In 1979, it reorganised into the Direct Action Movement (DAM), which participated in a number of industrial disputes during the 1980s and organised a short-lived couriers' union.

[4] In March 1979,[9] the remaining members of the SWF reorganised themselves into the Direct Action Movement (DAM),[10] which experienced a period of growth throughout the early 1980s.

[9] The DAM supported the miners' strike of 1984–1985,[12] which it recognised as a movement directed by the union rank-and-file, in spite of its own criticisms of the authoritarian politics of NUM leader Arthur Scargill.

[13] The DAM raised funds for miners' support groups, protested on picket lines and organised a congress to encourage solidarity actions from workers in other industrial sectors.

[18] This change in policy provoked a number of splits from the organisation, as some members thought all unions were inherently reformist, even if they were anarcho-syndicalist in orientation.

[17] SolFed has formed close ties with the British branch of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and the two frequently collaborate,[27] despite ideological and organisational differences.

[16] This culminated in the early 2010s, SolFed supported the establishment of the Anti-Fascist Network, formed to provide an organised anarchist opposition to the English far-right.

[31] Solidarity Federation's 2012 national campaign against workfare initially focused specifically on Holland and Barrett, a health supplement corporation making use of placements staffed by unpaid benefits claimants.

On 5 July 2012, after a sustained series of pickets at Holland and Barrett stores across the UK, the company announced via social media and its website that it was pulling out of the workfare scheme, citing negative publicity.

[36] In 2013, SolFed members in Liverpool participated in the People's Assembly Against Austerity, but they later expressed disappointment with the experience, reporting that it had consisted largely of speeches without any organisation of political action.

[37] The following year, they collaborated with members of the Left Unity party to organise social centres, International Women's Day events and political demonstrations against austerity.

[40] Following the organisational principles of anarcho-syndicalism, SolFed upholds participatory decision-making, in which individuals have the right to self-determination and decisions are driven by popular consensus.

[42] SolFed refuses to pay for professional union officials, as it believes their interests would become separate from those of the rank-and-file and therefore make them more likely to seek compromises with employers.

[52] As anarcho-syndicalists, SolFed considers the workplace to be the venue best suited for class conflict and favours the organisation of workers into industrial unions.

[57] In a break from traditional anarcho-syndicalism, which upholds "strategic centralism", SolFed argues for a diversity of tactics in order to oppose all forms of oppression and hierarchical power.