For Peace!

In 1974 Lucas Aerospace announced restructuring and cuts to jobs. Around half of the company's output supplied military contracts based on state funding. In response to the cuts and the offshoring of jobs, the workers responded to this by organising themselves into a Combine. The Combine, which comprised shop stewards, trade unionists, and workers at the factory, spent two years developing the Alternative Plan for Lucas Aerospace—known as the Lucas Plan. This bold strategy aimed to transform the company away from weapons production and toward the creation of socially useful commodities.

The final document brought together over 150 ideas for new products and included detailed information on the firm's human and technical resources, market analysis, and a step-by-step plan for transitioning to the proposed new approach. The ideas workers proposed were divided into five categories: ‘medical equipment, transport vehicles, improved braking systems, and energy conservation. Some examples included expanding production of kidney dialysis machines, constructing wind turbines, researching solar cell technology and the famous Rail-Bus.

Ultimately, though, the Labour government and the unions were unable to put enough pressure on the company management, and despite the depth of the plans created by the workers they were never implemented. Eventually many workers from the Combine were able to set up the Centre for Alternative Industrial Technologies.