n.
Polish Solidarno 015B; 0107;
Polish trade union.
A workers' strike in 1980 at the Lenin Shipyards in Gda 0144; sk inspired other labour strikes in Poland and compelled the government to agree to the workers' demands for independent unions. Solidarity was founded to unite the regional trade unions, and Lech Wa 0142; esa was elected chairman. The movement won economic reforms and free elections before pressure from the Soviet Union forced the Polish government to suppress the union in 1981. The focus of worldwide attention, it continued as an underground organization until 1989, when the government recognized its legality. In the free elections of 1989, Solidarity candidates won most of the contested seats in the assembly and formed a coalition government. In the 1990s the union's role diminished as new political parties emerged in a free Poland.