polish workers and civil society, challenging one-party rule without being...