In 1928, 600 young women from the Rego Clothing Factory in Edmonton, North London, come out on strike over piecework payments which escalated into a strike over union recognition. The strike was not supported by the Tailors' and Garment Workers Union, which sacked its London organisers, Sam Elsbury for associating with the communist party and the National Minority Movement (NMM). (Elsbury and c10% of the strikers were Communist Party members). Elsbury started a breakaway union, the United Clothing Workers' Union (UCWU). 700 workers at Polikoffs, one of London's largest clothing firms struck for recognition of the new union in 1929 but failed. Thereafter the UCWU declined and was disbanded in 1935.

The National Minority Movement was founded in 1924 on the initiative of the Communist Party of Great Britain. It coordinated committees of militant members of existing trade unions, organised on an industrial basis. The NMM aimed to revolutionise the policies and structures of trade unions by decreasing bureaucracy and overthrowing the existing leadership.

Title	Rego and Polikoff strike songbook, 1929
Maker	--
Production Date	1929
Format	Pamphlet
Copyright	United Clothing Workers Union
Holding Institution	TUC Library Collections, London Metropolitan University
Related Objects	--