This text is going to describe the historical and present meaning of the Cegielski factory in Poznan for the workers' movement in Poland, and the history of activity of Workers' Initiative in the factory since 2002. We are also going to show the development of the strategy of wildcat strikes called "płyta" during this years, for which a key activist of IP was recently sentenced in the Polish court. Last but not least, the article shows the recent influence of the global crises in the shipyards industry on the situation of Cegielski workers: 500 of them were fired, which mobilized others to mass demonstration in October 2009.

On 23^rd October almost 4,000 workers from different trade unions took part in a demonstration in defence of their workplaces. About 500 people are going to be fired from the Cegielski factory due to the so-called economic crisis. Anarchists and members of anarcho-syndicalist trade union Wokers' Initiative also took part in the protest.

The demonstrtors first gathered on the premises of the factory and then moved towards the Provincial Office. The bloc of Workers' Initiative and Sierpien '80 together with the anarchists was chanting slogans such as “Government out to the pavement, paving stones on the government”, “One, two, three, four, stop those damn dismissals”, “A worker dismissed, a boss hanged”, “Capitalism isn't working! factories under the control of workers” etc. Rhythms of Resistance samba group from Poznan supported the demo with their rhythms. A banner saying “A worker dismissed, a boss hanged” was dropped from one building on the route of the demo.

At noon on 4th May more than a dozen of activists of Workers' Initiative, dismissed DAD workers supported by members of Anarchist Federation organized a protest rally at DAD Polska premises. Last week, the management of the company illegally fired four activists of the WI trade union shortly after they got an information that there was a union formed in their company.

On 5 February, 4,000 metal workers from Stalowa Wola were protesting in front of the offices of the state-owned PGE power company in the regional capital Rzeszow. There was really something going on at the demo: The workers were allowed to let off steam, they threw firecrackers and set auto tyres on fire. The Solidarnosc union organised the demo because the ZZM engineering factory, a subsidiary of the local steel mill had declared bankruptcy.