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Lucy Parker's subtle but fierce account of blacklisting in the UK construction industry reveals the long-lasting impact on workers who found themselves unemployable after their names were added to a secret list.
Operated by a secretive anti-union group, the construction industry blacklist contained 3213 files on individual workers. This blacklist was long suspected by workers who found themselves suddenly unemployable, with devastating effects. They were called conspiracy theorists, until 2009 when the list was seized in a raid by the Information Commissioners Office. With this discovery, the Blacklist Support Group was formed and the union members’ self-education in the law and battle to obtain justice began.
Lucy Parker’s Solidarity features these workers alongside student lawyers who are examining the case, pitting their impulse for justice against an understanding of the mechanisms of the law. Gradually we see the build up of a community who work together to support each other’s needs for change. Broadening out to consider workers’ rights disputes and the Undercover Policing Inquiry, Solidarity goes beyond individual portraits, focusing instead on spaces and conversations that lead to change.