Ford was plagued with unofficial strikes - in 1970 and 1971 there were two serious official stoppages, followed by unofficial action.
Southern services have been further affected by high levels of sickness among staff, and the RMT union has vehemently denied suggestions of unofficial action among its members.
Abe Moffat, the leader of the Scottish miners, who was campaigning against unofficial action, was impressed and encouraged McGahey's passage through the union hierarchy.
The unofficial action by members of the Prison Officers Associationn followed a 36% increase in assaults on staff – there were 5,500 last year – and led to the justice secretary, Michael Gove, answering an urgent Commons question on safety in prisons on Monday.
For the moment, people taking part in the current wave of unofficial action - which was sparked when staff walked out from a Lincolnshire refinery because foreigners have been chosen over Britons to build a new unit there - are not allowing understandable economic anxieties to spill over into xenophobia.
The unofficial action last Wednesday and Thursday led to missed collections across the city.
Penny Thompson, Brighton and Hove City Council's chief executive, said: "It's very variable, the impact of the unofficial action, and all I can say is that we are doing our best to clear the backlog.
Rob Wotherspoon, branch secretary of the CWU Bristol branch, said that he can't remember another time when there has been so much unofficial action taking place in distribution offices and parcel depots.
Another program that is placing strain on the academies is an unofficial affirmative-action preference in admissions.
The proposed strike had been highlighted by the Polish Express newspaper, which hosted a Facebook campaign urging workers to down tools in unofficial strike action.
