The Free Trade Unions of Western Pomerania: The Worker of Szczecin (Robotnik Szczeciński)
The newspaper was published by the members of the Foundation Committee of the Free Trade Unions of West Pomerania, focused around the oppositional community in Gryfin and Szczecin, at irregular time intervals from March 1979 until 28th February 1981. The title referred to the newspaper published by the Committee for Social Self-Defence KOR (Komitet Samoobrony Społecznej KOR). The newspaper was edited mainly by the Witkowski brothers (Jan and Mirosław) and Stefan Kozłowski, with the editorial board also consisting of: Włodzimierz Głowacki, Danuta Grajek, Andrzej Kamrowski, and Zdzisław Podolski. The newspaper was issued by the Independent Workers’ Printing House. In March 1979, “The Worker. Szczecin Edition” was issued (in cooperation with Witold Łuczywo) to mark its first publication. In the years 1980-1981, further numbers were issued under the title “The Worker of Szczecin”. Number 1(2) was originally planned to be published in November 1979, but due to the operations of the Security Service and the destruction of some of the print-run of the newspaper (having been hidden and stored in a pigsty in an agricultural farm in the rural region of Gryfin), the number was issued as late as in March 1980. The number of copies is difficult to establish, although A. Kamrowski and M. Witkowski reported that there were six.
The publication contained articles on the strikes in December 1970, the course of the 1-day occupational strike in the Lower Oder Power Station in Nowy Czarnów in the vicinity of Gryfin, which took place on 25th June 1976 following the increase in the prices of food announced by Prime Minister Piotr Jaroszewicz, the experiences with the formation of the opposition in Szczecin and the cooperation with the Committee for Social Self-Defence KOR, the Movement for Defence of Human and Civic Rights (Ruch Obrony Praw Człowieka i Obywatela, ROPCiO) and the Students’ Solidarity Club (Studencki Komitet Solidarności, SKS), and the distribution of independent newspapers. The calendar of the strike in August 1980 in Szczecin was restored based on the notes of A. Kamrowski and S. Kozłowski.
Worked out by the Security Service under the a working operation code named “Mercury”.
Based on the study by Marta Marcinkiewicz in the “Encyclopaedia of the Solidarity Movement” and the article titled “The times of irrational unity” in Bulletin of the Institute of National Remembrance no. 4(87)