By the 1970s frustration with 30 years of one-party rule begins to surface, as workers all over Poland twice protest price increases . The regime responds with only temporary concessions that are quickly followed by renewed repression. By the late 1970s the Polish economy is on the brink of collapse. Prime Minister Edward Gierek eases press constraints and opens a dialogue with the Catholic Church. In July 1980, when the government more than doubles meat prices, a series of nationwide strikes ensues.
Workers realize that they can escape reprisals by taking their own shipyards and factories hostage.
Zbigniew Bujak talks about hearing of the strike in Gdansk. While many strikers are bought off with higher wages, striking employees at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk remain adamant in their demands. The regime threatens to smother the strike by sealing off Gdansk. Shipyard workers fan out across the city, and sympathetic students and professionals slip through roadblocks, bringing news of the strike to other regions. By late August the MKS represents 400,000 workers.