38. Editorial Note
The Polish economic situation grew dire over the course of 1980. On July 1, the Polish regime raised food prices nationwide, sparking a series of strikes that quickly swept the country and forced the Polish Government into crisis mode. The Embassy in Warsaw reported on July 31 that “the labor unrest which has now persisted in Poland for more than four weeks—strikes, stoppages, and slow-downs—may already have cost the Polish Government as much as 50 billion Zlotys ($1.7 billion) in yearly pay increases in addition to a three to four percent increase in domestic inflation.” Ad hoc committees, the Embassy reported, “have been formed in many individual plants and have bargained with management and governmental representatives, [Page 131] pressing worker demands,” further discrediting government-sanctioned labor unions. The Polish regime’s policy toward the emerging groups, the Embassy wrote, “is still being formulated—painfully. The government must, of course, consider that from the Soviet viewpoint, such organizations are not only dangerous but virtually intolerable.” (Telegram 7483 from Warsaw, July 31; National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800366–0451)
By mid-August, the economic and political situation in Poland had deteriorated further. On August 12 the Embassy reported that, among the effects of the ongoing labor unrest were “a review of what the role of the trade unions should be; a drop in [First Secretary of the Polish United Worker’s Party Edward] Gierek’s stature; increasing resort by workers to job actions to defend their standard of living thereby causing pressures to mount within the Party for a tougher policy toward the working class; and emerging differences of opinion among the leadership.” (Telegram 7960 from Warsaw, August 12; National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800388–0471) Strikes in Gdansk and Szczecin began on August 14 and 18, respectively. The workers formed strike committees and issued lists of demands, including, for the first time, the demand that workers be allowed to form trade unions independent of government control. By August 24, Gierek tried to appease protestors by firing several high-ranking members of the government and Party apparatus, including Polish Prime Minster Edward Babiuch and Party ideologue Jerzy Lukazewicz. The Embassy reported on August 24: “These personnel changes are the most significant and sudden since 1970.” Although Gierek survived, his prestige suffered, the Embassy reported. Concerning the strike committees in Gdansk and Szczecin, the Embassy concluded: “Their solidarity seems too strong just now to be affected by Party promises of free elections of trade union representatives on the shop floor. We anticipate they will have further tough negotiations with the Jagielski commission but believe that they will find the commission more flexible than before.” (Telegram 8427 from Warsaw, August 24; National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800404–0720)
Concerns about developments in Poland prompted the White House to send a message to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, and other close allies on August 27. In his message to Thatcher, sent directly from the White House to the Cabinet Office, Carter wrote: “what is going on in Poland could precipitate far-reaching consequences for East-West relations, and even for the future of the Soviet Bloc itself.” “The best outcome,” Carter continued, “would involve accommodation between the authorities and the Polish people, without violence. Such an accommodation could well transform the [Page 132] character of the Polish system.” Noting that Secretary of State Edmund Muskie had met with his French and West German counterparts to discuss Poland, Carter suggested that “it is extremely important for us to keep in touch as the situation in Poland develops.” (Telegram WH0642 to Thatcher, August 27; Carter Library, Brzezinski Donated Material, Subject File, Box 20, Alpha Channel—Miscellaneous—7/80–8/80) In a similar message sent to Pope John Paul II, the President thanked the Vatican for “the wise approach which you and the hierarchy of the church in Poland have been taking toward recent events.” (Telegram 230027 to Rome, August 29; National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P870047–0341)
Ambassador to Poland William Schaufele wrote on August 29: “Every day this week I have toyed with making an up-to-date assessment of the Polish situation but have delayed as new developments pile up and send me back to the drawing board.” Noting that there had been no violence associated with the strikes, Schaufele wrote: “If the striking workers can maintain this discipline, the source of any violence would have to be a decision by the government physically to force them back to work or to remove them from the factories, shipyards, and other work places. And that would have grave implications for the future. It is still our view that some of the militia would follow instructions to use force but it is highly doubtful that the army would. And the magnitude of the strike movement would stretch militia manpower very thin.” (Telegram 8625 from Warsaw, August 29; National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800414–0126)
On August 31, First Deputy Prime Minister of Poland Mieczyslaw Jagielski and Solidarity leader Lech Walesa signed an agreement at Gdansk guaranteeing, among other things, the right of Polish workers to form independent trade unions and to conduct strikes. The Embassy in Warsaw reported the signing on September 1, and concluded that, while “the overall trend in Poland today seems to be back to work,” the next period “requires the same prudence and responsibility. Both the party and the new labor organizations will be jockeying for power, and the inevitable friction that will result will demand of both sides as much forbearance as they have shown to date.” (Telegram 8667 from Warsaw, September 1; National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800416–1014) Documentation on Poland is scheduled for publication in Foreign Relations, 1977–1980, volume VII, Poland, 1977–1981.