The Caterpillar Occupation 30 years on

Lessons we can learn from the Caterpillar Occupation, recorded on the 30th anniversary for the Morning Star newspaper. Featuring former Caterpillar union convener John Brannan and former shop stewards John Gillen, who played central roles in the action.
The Caterpillar plant in Uddingston, Lanarkshire, made bulldozers, and was a major employer in the community & region. Well equipped and with a skilled workforce, it had opened almost 30 years previously and employed 1200 people - while hundreds more worked for other firms who depended on Caterpillar for work.
The workers formed a joint occupation committee and occupied the factory on January 14 for 103 days.