We went to do our regular sale of the Socialist at our local bus station. With the London bus workers’ strike on the back page, we sold to both passengers running to work, and to drivers who slowed down to get a copy as they left the station.
Then the station manager officiously ordered us off “private property” and summoned community support officers. We decamped to the edge of the station.
One of us then had a long chat with the community support officers, who were in the PCS union and had been on strike themselves, so were very sympathetic. The other seller stood with paper held high so the drivers could see the headline and gave the clenched fist salute as a procession of buses pulled out. The manager stood on guard between us and the buses. Every driver responded with a nod, a smile, a wave, a thumbs-up or a clenched first – and a few held up a copy of the Socialist.
We then visited a bus garage nearby. It looked small but no less than 400 drivers worked the shifts, with over 90% union membership. The branch chair and local rep were very appreciative of our support.
