As the deadline for the first redundancies in January 1972 drew nearer, feelings hardened. by police to evict the occupying workers, Although production continued as normal, somehow fewer and fewer products were loaded for moving out. In the last two weeks nothing at all left the factory.
On 5 January matters came to a head. Senior stewards were meeting management when a group of 14 militants met at the radiator shop to organise a demonstration of support within the factory. As they marched towards the administration block their numbers grew to 200.
These workers marched into the boardroom where the management and shop stewards were meeting, filling the room until it was impossible to get any more in. With the management's refusal to reconsider their plans to close the factory, the workers dropped the factory keys onto the conference table and formally declared the factory occupied.
From the start it was made clear that the fight at Fisher Bendix was not going to be fought along 'special case' lines, but turned outwards into a general fight against redundancy. As Jack Spriggs put it: 'We have a golden opportunity to lead Merseyside in a fight against big business... Merseyside is waiting for a lead. We have got to have the