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Page 1

2

Conte

nts

Porto

Mar

gher

a –

The

last

fi reb

rand

s 3

On

the

DVD

you

can

fi nd

...

4Pr

esen

tatio

n of

the

“Aug

usto

Fin

zi w

orke

rs‘ a

rchi

ve“

7H

isto

ry o

f the

Por

to M

argh

era

indu

stria

l zon

e

10Sh

ort c

hron

olog

y

15Th

e cl

ass

strug

gles

in It

aly

1968

-197

3

18U

nion

s ve

rsus

wor

kers

aut

onom

y

22O

pera

ism

o

24A

bout

the

histo

ry o

f the

Pot

ere

Ope

raio

(wor

kers

‘ pow

er)

28Th

e hi

story

of t

he w

orke

rs‘ c

omm

ittee

of P

orto

Mar

gher

a

Talk

by

Italo

Sbr

ogiò

, Jun

e 20

06

33“T

he w

orke

rs s

houl

d ta

ke th

ings

into

thei

r ow

n ha

nds“

In

terv

iew

with

Gia

nni S

brog

iò, O

ctob

er 2

006

48

Appen

dix

The

Mon

tedi

son

and

Enic

hem

tria

ls

53Th

e di

oxin

clo

ud o

ver S

eves

o

56Th

e ne

w c

hem

ical

indu

stry

EC d

irect

ive

and

the

Ger

man

uni

ons

57

“Stru

ggle

is w

orth

it“

From

a m

eetin

g ab

out t

he s

trugg

leag

ains

t asb

esto

s, P

adua

, Mar

ch 2

006

58

Refu

sal o

f wor

kTe

xt o

f the

wor

kers

‘ com

mitt

ees

in P

orto

Mar

gher

a fro

m 1

970

62

The

char

acte

rs in

the

fi lm

68

Glo

ssar

y

74

3

Porto

Mar

gher

a –

the

last

fi reb

rand

s

The

title

of t

he d

ocum

enta

ry h

as v

ario

us m

eani

ngs:

the

Ital

ian

wor

d fu

oco

mea

ns ‘fi

re’

, an

d al

so a

‘sho

otou

t’. In

this

cas

e, th

e w

ord

also

mea

ns th

e fl a

mes

of t

he p

etro

chem

ical

w

orks

tha

t m

ake

the

indu

stri

al z

one

visi

ble

from

mile

s ar

ound

. Its

futu

re is

unc

erta

in.

The

env

iron

men

tal d

amag

e th

at it

has

cau

sed

cann

ot b

e ov

erlo

oked

. The

hun

dred

s of

de

aths

from

can

cer c

an n

ever

be

undo

ne. T

he m

ost p

ollu

ting

par

ts o

f the

indu

stry

hav

e si

nce

been

out

sour

ced

to E

ast A

sia,

but

Ita

ly is

sti

ll am

ong

the

larg

est P

VC

pro

duce

rs.

In t

he fi

lm, t

he fi

re

in t

he in

dust

rial

was

tela

nd w

here

the

ille

gal i

mm

igra

nts

war

m

them

selv

es is

a s

ymbo

l for

the

new

cla

ss c

ompo

siti

on w

hich

has

tur

ned

an e

mig

rati

on

coun

try

into

an

imm

igra

tion

one

.B

ut th

e ph

rase

‘the

last

fi re

bran

ds’ a

lso

refe

rs to

the

heat

wav

es o

f cla

ss st

rugg

les t

hat

swep

t acr

oss t

his i

ndus

tria

l zon

e in

the

1950

s, 6

0s a

nd 7

0s; s

trug

gles

that

cha

ract

eris

ed

the

area

and

lef

t a

last

ing

impa

ct u

pon

it.

Som

etim

es h

isto

ry t

akes

a v

iole

nt l

eap:

in

1968

inex

peri

ence

d pe

asan

ts f

rom

the

cou

ntry

side

wer

e ca

tapu

lted

into

the

cen

tre

of

the

wor

ldw

ide

revo

luti

on. N

o w

orki

ng c

lass

had

pre

viou

sly

iden

tifi e

d th

e fa

ctor

y as

a

trig

ger

of f

atal

dis

ease

s an

d as

a d

estr

oyer

of

life

as c

lear

ly a

s th

ey d

id in

thi

s st

rugg

le.

The

uni

on e

xpel

led

the

orga

nise

rs o

f th

e st

rugg

les.

Tho

se w

ho w

ere

expe

lled

foun

d th

eir

own

orga

nisa

tion

al f

orm

s. P

orto

Mar

gher

a’s A

uton

omou

s A

ssem

bly

in t

he e

arly

19

70s

not

only

co-

ordi

nate

d th

e st

rugg

les

in t

he f

acto

ries

of

the

indu

stri

al z

one,

but

al

so s

quat

ted

hous

es, f

orm

ed n

eigh

bour

hood

com

mit

tees

, org

anis

ed p

rice

red

ucti

ons

in t

he s

uper

mar

kets

, and

tog

ethe

r w

ith

thou

sand

s of

wor

kers

bur

ned

thei

r el

ectr

icit

y bi

lls. T

he u

nion

s an

d th

e go

vern

men

t cou

ld o

nly

reac

t.

Page 2

4On t

he

DV

D y

ou c

an fi n

d …

The

fi lm

Por

to M

argh

era

– gl

i ul

tim

i fu

ochi

, cr

eate

d by

Man

uela

Pel

lari

n in

200

4.

It w

as fi

lmed

wit

h fu

ndin

g fr

om t

he P

rovi

nce

of V

enic

e, a

mon

gst

othe

rs.

It w

as fi

rst

sc

reen

ed in

Ven

ice

and

was

goi

ng to

hav

e be

en s

cree

ned

on A

rte T

V, b

ut th

en n

obod

y w

ante

d to

hea

r ab

out

the

fi lm

any

mor

e. W

e sa

w it

for

the

fi rs

t ti

me

in J

anua

ry 2

005

at a

pri

vate

scre

enin

g an

d w

ere

exci

ted

beca

use

here

, spe

akin

g in

thei

r ow

n w

ords

, wer

e th

e pr

otag

onis

ts o

f the

str

uggl

es o

f the

195

0s to

70s

: the

wor

kers

.T

he p

rodu

ctio

n co

mpa

ny C

ontr

oCam

po w

as p

leas

ed t

hat

som

eone

was

int

eres

ted

in

the

fi lm

, and

gav

e us

the

rig

hts

to it

. So

we

can

now

giv

e it

out

as

a fr

ee a

ddit

ion

to

Wild

cat s

ubsc

ribe

rs.

Bec

ause

we

coul

d no

t af

ford

to

buy

the

righ

ts t

o us

e th

e or

igin

al

mus

ic (

John

ny C

ash

...),

we

have

com

plet

ely

re-d

one

the

fi lm

‘s so

undt

rack

: the

onl

y m

usic

left

fro

m t

he o

rigi

nal i

s th

e tw

o so

ngs

by G

ualti

ero

Ber

telli

, who

acc

ompa

nied

th

e st

rugg

les

wit

h hi

s gu

itar

at t

he ti

me.

We

have

sub

title

d th

e fi l

m i

n G

erm

an,

Eng

lish,

Spa

nish

, Po

lish,

Slo

vaki

an,

Serb

o-C

roat

ion,

Rom

ania

n, R

ussi

an a

nd T

urki

sh. T

he F

renc

h su

btit

les

wer

e al

read

y th

ere.

As

an a

ddit

ion

you

can

fi nd

on t

he D

VD

a p

ortr

ait

of A

ugus

to F

inzi

, in

whi

ch h

e gi

ves

a pe

rson

al r

esum

e of

his

pol

itic

al a

ctiv

itie

s. M

anue

la P

ella

rin

mad

e th

is n

ew c

ut

from

the

exi

stin

g m

ater

ial

and

show

ed i

t at

the

pre

sent

atio

n of

the

‘Aug

usto

Fin

zi’

wor

kers

arc

hive

. We

subt

itle

d it

in G

erm

an a

nd E

nglis

h.

Pre

cari

ous

work

, su

bco

ntr

act

ors

, pois

onin

gT

he o

ld w

orke

rs t

alk

abou

t th

e si

tuat

ion

in t

he 1

950s

and

60s

in t

he b

oom

ing

indu

s-tr

ial

zone

and

how

the

y fo

ught

aga

inst

it.

The

top

ics

they

men

tion

are

ver

y re

leva

nt

toda

y:•

Prec

ario

us w

ork

wit

h fo

ur w

eek

cont

ract

s w

as th

e ru

le in

the

ship

yard

.•

Sim

ilarl

y, s

ubco

ntra

ctor

s w

ere

very

com

mon

, em

ploy

ing

wor

kers

who

cam

e fr

om fa

r aw

ay, f

or lo

w w

ages

and

und

er b

ad c

ondi

tion

s. T

he w

orke

rs fr

om P

orto

Mar

gher

a le

d a

huge

, ver

y m

ilita

nt s

trik

e ag

ains

t the

sub

cont

ract

ors,

dem

andi

ng d

irec

t em

ploy

men

t an

d eq

ual t

reat

men

t for

all

wor

kers

.•

The

han

dlin

g of

hig

hly

toxi

c m

ater

ials

is n

ot a

mat

ter o

f the

pas

t: ri

ght n

ow (a

utum

n

5

2006

), t

he c

hem

ical

s in

dust

ry a

nd t

he r

elev

ant

unio

ns a

re fi

ght

ing

hard

aga

inst

the

in

trod

ucti

on o

f a n

ew E

C d

irec

tive

for

the

chem

ical

indu

stry

whi

ch in

clud

es a

ban

on

the

usag

e of

toxi

c m

ater

ial i

f the

re is

a p

ossi

ble

repl

acem

ent m

ater

ial.

The

fi lm

juxt

apos

es v

ario

us le

vels

:•

The

his

tory

of t

he w

orke

rs s

trug

gle

in th

e 19

50s

and

60s

in th

e in

dust

rial

zon

e.•

Env

iron

men

tal d

amag

e an

d di

seas

e th

roug

h th

e in

dust

ry.

• D

iscu

ssio

ns a

mon

g yo

ung

wor

kers

in 2

002

abou

t the

clo

sure

of t

heir

dep

artm

ent.

• T

he n

ew c

ompo

siti

on o

f the

wor

kers

thro

ugh

mig

rati

on.

The

hid

den

his

tory

Thr

ee o

f th

e w

orke

rs i

nter

view

ed w

ere

acti

vist

s w

ith

the

radi

cal

orga

nisa

tion

Pot

ere

Ope

raio

whi

ch a

imed

at

the

auto

nom

ous

orga

nisa

tion

of

the

wor

king

cla

ss a

nd b

uilt

up it

s ow

n st

ruct

ures

out

side

the

uni

ons.

We

have

col

late

d m

ater

ial a

bout

thi

s on

the

fo

llow

ing

page

s of

this

boo

klet

.A

t th

e en

d, w

e ha

ve r

epri

nted

an

old

text

of

the

Port

o M

argh

era

Wor

kers’

Com

mitt

ee

from

197

0. Y

ou w

ill n

eed

to h

ave

a lit

tle p

atie

nce

here

to g

et u

sed

to th

e la

ngua

ge, e

ven

mor

e so

bec

ause

it is

[a

tran

slat

ion

of]

an o

ld G

erm

an t

rans

lati

on, w

hich

cop

ied

the

pom

pous

Ita

lian

lang

uage

of w

orke

rism

.

In th

e fo

llow

ing

text

s the

wor

d ‘w

orke

r’ is

use

d w

itho

ut it

s fem

inin

e fo

rm [w

hich

exi

sts

in G

erm

an],

bec

ause

in P

orto

Mar

gher

a ev

en t

he o

ffi ce

wor

kers

wer

e m

en. I

f w

omen

w

orke

d th

ere

at a

ll, it

was

in t

he c

ante

en.

In t

he V

enet

o in

the

196

0s a

nd 7

0s, h

ouse

-w

ife st

atus

wit

hin

mar

riag

e w

as st

ill v

ery

com

mon

. The

fem

inis

t cur

rent

that

als

o ar

ose

in V

enet

o ou

tsid

e an

d ag

ains

t Po

tere

Ope

raio

ins

tiga

ted

the

‘Wag

es f

or H

ouse

wor

k’

cam

paig

n as

a d

eman

d fo

r a

polit

ical

wag

e fo

r re

prod

ucti

ve w

ork.

All

the

conc

epts

or

nam

es p

rint

ed in

blu

e an

d ita

lics c

an b

e fo

und

eith

er in

the

list

of

peop

le a

ppea

ring

in th

e fi l

m o

r in

the

glos

sary

(so

rted

by

topi

cs, n

ot a

lpha

beti

cally

) at

th

e en

d of

this

boo

klet

.

"

Page 3

67

Pres

enta

tion

of th

e `A

ugus

to F

inzi

‘ wor

kers

‘ arc

hive

Mar

gher

a, 9

Jun

e 20

06

Unt

il to

day

very

littl

e ha

s bee

n do

cum

ente

d ab

out

the

story

of

the

wor

kers’

str

uggl

e in

th

e 19

60s a

nd 7

0s in

Por

to M

argh

era.

The

vi

olen

t w

ave

of r

epre

ssion

afte

r th

e 7

Apr

il 19

79 w

hich

lan

ded

man

y co

mra

des

from

th

e W

orke

rs’ C

omm

ittee

in

jail

for

year

s, al

so le

d to

mos

t of

tho

se i

nvol

ved

gath

erin

g al

l the

mat

eria

ls th

ey h

ad a

t hom

e, b

urni

ng

them

or

hidi

ng t

hem

som

ewhe

re –

and

for-

getti

ng th

em.

Aug

usto

Fin

zi, a

n im

port

ant o

rgan

iser

in

the

Petr

olch

imic

o, d

onat

ed h

is en

tire

colle

c-tio

n of

mat

eria

l to

the

city

cou

ncil

of V

enic

e as

the

bas

is fo

r a

wor

kers’

arc

hive

sho

rtly

be

fore

his

deat

h fr

om c

ance

r in

200

4. I

n th

e la

st tw

o ye

ars,

a fe

w m

ore

old

com

rade

s m

et a

nd fo

unde

d th

e ar

chiv

e. T

hey

brou

ght

alon

g th

eir m

ater

ials

and

reca

ptur

ed so

me o

f th

e di

scus

sions

from

thos

e tim

es.

On

the

9 Ju

ne 2

006

the

wor

kers

’ arc

hive

is

offi

cial

ly o

pene

d in

the

Mar

gher

a pu

blic

lib

rary

. So

me

of t

he o

rigi

nal

new

spap

ers

and

leafl

ets

are

on

disp

lay,

man

y of

whi

ch

we

have

pr

evio

usly

on

ly

hear

d ab

out.

Man

y of

the

m w

ere

copi

ed o

n a

sten

cil

dupl

icat

or, a

s w

as c

omm

on in

thos

e da

ys.

Firs

t th

e de

puty

may

or g

ives

a s

peec

h,

then

a le

fty

soci

olog

ist

who

has

wri

tten

a

book

abo

ut t

he d

ange

rs o

f Pe

trol

chim

ico,

th

en a

n ar

chiv

ist

empl

oyed

by

the

stat

e,

a yo

ung

wom

an w

ho h

ad n

ot b

een

born

w

hen

it w

as a

ll ha

ppen

ing:

the

occ

upat

i-on

of

the

railw

ay s

tati

on, r

ed fl

ags

in

the

tree

s, t

he b

urni

ng b

arri

cade

s on

the

roa

d da

m to

Ven

ice.

A h

undr

ed p

eopl

e ar

e si

ttin

g or

sta

n-di

ng a

roun

d th

e lib

rary

. O

ne o

f th

e ol

d w

orke

rs i

nter

view

ed i

n th

e do

cum

enta

ry

Page 4

8Port

o M

argh

era

– G

li ul

timi

fuoc

hi,

Ital

o Sb

rogi

ò, g

ives

a t

alk.

He

read

s ou

t a

long

pr

esen

tati

on*

from

his

not

es,

reco

unti

ng

man

y na

mes

. It i

s gr

atify

ing

to h

im to

day

to s

it h

ere

in t

his

publ

ic l

ibra

ry i

n co

m-

mem

orat

ion

of A

ugus

to F

inzi

, who

had

to

sit

in j

ail

for

seve

ral

year

s af

ter

the

1979

an

ti-t

erro

r as

saul

t in

Ita

ly.

For

him

it

is

grat

ifyin

g to

rec

ount

the

nam

es o

f ac

ti-

vist

s w

ho f

ound

ed t

his

arch

ive

afte

r th

e lo

cal

pres

s ha

d lib

elle

d th

em s

o vi

ciou

sly

duri

ng t

he la

te 1

970s

. And

he

still

has

to

fi ght

to

ensu

re t

hat

thei

r na

mes

are

not

dr

owne

d by

tho

se o

f al

l th

e pr

ofes

sion

al

supp

orte

rs w

ho d

ecor

ate

them

selv

es w

ith

the

exhi

biti

on a

nd t

hrea

ten

to t

ake

it

over

.In

the

roo

m,

ther

e ar

e co

mra

des

in

stru

ggle

and

sup

port

ers

and

frie

nds:

a

law

yer

who

had

def

ende

d th

e w

orke

rs

on s

ick

leav

e, w

ho m

ust

be a

bout

90

year

s ol

d, a

nd t

he fi

lmm

aker

of

the

do-

cum

enta

ry w

ho s

how

s th

e ne

wly

cut

in-

terv

iew

wit

h A

ugus

to F

inzi

. M

any

of t

he

com

rade

s fr

om th

ose

days

had

to lo

ok fo

r so

me

kind

of s

ourc

e of

inco

me

duri

ng th

e ba

rren

198

0s,

in o

rder

to

surv

ive:

the

y be

cam

e tr

avel

age

nts

or r

an c

amps

ites

, be

cam

e re

ps f

or s

ome

prod

uct

or o

ther

, le

ft th

e co

untr

y… S

ome

still

man

aged

to

deve

lop

a ca

reer

, w

hile

oth

ers

stru

ggle

d th

roug

h fo

r ye

ars

selli

ng h

omem

ade

eco-

logi

cal j

am.

The

re a

re o

nly

a fe

w w

orke

rs i

n th

e ro

om.

Wor

kers

’ au

tono

my

was

no

t a

chur

ch w

hose

mem

bers

join

for

life

. The

ex

plos

ion

of w

orke

rs’

rage

in

1968

was

sp

onta

neou

s an

d m

omen

tary

, sa

ys F

inzi

in

the

int

ervi

ew.

Life

-lon

g po

litic

al a

cti-

vism

was

no

mor

e of

a g

oal t

han

life-

long

fa

ctor

y w

ork

was

. "

* A

sum

mar

ised

tran

slatio

n of

thi

s tal

k ca

n be

foun

d on

pag

e 33

of t

his b

ookl

et.

9

Page 5

10

His

tory

of t

he

Porto

Mar

gher

a in

dustr

ial z

one

Firs

t ind

ustri

al z

one

Islan

d w

ith

Veni

ce o

ld to

wn

Mes

tre

Lago

on

Mar

gher

a (f

orm

ally

Ven

ezia

Por

to M

arg-

hera

) lie

s on

th

e st

retc

h of

m

ainl

and

wit

hin

the

Ven

ice

lago

on. T

he n

ame

co-

mes

fro

m V

enet

ian

and

actu

ally

mea

ns:

whe

re t

he s

ea w

as (

Mar

gh‘

era)

; it

is d

ried

up

tide

land

.

Sinc

e th

e 14

th c

entu

ry su

cces

sive

rul

ers

have

car

ried

out

hug

e dr

aina

ge a

nd r

egu-

lati

on p

roje

cts

on t

he m

ainl

and,

whi

ch

was

the

hint

erla

nd o

f the

larg

est s

ea p

ower

of

the

Adr

iati

c.

11

1920s:

Th

e fi rs

t in

dust

rial z

one

The

indu

stri

alis

atio

n of

the

Ven

eto

regi

on

bega

n ve

ry c

auti

ousl

y in

the

mid

dle

of th

e 19

th c

entu

ry.

The

lib

eral

rul

ing

clas

s of

th

e re

gion

was

str

ongl

y ro

oted

in a

gric

ul-

ture

and

dis

trus

tful

of n

ew in

dust

ry. A

fter

18

48 t

here

was

a f

ear

of la

rge

conc

entr

a-ti

ons

of p

role

tari

ans.

As

a re

sult

of t

his

fear

, alth

ough

indu

s-tr

y gr

ew n

otic

eabl

y in

the

Ven

eto

afte

r th

e fo

rmat

ion

of th

e It

alia

n st

ate

in 1

866,

it

did

not

aff

ect

the

regi

on p

olit

ical

ly o

r so

cial

ly v

ery

muc

h.

The

fac

tori

es w

ere

mos

tly s

itua

ted

alon

g th

e ra

ilway

lin

es,

i.e.

on t

he o

utsk

irts

of

the

tow

ns.

The

on

ly l

arge

tex

tile

fac

tory

was

in

Schi

o,

at t

he f

oot

of t

he A

lps,

cal

led

Lane

rossi

. W

ith

8,00

0 em

ploy

ees,

it w

as th

e fi r

st fa

c-to

ry a

nyw

here

in I

taly

and

it w

as r

un in

a

sem

i-fe

udal

man

ner.

The

rai

lway

bri

dge

to V

enic

e an

d a

new

trad

ing

port

wer

e bu

-ilt

, bu

t in

con

tras

t to

oth

er t

owns

in

the

Med

iter

rane

an a

rea

ther

e w

as n

o m

oder

n in

dust

rial

zon

e un

til t

he e

arly

192

0s.

Dur

ing

the

Firs

t W

orld

War

, th

e in

-du

stri

alis

ts o

f V

enic

e de

cide

d to

bui

ld a

n in

dust

rial

zon

e in

Mar

gher

a. S

o in

191

7 a

quar

ter

of w

hat

was

the

n th

e Te

rrit

ory

of

The

defe

at o

f the

rur

al p

role

taria

t in

Vene

to

thro

ugh

the

form

atio

n of

the

Italia

n sta

te i

n 18

66 r

esul

ted

in a

n em

igra

tion

wav

e. E

n-co

urag

ed b

y th

e lo

cal c

lerg

y, th

ey m

igra

ted

to S

outh

and

Nor

th A

mer

ica

and

late

r A

us-

tralia

. T

he lo

cal p

ower

s on

ly w

ante

d th

em

som

ewhe

re s

o fa

r aw

ay th

at th

ey w

ould

not

co

me

back

and

brin

g str

ange

new

ide

as

with

the

m.

The

emig

ratio

n sh

ould

be

fi nal

. Th

is b

egan

to c

hang

e af

ter

1936

whe

n fo

-re

ign

wor

kers

wer

e be

ing

recr

uite

d by

Naz

i G

erm

any:

In

1935

in th

e pr

ovin

ce o

f Pad

ua

alon

e th

ere

wer

e 30

,000

une

mpl

oyed

– o

ut

of a

tota

l pop

ulat

ion

of 4

00,0

00.

In 1

949-

50 th

e M

inis

ter o

f Wor

k an

d th

e lo

cal p

ower

s se

nt h

uge

num

bers

of

peop

le

over

the

ocea

n fo

r the

last

time

– fro

m F

riuli,

w

hich

bor

ders

the

Vene

to. A

fter t

he e

xpul

sion

of t

he I

talia

n po

pula

tion

from

Yug

osla

via,

30

,000

Ital

ians

mig

rate

d to

Aus

tralia

.

the

Com

mun

ity

of M

estr

e w

as e

xpro

pria

-te

d (i

t bec

ame

part

of V

enic

e in

1926

) and

gi

ven

over

to

the

Soci

età

Port

o In

dustr

ia-

le d

i Ven

ezia

. Thi

s w

as s

uppo

sed

to f

ulfi l

th

ree

aim

s: a

n in

dust

rial

por

t, th

e cr

eati

on

of a

n in

dust

rial

zon

e an

d bu

ildin

g a

new

re

side

ntia

l are

a on

the

mai

nlan

d in

ord

er

to r

elie

ve th

e la

goon

are

a.

Page 6

12Dur

ing

the

1920

s an

d 30

s th

e sh

ipya

rds

wer

e th

e ke

y in

dust

ry.

In t

he 1

940s

, du

-ri

ng t

he w

ar, 3

5,00

0 pe

ople

wer

e al

read

y em

ploy

ed t

here

. M

ost

of t

he w

orke

rs i

n th

is fi

rst

ind

ustr

ial

zone

cam

e fr

om t

he

‚urb

an‘

wor

king

cla

ss o

f V

enic

e, M

estr

e an

d C

hiog

gia

whe

re t

here

had

bee

n ra

il-w

ays

and

ship

yard

s si

nce

the

19th

cen

-tu

ry.

Her

e th

ere

wer

e co

mm

unis

t co

res.

D

urin

g th

e w

ar, t

he w

orke

rs h

id d

eser

ters

an

d ot

her

refu

gees

.

Wit

h th

e en

d of

the

Sec

ond

Wor

ld W

ar

the

ship

yard

boo

m a

lso

cam

e to

an

end,

be

caus

e th

e sh

ip o

wne

rs p

refe

rred

to

buy

redu

ndan

t A

mer

ican

sh

ips

whi

ch

had

been

mas

s pro

duce

d in

the

prev

ious

yea

rs.

Wav

es o

f re

dund

anci

es a

nd c

losu

res

fol-

low

ed. I

n 19

50 t

he w

orke

rs a

t B

reda

suc

-ce

ssfu

lly fo

ught

aga

inst

the

clos

ure

of th

at

ship

yard

. Aft

er a

n ar

med

pol

ice

atta

ck o

n w

orke

rs,

thes

e or

gani

sed

a hu

ge d

emo

in

Ven

ice.

The

pro

leta

riat

in V

enic

e w

as le

ft

win

g. T

he C

omm

unis

t Pa

rty

(PC

I) w

as

pres

ent

in t

he fa

ctor

ies,

alth

ough

wit

hout

w

avin

g th

eir

polit

ical

fl a

gs a

roun

d.

In

the

coun

trys

ide

how

ever

the

Par

ty w

as

abse

nt,

rura

l V

enet

o w

as a

‘w

hite

zon

e’

dom

inat

ed b

y th

e C

atho

lic C

hurc

h. T

he

only

way

out

of

the

pove

rty

was

to

emi-

grat

e. I

n th

e ea

rly

1950

s th

e C

hris

tian

D

emoc

rats

(D

C)

orga

nise

d a

cong

ress

w

hich

dis

cuss

ed t

he p

robl

ems

pose

d by

em

igra

tion

for

the

rul

ing

clas

s: I

f pe

ople

w

ent

to G

erm

any,

Fra

nce,

or

even

Mila

n,

and

then

cam

e ba

ck,

then

the

y w

ould

w

ant

runn

ing

wat

er, a

fri

dge,

and

at

leas

t a

scoo

ter

here

as

wel

l.

195

0s:

Th

e se

cond in

dust

rial z

one

The

bui

ldin

g of

a s

econ

d in

dust

rial

zon

e w

as i

nten

ded

to s

ecur

e co

ntro

l ov

er t

he

loca

l pr

olet

aria

t: th

e co

nstr

ucti

on o

f a

mod

ern

chem

ical

pla

nt w

ith

an i

ndus

tri-

al p

ort,

the

proc

essi

ng o

f m

iner

als

from

Sa

rdin

ia,

ship

yard

s et

c. w

ere

inte

nded

to

crea

te w

ork

and

curb

em

igra

tion

. Po

liti-

cally

, thi

s w

as a

com

prom

ise

betw

een

the

Chr

isti

an D

emoc

rats

and

the

ind

ustr

ial

allia

nce,

abo

ve a

ll w

ith

Mon

teca

tini

and

Ediso

n, w

hich

was

to

set

into

mot

ion

a co

ntro

lled

deve

lopm

ent

of V

enet

o –

the

wor

kers

wer

e no

t to

be in

fect

ed b

y th

e di

-se

ase

of th

e ag

ricu

ltura

l wor

kers

in E

mili

a or

the

met

al w

orke

rs in

Mila

n. P

adua

was

al

so h

ome

to a

lar

ge u

nit

of C

eler

e ri

ot

polic

e, w

ho h

ad a

lrea

dy b

een

depl

oyed

ag

ains

t ag

ricu

ltura

l w

orke

rs s

trug

gles

in

Ferr

ara.

13

The

wor

kers

for

the

new

fac

tori

es i

n th

e se

cond

ind

ustr

ial

zone

wer

e of

ten

re-

crui

ted

from

far

aw

ay v

illag

es w

here

the

ch

urch

and

the

DC

exe

rcis

ed t

otal

con

-tr

ol.

Man

y of

the

m o

wne

d so

me

land

th

emse

lves

, or

farm

ed a

s sh

arec

ropp

ers.

A

reco

mm

enda

tion

by

the

villa

ge p

ries

t w

as

a re

quir

emen

t for

get

ting

a jo

b.

Adr

iatic

sea

Seco

nd in

dustr

ial z

one

Islan

d w

ith

Veni

ce o

ld to

wn

Mes

tre

Lago

on

The

Pet

rolc

him

ico

The

pet

roch

emic

al p

lant

ori

gina

lly b

elon

-ge

d to

the

elec

tric

al c

ompa

ny E

diso

n. F

ol-

low

ing

the

nati

onal

isat

ion

of e

lect

rici

ty

prod

ucti

on a

nd t

he s

etti

ng-u

p of

EN

EL

in 1

962-

63,

Ediso

n bo

ught

Mon

teca

tini

for

the

mon

ey t

he s

tate

had

pai

d fo

r it

s

Page 7

14elec

tric

ity

plan

ts a

nd c

hang

ed i

ts n

ame

to M

onte

diso

n. T

he P

etro

lchi

mic

o st

arte

d op

erat

ing

in 1

951.

The

fi rs

t de

part

men

ts

wer

e C

hlor

ine

Sodi

um C

arbo

nate

, T

R1

(tet

rach

loro

ethy

lene

pr

oduc

tion

),

AC

2 (a

cety

lene

), C

V1

(mon

omer

ic v

inyl

chl

o-ri

de –

MV

C),

CV

3 (p

olyv

inyl

chl

orid

e –

PVC

), a

nd in

195

9 th

e C

V6

depa

rtm

ent.

La

ter

on, t

he p

lant

als

o st

arte

d pr

oduc

ing

sulp

huri

c ac

id, fl

uor

ic a

cid

etc.

The

pro

cess

ing

equi

pmen

t at M

argh

era

was

init

ially

a c

opy

of th

e m

achi

nery

use

d by

Mon

sant

o in

Mis

sour

i an

d Te

nnes

see.

M

onsa

nto

also

sol

d te

chni

cally

out

date

d pa

tent

s to

the

Ita

lians

, ou

tsou

rcin

g PV

C

and

phos

gene

pro

duct

ion

to th

is c

ount

ry.

In t

he U

SA a

t th

e ti

me,

pho

sgen

e w

as

prod

uced

in

the

Ari

zona

des

ert,

whe

reas

in

Ita

ly i

t w

as b

eing

pro

duce

d tw

o ki

lo-

met

res

away

fro

m S

t. M

ark‘

s Sq

uare

in

Ven

ice!

The

indu

stri

alis

atio

n of

Ital

y to

ok

plac

e w

ith

tota

l dis

rega

rd fo

r th

e en

viro

n-m

ent o

r w

orke

rs’ h

ealth

.

In th

ose

year

s, th

e Po

rto

Mar

gher

a Pe

trol

-ch

imic

o w

as o

ne o

f th

e m

ost

impo

rtan

t ch

emic

al c

ompl

exes

in E

urop

e. It

rea

ched

it

s la

rges

t ex

pans

ion

duri

ng t

he 1

960s

. T

he b

uild

ing

boom

of t

he 1

960s

and

70s

al

low

ed f

or t

he r

ampa

nt g

row

th o

f th

e

tow

n of

Mes

tre

wit

hout

reg

ard

for

any

kind

of

urba

n pl

anni

ng,

all

the

mor

e so

be

caus

e th

e lo

cal

coun

cil

was

bus

y co

n-ce

ntra

ting

on

Ven

ice

old

tow

n. F

or a

long

ti

me

the

peri

pher

y ar

ound

Mes

tre

was

a

dorm

itor

y to

wn

alm

ost

enti

rely

wit

hout

in

fras

truc

ture

.

Toda

y, t

he i

slan

ds o

f V

enic

e ha

ve a

bout

70

,000

re

side

nts,

st

eadi

ly

decr

easi

ng,

whi

le a

bout

270

,000

peo

ple

live

in M

e-st

ra-M

argh

era.

Toda

y ab

out

3,00

0 pe

ople

w

ork

in

Petr

ol ch

imic

o w

hich

refi

nes

cru

de o

il an

d pr

oduc

es P

hosg

ene

and

MV

C.

"

15

1967

A fe

w e

mpl

oyee

s of

Pet

rolc

him

i-co

in

Mar

gher

a fo

und

the

grou

p Po

tere

O

pera

io (W

orke

rs‘ P

ower

). Th

ey s

tand

as

cand

idat

es o

n th

e C

GIL

list

for

the

Com

-m

issi

one

inte

rna,

an

d w

in

a m

ajor

ity.

Con

tact

with

the

stu

dent

mov

emen

t. Fi

rst

leafl

ets

and

the

new

spap

er P

oter

e O

pe-

raio

– p

oliti

cal n

ewsp

aper

of t

he w

orke

rs

of P

orto

Mar

gher

a ar

e di

strib

uted

.

1968

Fe

brua

ry:

Stud

ents

occu

py

the

arch

itect

ure

depa

rtmen

t in

Ve

nice

. A

pril:

text

ile w

orke

rs‘

strik

e in

Val

dagn

o.

1 A

ugus

t: str

ike

in P

orto

Mar

gher

a fo

r the

pr

oduc

tion

bonu

s w

ith th

e de

man

d of

an

addi

tiona

l L 5

000

for

ever

yone

. Ba

rric

a-de

s an

d oc

cupa

tion

of th

e M

estre

railw

ay

statio

n.

1969

`H

ot a

utum

n‘ i

n Tu

rin.

Stru

ggle

s of

the

chem

ical

and

met

al w

orke

rs in

Mar

-gh

era.

For

mat

ion

of th

e w

orke

rs‘

com

mit-

tee

at A

mm

i an

d el

ectio

n in

to t

he n

ewly

fo

rmed

fac

tory

cou

ncil.

Dec

embe

r: ne

w

natio

nal

colle

ctiv

e w

age

agre

emen

t. Th

e re

spon

se o

f the

rig

ht w

ing

and

the

secr

et

serv

ices

: the

Stra

tegy

of t

ensi

on; t

he le

ft is

fra

med

for

the

Pia

zza

Font

ana

bom

bing

in

Mila

n.

Shor

t Chr

onol

ogy

1970

The

gov

ernm

ent p

asse

s th

e sta

-tu

te o

f w

orke

rs r

ight

s. I

n M

argh

era

the

outso

urci

ng

to

subc

ontra

ctor

s sli

ps

out

of t

he c

ontro

l of

the

com

pani

es a

nd t

he

peac

e-ke

epin

g ou

t of

the

con

trol

of t

he

polit

ical

par

ties

and

unio

ns. I

n A

ugus

t the

w

hole

of M

argh

era

is s

hut d

own

by s

treet

bl

ocka

des

and

clas

hes

with

the

pol

ice,

w

ho fi

re s

hots

and

wou

nd s

ome

dem

ons-

trato

rs.

1971

In v

ario

us to

wns

in It

aly,

incl

udin

g M

argh

era,

Pot

ere

Ope

raio

and

Il

Man

i-fe

sto jo

intly

for

m th

e Po

litic

al C

omm

ittee

s (C

omita

ti Po

litic

i), w

hich

onl

y fu

nctio

n fo

r a

few

mon

ths.

The

wor

kers

‘ com

mitt

es o

r-ga

nise

s ha

rd s

trugg

les

at d

epar

tmen

t lev

el

for t

he re

duct

ion

of w

ork

time.

1972

Wor

kers

‘ ass

embl

ies

in P

etro

lchi

-m

ico

and

Châ

tillo

n tu

rn d

own

the

chem

i-ca

l w

orke

rs‘

colle

ctiv

e w

age

agre

emen

t. Th

e `a

uton

omou

s as

sem

bly

of M

argh

era‘

(A

ssem

blea

A

uton

oma

di

Porto

M

arg-

hera

) is

for

med

. Its

cor

e is

wor

kers

of

the

com

mitt

ees

from

Pet

rolc

hem

ico

and

Am

mi,

wor

ker

com

rade

s fro

m L

otta

Con

-tin

ua,

empl

oyee

s fro

m P

etro

lche

mic

o an

d C

hâtil

lon

as w

ell

as m

etal

wor

kers

fro

m

Page 8

16DIM

M. T

he a

rea

of s

trugg

le is

exp

ande

d:

neig

hbou

rhoo

ds i

n to

wn,

infl

atio

n, r

ent,

elec

trici

ty a

nd g

as b

ills.

The

mai

n ai

m i

s or

gani

sing

from

bel

ow a

nd o

utsi

de o

f the

un

ions

. The

y cr

itici

ze th

e po

litic

s of

the

po-

litic

al g

roup

s.

1973

Th

e w

orke

rs‘

com

mitt

ee

join

s w

ith fa

ctor

y gr

oups

in o

ther

tow

ns. A

join

t co

ngre

ss t

akes

pla

ce i

n M

arch

in

Bolo

-gn

a. S

tart

of a

com

mon

new

spap

er.

June

: bre

ak-u

p of

the

natio

nal o

rgan

isa-

tion

of P

oter

e O

pera

io.

Sept

embe

r: th

e fi r

st iss

ue o

f Lav

oro

Zero

[z

ero

wor

k] a

ppea

rs. S

trugg

le a

gain

st un

-he

alth

y w

orki

ng c

ondi

tions

, in

coo

pera

ti-on

with

the

hea

lth w

orke

rs f

rom

Pad

ua.

Stru

ggle

for

shor

ter

wor

k tim

e in

the

dan-

gero

us d

epar

tmen

ts.

1974

The

Aut

onom

ous

Ass

embl

y fo

rms

a str

uggl

e co

mm

ittee

ag

ains

t in

fl atio

n.

Cam

paig

ns f

or t

he fi

xed

pric

e of

bre

ad

[pan

e co

mun

e]

and

for

Aut

orid

uzio

ne

(sel

f red

uctio

n) o

f ele

ctric

ity a

nd g

as b

ills.

A

fter

four

mon

ths

of s

trugg

le t

he g

over

n-m

ent a

nd th

e un

ions

sig

n an

agr

eem

ent t

o lo

wer

the

pric

e of

ele

ctric

ity.

1975

Cris

is o

f th

e w

orke

rs s

trugg

les.

Re

pres

sion

and

the

beg

inni

ng o

f re

struc

-tu

ring

in t

he f

acto

ries.

The

Aut

onom

ous

Ass

embl

y of

Por

to M

argh

era

prin

ts a

pam

-

phle

t ab

out

taki

ng s

icki

es.

The

fi rst

num

-be

r of

the

fou

r-sid

ed w

eekl

y ne

wsp

aper

C

ontro

Lavo

ro (

Aga

inst

Wor

k) i

s pr

inte

d.

It ap

pear

s ev

ery

mon

th u

ntil

1980

.

1976

Che

mic

al a

ccid

ent i

n Se

veso

. Th

e th

ree

unio

ns C

GIL,

CIS

L an

d U

IL de

cide

to

supp

ort

the

auste

rity

mea

sure

s at

the

cong

ress

in E

UR,

Rom

e, in

ord

er to

re

ha bi

litat

e th

e sta

te b

udge

t. G

erm

an P

rime

Min

iste

r Sc

hmid

t th

reat

ens

the

Italia

n go

vern

men

t with

the

with

draw

al o

f cre

dit

if th

e PC

I is

adm

itted

int

o th

e ru

ling

coa-

litio

n.

1977

A n

ew y

outh

mov

emen

t spr

eads

ac

ross

Ita

ly, s

tarti

ng f

rom

Bol

ogna

. Th

e em

ploy

ers‘

as

soci

atio

n an

d th

e un

ions

si

gn a

n ag

reem

ent w

hich

abo

lishe

s al

l au-

tom

atic

wag

e ad

justm

ents,

can

cels

seve

n pu

blic

hol

iday

s, e

nsur

es th

e rig

ht o

f bos

ses

to tr

ansf

er a

wor

ker t

o an

othe

r dep

artm

ent

or lo

catio

n, a

nd in

trodu

ces

toug

h m

easu

-re

s ag

ains

t abs

ente

eism

.Th

e str

ike

in M

argh

era

on th

e fi r

st ca

n-ce

lled

holid

ay i

s a

failu

re.

The

wor

kers

‘ co

mm

ittee

atte

mpt

s au

tono

mou

s co

mpa

-ny

-wid

e w

age

nego

tiatio

ns. W

orke

rs ta

ke

the

unio

ns to

cou

rt ov

er th

e ca

ncel

led

bo-

nus

pay.

1978

The

DC

gov

ernm

ent‘s

`na

tiona

l so

lidar

ity‘ u

nder

And

reot

ti is

sup

porte

d by

17

the

PCI.

DC

hea

d A

ldo

Mor

o is

kid

nap-

ped

by th

e Re

d Br

igad

es.

1979

7 A

pril

1979

: m

ost

of t

he a

ca-

dem

ics

in t

he l

eade

rshi

p of

Aut

onom

ia

Ope

raia

i.e.

ex-

Pote

re O

pera

io a

re a

rres

-te

d ba

sed

on t

he a

ssum

ptio

n of

Pad

uan

publ

ic p

rose

cuto

r (a

nd P

CI

mem

ber)

Ca-

loge

ro th

at R

ed B

rigad

es a

nd A

uton

omia

O

rgan

izza

ta h

ave

a co

mm

on le

ader

ship

. Th

e ar

reste

d ar

e ch

arge

d w

ith `s

ubve

rsiv

e as

soci

atio

n‘ a

nd i

nsur

rect

ion

agai

nst

the

state

. Th

is is

the

start

of p

oliti

cal m

ass

ar-

rests

, not

see

n on

this

sca

le fo

r dec

ades

.In

sum

mer

, Fi

at s

acks

61

wor

kers

on

grou

nds

of p

oliti

cal v

iole

nce

in th

e fa

ctor

y (‚t

erro

rism

‘).

1980

24

Janu

ary:

in

the

third

rou

nd

of p

olic

e ra

ids

mor

e co

mra

des

of C

ontro

-La

voro

ar

e ar

reste

d,

incl

udin

g G

iann

i Sb

rogi

ò. T

he R

ed B

rigad

es tr

y to

exp

and

thei

r in

fl uen

ce w

ith a

ctio

ns in

Ven

eto

and

in p

artic

ular

in th

e in

dustr

ial z

one.

On

29

Janu

ary

in M

estre

they

kill

the

vice

-dire

ctor

of

Pet

rolc

hem

ico,

Ser

gio

Gor

i. A

few

mon

ths

late

r the

y ki

ll th

e he

ad o

f th

e an

ti-te

rror

dep

artm

ent i

n Ve

nice

, Com

-m

issi

oner

Alfr

edo

Alb

anes

e. T

he m

edia

lin

k th

e w

orke

rs‘

com

mitt

ee a

nd it

s ne

ws-

pape

rs w

ith th

ese

atta

cks.

5

Febr

uary

: a

squa

d of

the

org

anis

a-tio

n Pr

ima

Linea

kill

s th

e en

gine

er P

aolo

Pale

tti,

head

of p

rodu

ctio

n at

Icm

esa,

the

chem

ical

fact

ory

in S

eves

o.A

t th

e be

ginn

ing

of t

he 1

980s

, 40

00

polit

ical

pr

ison

ers

are

sitti

ng

in

Italia

n ja

ils, a

ccus

ed o

f tak

ing

part

in o

r su

ppor

-tin

g ar

med

act

ions

. M

any

peop

le a

re o

n th

e ru

n, o

r go

into

exi

le. I

nves

tigat

ions

are

un

derw

ay a

gain

st ab

out 2

0,00

0 pe

ople

.Se

ptem

ber:

Fiat

an

noun

ces

15,0

00

redu

ndan

cies

an

d te

mpo

raril

y la

ys

off

anot

her

23,0

00 w

orke

rs w

hile

the

go-

vern

men

t go

es o

n pa

ying

the

ir w

ages

(c

assa

int

egra

zion

e).

The

wor

kers

beg

in

a w

eek-

long

stri

ke. T

he m

arch

by

40,0

00

whi

te-c

olla

r w

orke

rs a

nd f

orem

en o

n th

e 24

Oct

ober

sig

nifi e

s th

e de

feat

of

the

Fiat

wor

kers

, an

d is

see

n as

the

end

of

an e

poch

.

1981

20

May

: the

bos

s of P

etro

lchi

mic

o,

Giu

sepp

e Ta

glie

rcio

, is

kid

napp

ed b

y th

e Ve

netia

n br

anch

of t

he R

ed B

rigad

es a

nd

fi nal

ly k

illed

on

the

7 Ju

ly. T

he a

ctio

n is

ca

rrie

d ou

t sim

ulta

neou

sly w

ith th

ree

othe

r ki

dnap

ping

s. It

is th

e la

st co

mm

on a

ctio

n be

fore

the

Red

Brig

ades

spl

it.

"

Page 9

18From

rec

onst

ruct

ion

to th

e H

ot A

utum

n –

the

clas

s st

rugg

les

in It

aly

1968

-197

3

In th

e 19

60s t

he d

evel

opm

ent o

f ind

ustr

y in

Ita

ly l

ay f

ar b

ehin

d th

at o

f E

ngla

nd,

Fran

ce o

r Wes

t Ger

man

y. T

he u

nion

s and

th

e PC

I wer

e ac

tive

in th

e pa

rtne

rshi

p un

-de

rtak

ing

the

reco

nstr

ucti

on a

fter

the

war

. In

the

mid

195

0s t

here

was

an

econ

omic

m

irac

le w

hich

mob

ilise

d hu

ge n

umbe

rs

of p

role

tari

ans t

o m

ove

from

the

coun

try-

side

int

o th

e ne

w f

acto

ries

. D

espi

te t

he

boom

, un

empl

oym

ent

in I

taly

rem

aine

d hi

gh,

ther

efor

e m

igra

tion

con

tinu

ed,

not

only

fro

m S

outh

ern

Ital

y to

Nor

ther

n It

aly

(tw

o m

illio

n pe

ople

bet

wee

n195

5 an

d 19

65),

but

als

o to

Wes

t G

erm

any,

Fr

ance

or

Swit

zerl

and.

The

re w

as a

per

-m

anen

t ov

ersu

pply

of

labo

ur p

ower

and

th

is w

as u

sed

to l

ower

the

wag

es.

The

re

wer

e pr

acti

cally

no

stat

e be

nefi t

s fo

r th

e un

empl

oyed

.A

fter

a l

ong

quie

t ph

ase,

in

1962

the

-re

was

the

fi r

st m

assi

ve c

lass

str

uggl

e of

th

e ne

w w

orki

ng c

lass

com

posi

tion

in th

e ce

ntre

s of

dev

elop

men

t, es

peci

ally

in

Tu-

rin.

As

an a

nsw

er t

o th

e w

age

dem

ands

of t

he w

orke

rs, c

apit

al w

ent

into

cri

sis.

A

deep

rec

essi

on p

ut t

he b

reak

s on

the

new

st

rugg

les.

The

nex

t ec

onom

ic b

oom

rel

ied

sole

ly

on t

he i

ntro

duct

ion

of n

ew e

xplo

itat

ion

met

hods

of

long

wor

k ti

me

and

a lo

t of

ov

erti

me.

Wor

k ac

cide

nts

incr

ease

d sh

ar-

ply.

The

wag

es s

taye

d fa

r be

hind

the

dras

-ti

c in

crea

se in

wor

k in

tens

ity.

From

196

3 to

196

7 th

e pr

oduc

tion

ro

se b

y 26

.7 p

erce

nt,

whe

reas

the

inv

est-

men

t fr

om 1

963

to 6

5 w

as r

educ

ed b

y on

e th

ird

and

the

num

ber

of e

mpl

oyee

s dr

oppe

d by

5.3

per

cent

.T

he g

ross

dom

esti

c pr

oduc

t (G

DP)

of

Ital

y ro

se b

y 64

per

cent

in re

al te

rms f

rom

19

59-1

968.

Pr

oduc

tion

pe

r em

ploy

ee

rose

by

73 p

erce

nt.

Indu

stry

gre

w b

y 64

pe

rcen

t in

real

term

s fro

m 1

959-

1968

and

th

ereb

y in

crea

sed

its

shar

e of

the

GD

P fr

om 6

to 4

7.6

perc

ent.

The

eco

nom

ic g

row

th in

the

1960

s was

to

a l

arge

ext

ent

base

d on

the

exp

ansi

on

of st

ate

indu

stri

es, m

ainl

y co

mpr

isin

g ra

w

19

mat

eria

ls pr

oces

sing

indu

stry

, iro

n an

d st

eel

prod

uctio

n, c

omm

unic

atio

n an

d tr

ansp

ort

(mot

orw

ays)

. Pr

ivat

e ca

pita

l w

as m

ainl

y in

vest

ed o

vers

eas

– w

ith

the

exce

ptio

n of

th

e la

rge

fam

ily fi

rm

s lik

e Fi

at,

Pire

lli o

r O

livet

ti, w

hich

exp

ande

d m

assi

vely

.In

the

196

0s,

ther

e w

as a

con

cent

rati

-on

of m

any

larg

e It

alia

n co

rpor

atio

ns; t

he

mos

t im

port

ant

prod

ucti

on

area

s w

ere

mon

opol

ised

by

a m

ere

two

doze

n fi r

ms.

T

he s

tate

had

a s

take

in 1

1 of

the

22

lar-

gest

fi r

ms.

The

sta

te h

oldi

ng c

ompa

nies

IR

I an

d EN

I ow

ned

half

of M

onte

diso

n.

Thi

s im

med

iate

ly b

roug

ht a

stro

ng p

olit

i-ca

l ele

men

t int

o th

e cl

ass

conf

ront

atio

n.H

owev

er,

in o

vera

ll te

rms

Ital

ian

in-

dust

ry

was

st

ill

char

acte

rise

d by

sm

all

and

med

ium

-siz

e co

mpa

nies

. The

re w

ere

com

para

tive

ly f

ew w

orke

rs i

n th

e la

rge

fi rm

s. T

he 2

4 la

rges

t co

ncer

ns e

mpl

oyed

on

ly 6

54,0

00 w

orke

rs (

blue

and

whi

te

colla

r) i

n 19

96 (

Fiat

128

,000

, M

onte

di-

son

119,

000

and

Pire

lli 6

7,00

0),

whi

ch

amou

nted

to

10 p

erce

nt o

f th

e It

alia

n

wor

king

cla

ss. T

his

expl

ains

man

y of

the

pa

rtic

ular

itie

s of

the

cla

ss s

trug

gles

in I

ta-

ly,

whe

re t

he d

ivid

e be

twee

n th

e w

orke

rs

in la

rge

com

pani

es a

nd th

ose

in sm

all a

nd

med

ium

si

ze

fi rm

s po

sed

a si

gnifi

cant

pr

oble

m.

The

wag

e di

ffer

ence

bet

wee

n em

ploy

ees

in l

arge

and

sm

all

com

pani

es

was

sig

nifi c

antly

wid

er i

n It

aly

than

the

eq

uiva

lent

gap

in

Ger

man

y or

Fra

nce.

Pe

nsio

ns w

ere

min

imal

. T

he w

age

zone

s m

eant

low

er w

ages

wer

e fi x

ed in

the

poo

-re

r re

gion

s.T

he m

igra

tion

to

the

citi

es h

ad t

rig-

gere

d a

huge

ho

usin

g pr

oble

m.

The

re

was

no

adeq

uate

hea

lth p

rovi

sion

. T

he

prop

orti

on o

f in

dire

ct t

ax w

as h

ighe

r in

It

aly

than

any

whe

re e

lse

in W

este

rn E

u-ro

pe, a

nd w

orke

rs p

aid

a di

spro

port

iona

te

part

of

dire

ct t

ax. W

hite

-col

lar

and

offi c

e w

orke

rs e

njoy

ed e

xten

sive

pri

vile

ges,

thei

r w

ages

wer

e si

gnifi

cant

ly h

ighe

r tha

n th

ose

of th

e m

anua

l wor

kers

. The

stat

e de

term

i-ne

d th

e co

ndit

ions

of e

xplo

itat

ion

and

the

soci

al s

trat

a.

Page 10

20

1968-6

9

How

ever

, it w

asn'

t lon

g be

fore

the

man

u-al

wor

kers

in I

taly

beg

an t

o de

man

d th

eir

shar

e of

thi

s de

velo

pmen

t. T

he I

talia

n w

orki

ng c

lass

was

at

the

fore

fron

t of

the

w

orld

wid

e re

volt

agai

nst

capi

talis

t ex

ploi

-ta

tion

in 1

968.

Soci

al m

obili

sati

on a

lso

bega

n in

the

un

iver

siti

es i

n It

aly,

inc

ludi

ng i

n V

enic

e,

and

by th

e sp

ring

of 1

968

it a

lrea

dy sw

ept

into

the

fac

tori

es i

n th

e V

enet

o re

gion

. Fo

r exa

mpl

e in

Val

dagn

o at

the

foot

of t

he

Alp

s, in

the

Mar

zotto

text

ile fa

ctor

y w

hich

ha

d un

til

then

bee

n ru

nnin

g m

ainl

y on

th

e ba

sis

of p

ater

nalis

m a

nd b

oss-

frie

ndly

un

ions

, 6,0

00 w

orke

rs w

ent

on s

trik

e fo

r w

eeks

aga

inst

the

int

rodu

ctio

n of

a n

ew

piec

e-w

ork

syst

em.

Whe

n, o

n th

e 19

th o

f Apr

il, s

cabs

wer

e sn

eake

d in

to th

e fa

ctor

y un

der p

olic

e pr

o-te

ctio

n, t

he w

orke

rs t

oppl

ed t

he b

ronz

e st

atue

of

the

fact

ory

foun

ders

fro

m i

ts

plin

th a

s a

sym

bol o

f the

fi rm

‘s de

spot

ism

an

d fo

ught

wit

h th

e 1,

000-

stro

ng p

olic

e fo

rce

brou

ght

from

the

who

le r

egio

n. 4

7 w

orke

rs w

ere

arre

sted

. O

n th

e 13

th a

nd

14th

of J

uly,

in th

e Pe

trol

chim

ico

fact

ory

in

Port

o M

argh

era,

4,0

00 m

anua

l and

1,00

0 w

hite

col

lar

wor

kers

wen

t on

stri

ke fo

r an

incr

ease

in th

e pr

oduc

tion

bon

us to

5,0

00

Lire

for

eve

ryon

e. O

n th

e 1s

t of

Aug

ust

1968

Po

rto

Mar

gher

a ex

peri

ence

d th

e hi

gh p

oint

of

the

stri

ke w

ave

wit

h bu

r-ni

ng b

arri

cade

s on

the

acce

ss r

oad.

The

`Hot

autu

mn´,

1969

The

gen

eral

str

ike

in F

ranc

e w

as l

imit

ed

to 1

3 da

ys i

n M

ay 1

968.

In

Ital

y st

rike

w

aves

blo

cked

the

incr

ease

in p

rodu

ctiv

ity

for

alm

ost

two

year

s. T

he H

ot a

utum

n in

19

69 r

anks

as

one

of t

he m

ost

inte

nsiv

e co

llect

ive

mob

ilisa

tion

s in

the

his

tory

of

clas

s st

rugg

le.

In 1

969

over

300

mill

ion

hour

s of

wer

e lo

st d

ue to

str

ikes

, 230

mil-

lion

of th

ese

in in

dust

ry.

The

str

uggl

e ov

er t

he r

enew

al o

f th

e w

age

agre

emen

t in

va

riou

s in

dust

ries

ca

me

to a

hea

d in

the

sum

mer

, m

ost

sig n

ifi ca

ntly

in

the

Fiat

fac

tory

in

Tu-

rin.

Aga

inst

the

loc

k-ou

t of

35,

000

Fiat

w

orke

rs t

he u

nion

s ca

lled

for

the

exte

n-si

on o

f th

e st

rike

s. T

hey

dem

ande

d w

age

incr

ease

s of

bet

wee

n 15

and

19

perc

ent,

a 40

-hou

r w

eek

etc.

The

wor

kers

in

man

y fa

ctor

ies

wen

t on

str

ike

spon

tane

ousl

y,

ofte

n ag

ains

t th

e ne

goti

atio

n lo

gic

of t

he

unio

ns.

The

ir d

eman

ds w

ere

no l

onge

r ce

ntre

d ar

ound

pr

oduc

tivi

ty

grow

th,

21

they

dem

ande

d eq

ual

wag

e in

crea

ses

for

ever

yone

and

att

acke

d al

l for

ms o

f per

for-

man

ce w

ages

. In

nova

tive

org

anis

atio

nal

form

s mul

tipl

ied,

take

n on

by

the

wor

kers

fr

om t

he s

tude

nts.

Eve

ryon

e w

as e

qual

ly

enti

tled

to t

alk.

In

Turi

n a

long

mee

ting

to

ok p

lace

wit

h w

orke

rs a

nd s

tude

nts,

th

ey d

iscu

ssed

wha

t ha

d be

en h

appe

ning

an

d w

rote

up

leafl

ets

. O

ut o

f th

is c

ame,

am

ong

othe

r th

ings

, th

e po

litic

al g

roup

s Lo

tta C

ontin

ua a

nd P

oter

e O

pera

io.

Shor

tly b

efor

e U

nion

s vs

. w

orke

rs a

u-to

nom

yChr

istm

as,

the

met

al u

nion

ma-

nage

d to

set

tle o

n a

wag

e ag

reem

ent,

in

whi

ch a

ll th

e de

man

ds w

ere

broa

dly

met

, in

clud

ing

pari

ty f

or b

lue

and

whi

te c

olla

r w

orke

rs, t

hree

wee

ks a

yea

r ho

liday

, abo

-lit

ion

of u

npai

d da

ys a

nd e

lect

ions

for

de

part

men

t del

egat

es.

In P

orto

Mar

gher

a th

ere

was

als

o an

ex-

tens

ive

mob

ilisa

tion

by

met

al a

nd c

hem

i-ca

l w

orke

rs.

In

Mar

ch

the

wor

kers

at

C

hâtil

lon

man

aged

to

enfo

rce

a 36

-hou

r w

eek.

The

fi r

m m

ade

conc

essi

ons

whi

le

the

unio

ns w

ere

excl

udin

g th

e le

ft a

cti-

vist

s. T

he y

ear

ende

d w

ith

a po

litic

al v

ic-

tory

for t

he u

nion

s; b

ut th

e ag

reem

ent f

or

the

chem

ical

wor

ks d

id n

ot o

ffer

par

ity

for

the

blue

and

whi

te c

olla

r w

orke

rs, a

nd

so w

as s

een

as a

frau

d by

the

wor

kers

.

On

the

12th

of

Dec

embe

r 19

69 t

he

stat

e se

cret

ser

vice

’s str

ateg

y of

ten

sion

re-

ache

d it

s fi r

st c

limax

: ki

lling

16

peop

le

and

wou

ndin

g 87

in

an e

xplo

sive

att

ack

at P

iazz

a Fo

ntan

a in

Mila

n.

Aft

er 1

975

ther

e ex

iste

d no

mor

e ad

van-

ced

form

of

wor

kers

’ org

anis

atio

n, e

ithe

r at

Fia

t or i

n Po

rto

Mar

gher

a. T

he w

orke

rs

had

brou

ght

prod

ucti

on t

o a

tota

l sta

nd-

still

. The

y ha

d sh

owed

tha

t ca

pita

list

pro-

duct

ion

also

pro

duce

s de

ath

and

dise

ase.

T

hey

had

begu

n se

lf-or

gani

sati

on b

oth

insi

de t

he f

acto

ry a

nd i

n lif

e ou

tsid

e it

. B

ut r

evol

utio

n in

the

sen

se o

f a

mat

eria

l ov

erth

row

of

rela

tion

s di

d no

t ta

ke p

lace

. T

he r

efor

m o

f th

e un

ions

and

the

‘gre

en-

was

hed

capi

talis

m’ o

f tod

ay is

unt

hink

able

w

itho

ut th

e st

rugg

le o

f the

se w

orke

rs.

"