Leader in the Struggle for Workers' Rights

Lech Walesa made history for his contribution in the area of social justice. He is most famous for his involvement in the movement of Solidarity, a Polish trade union. Due to his courage and leadership, Solidarity became the first independent labor union belonging to the U.S.S.R. in the early 1980s. His personal beliefs in freedom and humanity, which were rooted in his Catholic faith, sustained him and gave inspiration to others.

Walesa was born to a family of peasant farmers on September 29, 1943 in Popowo, Poland. He received a primary education and training as an electrician in a local agricultural machinery college. After graduating from vocational school he served in the military for two years. In 1967 Walesa was employed as an electrician in a huge Lenin shipyard in Gdansk, on the Baltic coast. He married Danuta Golos, in 1969, and they had eight children together. As a devout Catholic, he was very shocked by the repression of the shipyard workers when they protested for more rights. He made contact with many small opposition groups and soon emerged as one of the leaders of the shipyard workers. He was often detained by soldiers and in 1976 he lost his job for gaining support for independent trade unions. Due to his activities in union actions, he was kept under surveillance by the state security service.

Under communism, Polish workers and students had little freedom and were repressed by their government. In the early 1970s the Polish economy was failing and food prices rose, causing riots to break out. In 1980, food prices increased once more and wage controls were imposed. The shipyard workers staged more protests and strikes, taking over the shipyard. Lech Walesa, fiercely patriotic, climbed the fence of the Lenin shipyard to join the workers inside. He was elected head of a strike committee to negotiate with management. The strikers were calling for rights for workers to strike and the ability to form independent trade unions. Their list of demands was written on two wooden boards which were called, "the 21 postulates." This list included demands for freedom of speech, release of political prisoners, the end of censorship, and religious freedom. In this way, Walesa moved his fellow workers away from mere wage claims and toward a more daring political demand: free trade unions.

When the government finally agreed to the workers' right to organize freely and independently, 10 million workers and farmers, Ð'ј of the population of Poland, joined this national federation of unions called SOLIDARNOSC (Solidarity). Solidarity was officially recognized by the government in 1980 and became the country's first legally recognized independent trade union since the end of World War II. As a result, censorship by the government was eased and Poland experienced a renaissance of free speech for the first time since 1945. More private newspapers circulated, political films and television were created, banned authors were published again, and new passport laws allowed greater freedom of travel. Even Lech Walesa could travel now to many countries as a guest speaker of the International Labor Organization.

In Poland he urged moderation in dealing with the government. He asked workers to cooperate with it so that the reforms would not antagonize the Soviet Union. Even though martial law was imposed in 1981 and restrictions continued, Walesa was determined to guide the cause of workers' rights with passion and hope. In 1981 he was named "Time" Magazine's Man of the Year and in 1983 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. His contribution in establishing universal freedom of organization in all countries was recognized; he was a spokesperson for a cause that all countries should express.

In 1990, Solidarity was declared an official political party, with Walesa as chairman. In Poland's general election in December of that year, Walesa won the presidency in the first free and fair election held in Poland since the start of the Second World War in 1939. As Poland's first non-communist President, he pledged that the new Poland will offer work to everyone. He held the post until 1995. As a fighter for the people he was brilliant and had an outspoken style. Some considered him undignified as President and not comfortable in this role. But regardless of the criticisms against him, he is indisputably an example of someone who struggled for freedom at great personal risk and tried to consolidate a stable law-abiding democracy. After Poland gained a non-communist President and Prime Minister, the rest of Central Europe soon followed. The Iron Curtain had fallen in Eastern Europe.

The Catholic Church supported the Solidarity movement from its beginnings because it exemplified Christian virtues of respect for the human person and social justice. The Church teaches that society should ensure social justice and provide conditions which allow individuals or associations to obtain what is their due. Social justice is linked to