rebrands porto marghera – the last fi - libcom.orglibcom.org/files/firebrands_booklet_2.pdf ·...
TRANSCRIPT
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.
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
.
"
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
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
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.
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
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
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.
"
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.
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.
"
22Uni
ons
vs. w
orke
rs a
uton
omy
Aft
er t
he S
econ
d W
orld
War
, th
e un
ion
mov
emen
t in
Ita
ly s
plit
int
o po
litic
ally
or
ient
ed u
nion
s und
er h
uge
pres
sure
from
th
e U
SA, i
n or
der
to i
sola
te t
he c
omm
u-ni
sts.
The
PC
I an
d it
s C
GIL
uni
on c
on-
fede
rati
on p
laye
d a
part
in
nati
onal
re-
cons
truc
tion
and
spok
e in
favo
ur o
f for
ced
indu
stri
alis
atio
n of
the
cou
ntry
in
orde
r to
cre
ate
mod
ern
jobs
. T
hey
supp
orte
d th
e po
licy
of li
nkin
g in
com
e to
pro
duct
i-vi
ty in
crea
ses.
Due
to
the
rest
ruct
urin
g of
co
mpa
nies
for
mas
s pr
oduc
tion
, th
e ol
d sk
illed
wor
kers
, who
wer
e th
e ba
sis
of t
he
PCI,
lost
thei
r cen
tral
pla
ce in
the
prod
uc-
tion
pro
cess
es. T
he n
ewly
em
ploy
ed, u
n-sk
illed
wor
kers
from
the
coun
trys
ide
wer
e se
en a
s ‘a
polit
ical
’. T
he C
GIL
lost
hea
vily
in
the
wor
ks c
ounc
il (C
omm
issio
ne I
nter
-na
) el
ecti
ons,
esp
ecia
lly a
t Fia
t. In
19
62
thou
sand
s of
Fi
at
wor
kers
pr
otes
ted
in T
urin
aga
inst
a s
epar
ate
wag
e ag
reem
ent,
whi
ch
the
UIL
un
ion
had
sign
ed w
ith
the
com
pany
. T
he w
orke
rs‘
prot
est
ende
d in
str
eet
fi ght
ing
last
ing
for
days
in P
iazz
a St
atut
o in
Tur
in, w
here
im-
mig
rant
s fr
om s
outh
ern
Ital
y an
d yo
ung
com
mun
ist
cadr
e fo
ught
si
de
by
side
ag
ains
t the
pol
ice.
Aft
er t
he y
ears
of r
eces
sion
from
196
3-19
65,
the
next
rou
nd o
f ex
tens
ive
wor
-ke
rs‘
stru
ggle
s w
ere
not
unti
l th
e en
d of
th
e 19
60s.
The
ye
ars
1968
-197
3 ch
ange
d It
alia
n so
ciet
y. T
he q
uick
est
to c
hang
e w
ith
this
w
ere
the
unio
ns.
In t
he c
onfr
onta
tion
s ab
out
the
new
wag
e ag
reem
ent
in 1
969,
th
e un
ions
fa
ced
shar
p,
sust
aine
d cr
i-ti
cism
fro
m t
he l
eft
grou
ps,
and
abov
e al
l th
e cr
itic
ism
of
the
wor
kers
the
mse
l-ve
s. T
he u
nion
s w
ere
bein
g fo
rced
to
go
furt
her
than
the
y w
ould
act
ually
hav
e w
ishe
d to
, by
the
ever
mor
e se
lf-or
gani
sed
stri
kes
in s
prin
g-su
mm
er 1
969
at F
iat
in
Turi
n. T
he th
ree
riva
l uni
ons C
GIL
, CIS
L an
d U
IL a
gree
d up
on a
muc
h cl
oser
co-
oper
atio
n. T
he e
cono
my
was
boo
min
g an
d th
e w
orke
rs c
ould
dem
and
wha
t the
y w
ante
d fr
om t
he c
ompa
nies
. In
som
e de
-pa
rtm
ents
bet
ter c
ondi
tion
s wer
e ne
goti
a-
23
ted
wit
hout
the
uni
on‘s
invo
lvem
ent;
the
unio
n sa
w th
is a
s cre
atin
g di
visi
ons w
ithi
n th
e w
orkf
orce
. Whi
le t
he u
nion
def
ende
d th
e pa
y gi
ven
to w
orke
rs a
fter
the
y co
m-
plet
ed t
heir
qua
lifi c
atio
ns, t
he ‘m
ass
wor
-ke
rs’
wer
e no
w d
eman
ding
, fo
r ex
ampl
e,
equa
l w
age
incr
ease
s fo
r ev
eryo
ne a
s w
ell
as t
he f
ree
elec
tion
and
ret
ract
ion
of d
e-pa
rtm
ent
dele
gate
s. B
y ta
king
up
thes
e de
man
ds,
the
unio
ns s
ucce
eded
in
nego
-ti
atin
g re
lati
vely
goo
d w
age
agre
emen
ts,
espe
cial
ly i
n 19
69.
Whi
le t
he l
eft
radi
cal
grou
ps m
obili
sed
prin
cipa
lly a
roun
d hi
g-he
r w
age
dem
ands
, in
ord
er t
o co
nfro
nt
the
prod
ucti
on o
f su
rplu
s va
lue
dire
ctly
, th
e un
ions
wer
e in
crea
sing
ly m
obili
sing
ar
ound
iss
ues
outs
ide
of p
rodu
ctio
n e.
g.
for
chea
per
fl ats
or
pens
ion
refo
rm.
At
the
begi
nnin
g of
the
197
0s,
the
long
dis
cuss
ed s
tatu
te o
f w
orke
rs’
righ
ts
was
pas
sed
by p
arlia
men
t. It
was
set
up
to st
reng
then
the
colle
ctiv
e an
d in
divi
dual
ri
ghts
of
wor
kers
in
the
com
pani
es (
en-
title
men
t to
equ
al t
reat
men
t, fr
eedo
m o
f po
litic
al e
xpre
ssio
n in
side
the
com
pany
,
the
righ
t to
str
ike,
the
rig
ht t
o w
orke
rs
asse
mbl
ies i
nsid
e th
e co
mpa
ny, p
rote
ctio
n ag
ains
t re
dund
anci
es i
n co
mpa
nies
wit
h ov
er 1
5 em
ploy
ees,
hea
lth p
rote
ctio
n, e
nd
of t
he r
egio
nal
wag
e zo
nes
[gab
bie
sala
ri-
ali]
etc
.)T
he r
ight
to
vote
for
(an
d re
trac
t!) t
he
depa
rtm
ent
– an
d sh
ortly
aft
erw
ards
als
o th
e fa
ctor
y co
unci
l – d
eleg
ates
was
insc
ri-
bed
in n
umer
ous
colle
ctiv
e co
ntra
cts.
T
he ‘u
nion
of
coun
cils’
, ba
sed
on t
he
new
cou
ncils
ele
cted
by
the
shop
fl o
or,
was
sup
port
ed b
y m
any
left
act
ivis
ts. T
he
mai
n be
nefi c
iary
was
CG
IL (
part
icul
arly
th
e m
etal
wor
kers
uni
on),
whi
ch t
hrou
gh
this
bod
y w
as a
ble
to u
se t
he f
acto
ry
coun
cils
to
rest
ruct
ure
and
to w
in o
ver
new
cad
re.
The
que
stio
n of
‘del
egat
ion’
and
‘re
p-re
sent
atio
n’, a
lso
the
repr
esen
tati
ves’
poli-
tics
, was
hot
ly d
iscu
ssed
am
ongs
t th
e le
ft
radi
cals
– w
hile
Lot
ta C
ontin
ua to
ok p
art,
Pote
re O
pera
io c
riti
cize
d th
e un
ions
and
se
t it
self
fi rm
ly o
n th
e si
de o
f bui
ldin
g up
au
tono
mou
s w
orke
rs’ s
truc
ture
s.
"
24Ope
rais
mo
Sinc
e th
e pu
blic
atio
n of
th
e be
stse
ller
Empi
re
(200
0)
by
Mic
hael
H
ardt
an
d To
ni N
egri
the
ter
m O
pera
ism
us, d
eriv
ed
from
the
Ita
lian
oper
aism
o, h
as b
een
on
ever
yone
’s lip
s in
the
Ger
man
-spe
akin
g w
orld
. H
owev
er m
ost
peop
le s
eem
not
to
be
too
clea
r th
at t
he t
erm
ref
erre
d to
w
orke
rs.
(ope
raio
= w
orke
r, he
nce
also
th
e co
mm
on E
nglis
h tr
ansl
atio
n ‘w
orke
-ri
sm’.)
A
t th
e en
d of
the
‘50
s an
d th
e be
gin-
ning
of
the
‘60s
a r
adic
al l
eft
polit
ical
cu
rren
t em
erge
d in
Ita
ly a
roun
d th
e jo
ur-
nal Q
uade
rni
Rossi
(R
ed N
otes
) an
d la
ter
Cla
sse O
pera
ia (
Wor
king
Cla
ss).
Thi
s cu
r-re
nt r
ejec
ted
the
soci
al d
emoc
racy
of
the
PCI
and
the
PSI
and
thei
r po
litic
s of
na-
tion
al r
econ
stru
ctio
n. T
hey
brou
ght
the-
oret
ical
wea
pons
for
the
rad
ical
ove
rtur
n of
rel
atio
ns,
cont
ribu
ting
hug
ely
to t
he
rene
wal
of
Mar
xism
. B
ut a
bove
all,
the
y br
ough
t a
polit
ical
pra
ctic
e th
at o
rien
ted
itse
lf ar
ound
the
act
ual
stru
ggle
s of
the
w
orki
ng c
lass
. The
y w
ent
to t
he w
orke
rs’
city
of T
urin
to
carr
y ou
t w
orke
rs’ i
nqui
-ri
es i
n th
e fa
ctor
ies
ther
e. I
n Fi
at t
hey
foun
d a
situ
atio
n of
cha
nge
and
uphe
aval
: ol
d co
mm
unis
t w
orke
rs,
who
had
bee
n po
litic
ally
sid
elin
ed,
youn
g, d
isco
nten
ted
skill
ed w
orke
rs,
and
unsk
illed
wor
kers
, ne
wly
mov
ed fr
om th
e co
untr
ysid
e, m
ost-
ly f
rom
the
Sou
th,
wor
king
in
the
fact
o-ri
es,
havi
ng b
een
farm
ers
befo
re t
his.
In
1962
, the
fi rs
t str
uggl
e br
oke
out.
Star
ting
fr
om t
heir
inv
olve
men
t on
a p
ract
ical
le-
vel,
the
com
rade
s de
velo
ped
a th
eore
tica
l ba
sis,
rad
ical
ly a
pply
ing
Mar
xist
met
hod
to s
tart
from
the
wor
kers
‘ per
spec
tive
.
Cla
ss C
om
posi
tion...
Wit
h th
eir
inqu
iry
wor
k at
Fia
t an
d O
li-ve
tti,
the
grou
p ar
ound
Qua
dern
i Ro
ssi
wan
ted
to c
reat
e a
new
pol
itic
al r
elat
ion
to t
he w
orki
ng c
lass
. T
he p
robl
ems
and
stru
ggle
s of t
he w
orki
ng c
lass
shou
ld o
nce
agai
n be
com
e th
e ce
ntra
l re
fere
nce
poin
t of
rev
olut
iona
ry p
olit
ics.
Thi
s m
eant
po-
sing
all
the
ques
tion
s an
ew a
nd a
bove
all
(re)
sear
chin
g th
e re
al w
orki
ng c
lass
. T
he
deep
and
dra
stic
cha
nges
of
the
’50s
had
ch
ange
d th
e w
orki
ng c
lass
; re
plac
emen
t of
coa
l by
oil,
expa
nsio
n of
con
veyo
r be
lt
25
prod
ucti
on,
wid
espr
ead
use
of c
ars,
hug
e m
igra
tion
fro
m t
he c
ount
rysi
de e
tc. T
he
unio
nist
s at
ele
ctro
nics
com
pany
Oliv
et-
ti ne
ver
real
ly s
aw t
he n
ew p
eopl
e fr
om
the
coun
trys
ide
as r
eal w
orke
rs, a
nd th
ose
wor
kers
them
selv
es d
id n
ot se
e th
eir
wor
k as
rea
l wor
k, b
ut a
s ‘b
utto
n pu
shin
g’.
The
inqu
irie
s in
196
1 at
tem
pted
to
in-
vest
igat
e: t
he o
rigi
n of
the
wor
kers
, th
eir
prec
ious
wor
k ex
peri
ence
s, t
heir
acc
om-
mod
atio
n pr
oble
ms,
wha
t the
y do
in th
eir
free
tim
e an
d th
eir
perc
epti
on o
f th
e po
-w
er r
elat
ions
in th
e fa
ctor
y.T
he fi
rst
‘co
’-inq
uiri
es f
ocus
ed o
n th
e w
orke
rs a
s a
who
le p
erso
n. T
his
is i
n to
-ta
l con
tras
t to
the
‘fac
tory
ism
’ tha
t m
uch
late
r ch
arac
teri
sed
so m
any
of t
he ‘w
ork-
plac
e in
terv
enti
ons’
by th
e le
ft, i
.e. t
he r
e-du
ctio
n of
the
wor
kers
to
thei
r pr
oble
ms
in t
he w
orkp
lace
, fo
cusi
ng o
n th
e qu
es-
tion
s of
wag
es,
wor
k ti
me,
bre
aks,
and
w
ork
orga
nisa
tion
.Q
uade
rni
Rossi
uph
eld
the
thes
is t
hat
a ne
w c
ompo
siti
on o
f th
e w
orki
ng c
lass
w
ould
em
erge
, i.e
. tha
t the
wor
kers
wou
ld
put
up a
fi g
ht a
gain
st t
he e
xplo
itat
ion
in
the
new
fac
tori
es.
‘Cla
ss c
ompo
siti
on’
is
mor
e of
a fi
ghti
ng sl
ogan
than
a so
ciol
ogi-
cal t
erm
; it
actu
ally
mea
ns t
here
is a
con
-ne
ctio
n be
twee
n th
e m
ode
of p
rodu
ctio
n an
d ne
eds,
bet
wee
n w
ork
orga
nisa
tion
and
th
e or
gani
sati
on o
f st
rugg
le, a
nd b
etw
een
the
dire
ct d
aily
act
ivit
y of
the
wor
kers
and
th
eir
beha
viou
r or
pra
ctic
e.
… in
stea
d o
f cl
ass
consc
iousn
ess
In a
tex
t th
at w
as la
ter
sum
mar
ised
in t
he
book
Wor
kers
and
Cap
ital,
Mar
io T
ront
i pl
aced
‘lab
our
pow
er’ a
nd ‘w
orki
ng c
lass
’ in
an
anta
goni
st r
elat
ion
to o
ne a
noth
er
for t
he fi
rst t
ime.
Lab
our p
ower
iden
tifi e
d th
e w
orke
rs a
s va
riab
le c
apit
al,
a fa
ctor
of
pro
duct
ion
to b
e ex
ploi
ted.
Wor
king
cl
ass
on t
he o
ther
han
d is
the
sei
zing
of
a co
llect
ive
polit
ical
pow
er t
hrou
gh t
he r
e-fu
sal o
f th
e ex
pend
itur
e of
hum
an la
bour
po
wer
. T
his
diff
eren
tiat
ion
prov
ided
the
ba
sis
for
the
met
hodo
logi
cal
diff
eren
tia-
tion
bet
wee
n th
e te
chni
cal
and
polit
ical
co
mpo
siti
on o
f the
cla
ss.
By
star
ting
rad
ical
ly f
rom
the
pos
itio
n of
the
wor
kers
, Tro
nti t
urne
d th
e re
lati
on
26betw
een
‘cap
ital
and
wor
k’ a
roun
d fr
om
it’s
orth
odox
rep
rese
ntat
ion:
the
pol
itic
al
clas
s com
posi
tion
is a
his
tori
cal g
iven
, tha
t ca
pita
l has
to c
onfr
ont.
“The
cla
ss re
lati
on
com
es b
efor
e th
e ca
pita
l re
lati
on”.
Mea
-ni
ng t
hat
the
wor
king
cla
ss p
rece
des
the
deve
lopm
ent o
f cap
ital
. And
mac
hine
ry is
th
e ca
pita
list
answ
er.
So w
orke
r st
rugg
le
is s
een
as t
he a
ggre
ssiv
e fo
rce
and
not
as a
re
acti
on t
o th
e ex
ploi
tati
on s
uffe
red.
Thi
s m
ade
Tron
ti’s t
ext i
mm
ense
ly a
ttra
ctiv
e. It
w
orke
d lik
e a
drug
on
the
youn
g m
ilita
nts
of th
e 60
s an
d 70
s, b
ecau
se it
impl
ied
the
poss
ibili
ty (
and
feas
ibili
ty!)
of t
he r
evol
u-ti
on.
Cla
ss co
mpo
sitio
n m
eant
the
cry
stal
lisa-
tion
of b
ehav
iour
, nee
ds a
nd th
e tr
adit
ion
of s
trug
gle.
It
was
a m
ater
ial b
asis
tha
t re
-pl
aced
the
conc
ept o
f ‘cl
ass c
on sc
ious
ness
’ th
at w
ould
hav
e to
be
brou
ght
in f
rom
ou
tsid
e of
the
cla
ss.
Cla
ss c
ompo
siti
on
cont
aine
d bo
th t
he t
echn
ical
str
uctu
re o
f th
e cl
ass
and
how
it
cons
olid
ated
the
m-
selv
es (
polit
ical
ly)
in it
s st
rugg
les.
But
the
pr
oces
s by
whi
ch t
he l
abou
r fo
rce
turn
s in
to t
he w
orki
ng c
lass
, re
mai
ns c
ontr
a-di
ctor
y in
Tro
nti’s
wri
ting
: at
tim
es h
e co
ncei
ved
of i
t as
an
alm
ost
mec
hani
cal
proc
ess,
in o
ther
pla
ces
he v
olun
tari
stic
al-
ly c
onst
ruct
s a
new
pol
itic
al c
ompo
siti
on.
The
sw
itch
ing
betw
een
both
int
erpr
eta-
tion
s ch
arac
teri
sed
oper
aism
o fr
om t
he
begi
nnin
g.
As
a re
sult
of T
ront
i’s d
isti
llati
on o
f th
eory
(e.
g. c
lass
str
uggl
e as
the
mai
n dr
ivin
g fo
rce
of c
apit
alis
t de
velo
pmen
t),
his
conc
lusi
ons
beca
me
part
ly a
rbit
rary
, tu
rnin
g th
e bi
gges
t de
feat
s in
to v
icto
ries
(f
or e
xam
ple
seei
ng p
assi
vity
as
the
wor
k-er
s’ re
fusa
l to
str
uggl
e).
‘Ope
rais
mo
as
philo
soph
y’ i
s no
t m
uch
good
for
ana
ly-
sis
– ev
en l
ess
so i
n de
fens
ive
situ
atio
ns.
How
ever
, th
ere
is a
lso
a m
etho
dolo
gica
l pr
oble
m: i
f cap
ital
‘s ev
ery
acti
on is
und
er-
stoo
d as
a r
eact
ion
to c
lass
str
uggl
e, t
hen,
im
plic
itly
, th
e in
ner
conn
ecti
on b
etw
een
clas
s an
d ca
pita
l m
ust
be a
band
oned
. To
see
the
capi
tal r
elat
ion
as a
pow
er r
elat
ion
thro
ws
the
law
of
valu
e ov
erbo
ard
and
ulti
mat
ely
divi
des
econ
omic
s an
d po
litic
s ag
ain.
Her
e w
e ca
n se
e th
e fo
unda
tion
s be
ing
laid
for
the
ont
olog
ical
der
ivat
ion
of t
he c
once
pt o
f Mul
titud
e, a
s N
egri
lays
th
em o
ut in
Em
pire
.
The
cen
tral
sub
ject
in t
he s
trug
gles
in t
he
fact
ory
in t
he 6
0s a
nd 7
0s w
as t
he ‘m
ass
wor
ker’:
the
unsk
illed
wor
ker,
who
had
to
perf
orm
the
sam
e ha
nd m
ovem
ents
ove
r an
d ov
er a
gain
in
the
asse
mbl
y ha
lls a
nd
27
conv
eyer
bel
ts, a
far
cry
fro
m a
ny p
rodu
-ce
r or
ski
lled
wor
ker’s
pri
de.
Whe
n Se
rgio
Bol
ogna
fi r
st u
sed
the
term
in
1967
in
a se
min
ar i
n Pa
dua,
he
wan
ted
to u
se i
t to
arg
ue a
gain
st r
eact
i-va
ted
conc
epts
of
Leni
nist
org
anis
atio
n an
d sh
ow t
hat
the
clas
s co
mpo
siti
on o
f th
e m
ass
wor
ker
has
long
sup
erse
ded
this
no
tion
. (T
he fi
rst
mas
s w
orke
rs’
stru
ggle
to
ok p
lace
in
the
1930
s in
the
USA
). I
n th
e ho
t aut
umn
of 1
969
this
mas
s w
orke
r th
eory
was
con
fi rm
ed in
Ita
ly.
Bas
ed o
n th
is s
peci
al fi
gure
, a n
ew p
hi-
loso
phy
of h
isto
ry w
as c
reat
ed. H
owev
er,
the
acce
ptan
ce o
f th
is n
ew i
dea
in t
urn
forc
ed a
ny f
urth
er i
nqui
ry w
ork
into
a
cage
or
rigi
d po
litic
al f
ram
ewor
k. N
ew
form
ulat
ions
em
erge
d su
ch a
s ‘th
e la
w
of t
he m
ovem
ent
of t
he w
orki
ng c
lass
’ or
‘a p
arti
cula
r te
chni
cal
com
posi
tion
of
labo
ur f
orce
nec
essa
rily
cor
resp
onds
to
a ty
pica
l sy
stem
of
soci
al p
ract
ice.
It
has
to c
orre
spon
d to
a p
arti
cula
r po
litic
al e
x-pr
essi
on…
’. T
he c
onti
nuat
ion
was
the
n to
for
m a
n or
gani
sati
on t
hat
was
sup
-po
sed
to u
nify
thi
s w
orki
ng c
lass
– w
hich
w
as d
iam
etri
cally
opp
osed
to
the
orig
inal
th
inki
ng b
ehin
d th
e w
orke
rs’ i
nqui
ries
.
Work
ers
and w
ork
eris
ts
In t
he l
ast
few
yea
rs l
ots
of b
ooks
hav
e co
me
out
in I
taly
, go
ing
over
the
his
tory
of
the
60s a
nd 7
0s. A
few
are
ded
icat
ed to
th
e ‘w
orke
rist
s’, w
ho h
ave
give
n pe
rson
al
inte
rvie
ws
for
the
fi rst
tim
e an
d to
ld th
eir
vers
ion
of h
isto
ry.
Har
dly
any
of t
hese
bo
oks
(wit
h th
e ex
cept
ion
of t
he o
ne b
y La
Naz
ione
jou
rnal
ist
Ald
o G
rand
i!) h
ad
both
ered
to
also
int
ervi
ew t
he w
orke
rs
who
wer
e th
e ac
tual
pro
tago
nist
s of
thi
s cy
cle
of s
trug
gles
. For
a f
ew y
ears
, dur
ing
the
‘wor
kers
’ in
quir
ies’
in t
he 6
0s a
nd i
n th
e ye
ars
1968
-197
3, th
ere
was
a c
olla
bo-
rati
on b
etw
een
the
left
int
elle
ctua
ls s
ear-
chin
g fo
r th
e re
volu
tion
ary
subj
ect
and
the
wor
kers
in
revo
lt, f
rom
whi
ch b
oth
side
s pr
ofi t
ed:
the
wor
kers
fou
nd n
ew
inst
rum
ents
for
cha
ngin
g th
e w
orld
, th
e in
telle
ctua
ls g
aine
d ne
w i
nsig
hts.
Aft
er
this
col
labo
rati
on c
ame
to a
n en
d, th
e fi r
st
grou
p w
ere
still
wor
kers
and
the
sec
ond
still
aca
dem
ics.
In It
aly
hard
ly a
ny o
f the
se
com
rade
s w
ent i
nto
the
fact
orie
s th
emse
l-ve
s, w
here
as in
Ger
man
y fo
r exa
mpl
e th
ey
som
etim
es d
id.
"
28The
org
anis
ed a
uto
nom
y o
f th
e w
ork
ing c
lass
The
hist
ory
of P
oter
e O
pera
io (w
orke
rs p
ower
)
Pote
re
Ope
raio
[W
orke
rs’
Pow
er]
was
in
itia
lly t
he n
ame
of a
few
loc
al g
roup
s,
who
rel
ated
to
the
wor
king
cla
ss i
nde-
pend
ently
of
the
unio
n. T
heir
the
oret
i-ca
l poi
nt o
f re
fere
nce
init
ially
cam
e fr
om
the
new
spap
er C
lasse
Ope
raia
[W
orki
ng
Cla
ss],
whi
ch w
as f
ound
ed i
n 19
63 b
y th
e in
terv
enti
onis
t te
nden
cy w
ithi
n th
e Q
uade
rni R
ossi
new
spap
er. G
oing
bey
ond
thei
r ow
n in
quir
y w
ork,
the
y ai
med
the
ir
publ
icat
ions
dir
ectly
to
the
wor
kers
. The
ed
itor
ial g
roup
in t
he V
enet
o re
shap
ed it
-se
lf ar
ound
Ton
i N
egri
, w
ho w
as t
hen
a le
ctur
er a
t Pad
ua U
nive
rsit
y.In
196
7 th
e la
st is
sue
of C
lasse
Ope
raia
w
as p
ublis
hed,
and
sho
rtly
aft
er th
is Po
tere
O
pera
io –
gio
rnal
e po
litic
o de
gli
oper
ai d
i Po
rto
Mar
gher
a st
arte
d up
and
was
pu-
blis
hed
unti
l 19
69.
The
the
mes
of
the
new
spap
er w
ere:
mor
e m
oney
; le
ss w
ork;
ag
ains
t pie
ce w
ork;
aga
inst
the
inte
nsifi
ca-
tion
of
wor
k; a
gain
st e
ndan
geri
ng h
ealth
; ag
ains
t re
dund
anci
es a
nd s
hort
-wor
k; 4
0
hour
s w
eeks
, w
ith
48 p
aid
hour
s; g
ua-
rant
eed
min
imum
wag
e; e
qual
ity
for
all
wor
kers
; aga
inst
pri
vile
ge a
nd a
gain
st p
ro-
duct
ion
bonu
ses.
In th
e sa
me
year
the
fi rst
C
ongr
ess
of P
oter
e O
pera
io V
enet
o-Em
ili-
ano,
att
ende
d by
wor
ker-
acti
vist
s, t
ook
plac
e in
Mes
tre.
T
he n
atio
nal o
rgan
isat
ion
Pote
re O
pera
-io
em
erge
d in
196
9 fr
om t
he c
onne
ctio
ns
of l
ocal
gro
ups
in G
enoa
, M
ilan,
Tur
in
and
the
Ven
eto.
The
se g
roup
s ha
d m
ade
thei
r re
lati
on to
the
wor
king
cla
ss a
nd th
e in
terv
enti
ons i
n th
e fa
ctor
ies a
s the
ir fo
cal
poin
t. Sh
ortly
bef
ore
this
, in
Tur
in,
the
orga
nisa
tion
Lot
ta C
ontin
ua w
as f
orm
ed
from
a t
ende
ncy
of w
orke
r an
d st
uden
t as
sem
blie
s, w
ho h
ad a
gita
ted
at F
iat
du-
ring
the
who
le H
ot A
utum
n. U
p to
thi
s po
int,
‘La
Lotta
Con
tinua
’ [t
he s
trug
gle
is s
till
on]
had
appe
ared
as
a sl
ogan
on
all
the
leafl
ets
. In
196
9 th
e fi r
st n
atio
nal
new
spap
er P
oter
e O
pera
io a
p pea
red.
29
The
refu
sal o
f w
ork
and L
enin
ism
‘Com
inci
amo
a di
re
Leni
n’
[Let
’s st
art
sayi
ng L
enin
], b
egan
an
edit
oria
l by
Fran
-co
Pip
erno
in
1969
. T
his
repl
aced
the
sl
ogan
‘eve
ry e
cono
mic
str
uggl
e is
als
o a
polit
ical
str
uggl
e’.
Now
it
was
all
abou
t bu
ildin
g up
the
org
anis
atio
n in
ord
er t
o re
ach
the
econ
omic
aim
. A
ccor
ding
to
Neg
ri,
Leni
nism
was
the
pri
ce t
o be
pai
d fo
r th
e po
litic
al n
ew c
ompo
siti
on o
f th
e It
alia
n pr
olet
aria
t. ‘P
olit
ics’
now
mea
nt
Leni
n.W
hile
for
the
riv
al o
rgan
isat
ion
Lot-
ta C
ontin
ua e
very
thin
g st
arte
d fr
om t
he
spon
tane
ity
of th
e w
ork e
rs st
rugg
les,
Pot
e-re
Ope
raio
em
phas
ised
the
asp
ect
of o
rga-
nisa
tion
. T
he p
olit
ical
pro
gram
me
spok
e of
a d
irec
t tra
nsit
ion
to c
omm
unis
m fr
om
the
exte
nsio
n of
the
str
uggl
es t
o in
surr
ec-
tion
and
org
anis
ed m
ass i
nsur
genc
y. A
t its
he
ight
, abo
ut 1
0,00
0 ac
tivi
sts
wer
e in
vol-
ved
in P
oter
e Ope
raio
(to
a gr
eate
r or l
esse
r ex
tent
).
The
reg
iona
l gr
oups
als
o re
pres
ente
d th
e di
ffer
ent
soci
al
com
posi
tion
s:
you
had
the
indu
stri
al n
orth
wit
h it
s w
orke
rs
grou
ps, t
hen
Rom
e w
ith
on t
he o
ne h
and
prol
etar
ian/
sub-
prol
etar
ian
grou
ps
and
on t
he o
ther
han
d th
ose
from
the
ter
ti-
ary
sect
or s
uch
as lo
cal a
dmin
istr
atio
n or
ho
spit
als.
The
hea
lth w
orke
rs i
n th
e cl
i-ni
cs w
ere
an o
rgan
isat
iona
l foc
al p
oint
of
Pote
re O
pera
io. T
he in
fl ux
via
the
stu d
ent
mov
emen
t cha
nged
the
com
posi
tion
eve
n m
ore
and
ther
eby
the
polit
ical
bia
s of
the
gr
oup.
T
he
cultu
ral
diff
eren
ce
betw
een
the
wor
kers
’ gro
ups a
nd th
e gr
oups
wit
h m
ore
stud
ents
and
aca
dem
ics
in F
lore
nce
and
Rom
e w
as n
ot fr
ee o
f ten
sion
. W
hile
the
com
rade
s fr
om t
he l
atte
r gr
oups
use
d th
eir
tim
e as
a g
roup
to
also
go
out
tog
ethe
r or
go
on h
olid
ay a
nd h
ad
lots
of t
ime
for
disc
ussi
ons,
in V
enet
o th
e w
ork
in th
e fa
ctor
y cl
aim
ed a
goo
d pa
rt o
f th
e ti
me,
as
did
the
asse
mbl
ies
afte
r w
ork,
di
stri
buti
ng l
eafl e
ts e
tc. T
he t
ime
for
na-
tion
al o
r re
gion
al m
eeti
ngs
was
pre
tty
tigh
t.Po
rto
Mar
gher
a w
as ‘
the’
con
cent
rati
-on
of w
orke
rs, w
here
Pot
ere
Ope
raio
rea
lly
had
an in
fl uen
ce, b
ut p
olit
ical
ly t
he c
om-
rade
s fr
om P
orto
Mar
gher
a w
ere
som
e-w
hat o
n th
e si
delin
es o
f the
Org
anis
a tio
n.
At t
he P
oter
e O
pera
io c
ongr
ess i
n Fl
oren
ce
in Ja
nuar
y 19
70, i
t cam
e to
a c
onfr
onta
ti-
on a
bout
spon
tane
ity
and
Leni
nism
. Fin
zi
from
the
Port
o M
argh
era
Wor
kers‘
Com
mitt
ee
30took
up
the
follo
w in
g po
siti
on:
wha
t th
e w
orke
rs d
o, i
.e.
hold
ass
embl
ies
in t
he
fact
ory,
wri
te le
afl e
ts e
tc, i
s ac
tual
ly s
pon-
tane
ous
orga
nisi
ng. T
he w
orke
rs’ c
omm
it-te
e le
ads
and
educ
ates
the
wor
king
cla
ss.
Rev
olut
ion a
ry o
rgan
isin
g de
velo
ps w
ithi
n th
e w
orki
ng c
lass
, st
arti
ng f
rom
mat
eria
l ne
eds.
The
wor
kers
’ co
-or d
inat
ion
is n
ot
an i
nfor
mat
ion
serv
ice
abou
t st
rugg
les,
bu
t a
polit
ical
dec
isio
n m
akin
g bo
dy,
a co
-or d
inat
ion
of t
he w
orke
rs a
vant
-gar
de.
The
org
anis
atio
n is
mer
ely
an in
stru
men
t fo
r a
dire
ct s
trug
gle
for
conc
rete
aim
s.It
cam
e to
a p
olit
ical
div
isio
n be
twee
n on
one
han
d th
ose
who
wan
ted
to c
on-
tinu
e th
e ‘w
orke
rist
’ pra
ctic
e of
ran
k an
d fi l
e w
ork
in t
he f
acto
ries
. A
nd o
n th
e ot
her
hand
tho
se w
ho,
afte
r th
e H
ot A
u-tu
mn
of 1
969
ende
d du
e to
the
new
col
l-ec
tive
con
trac
t, fe
lt th
at th
e ti
me
was
righ
t to
put
all
thei
r en
ergy
into
bui
ldin
g up
an
orga
nisa
tion
aim
ed a
t pol
itic
al o
vert
hrow
.
New
alli
ance
sSe
ptem
ber
1970
: at
tem
pted
fus
ion
into
po
litic
al c
omm
itte
es w
ith
the
grou
p ca
lled
Il M
anife
sto,
whi
ch c
ontr
olle
d th
e il
ma-
nife
sto
new
spap
er,
whi
ch P
oter
e O
pera
io
wou
ld h
ave
liked
to
turn
int
o th
e da
ily
pape
r of
the
pol
itic
al c
omm
itte
es,
in o
r-
der
to s
pur
on t
he u
nity
of
the
vang
uard
. It
was
not
dee
med
nec
essa
ry t
o re
port
on
the
stru
ggle
s of
yes
terd
ay,
but
rath
er t
o of
fer
guid
ance
tod
ay o
n th
e st
rugg
les
of
tom
orro
w.
A j
oint
wor
kers
’ con
fere
nce
in J
anua
ry
1971
in
Mila
n: 7
6 w
orke
rs’ g
roup
s fr
om
Il M
anife
sto a
nd 6
8 gr
oups
fro
m P
oter
e O
pera
io t
ook
part
. Fr
om t
he c
onte
nt o
f th
eir
spee
ches
, it
see
med
the
tw
o gr
oups
ha
d an
aby
ss b
etw
een
them
. Po
tere
Ope
-ra
io d
eleg
ates
em
phas
ised
tha
t it
was
all
abou
t te
ar in
g aw
ay t
he m
ask
of t
he s
tate
, to
mak
e vi
sibl
e th
e vi
olen
ce t
hat
ensu
red
its
dom
inat
ion
over
the
wor
king
cla
ss.
In t
he l
ight
of
the
trem
endo
us l
evel
s of
st
rugg
le t
he p
arty
now
had
to
orga
nise
an
d th
e up
risi
ng h
ad to
be
prep
ared
.Il
Man
ifesto
was
set
on
long
and
dra
wn
out
guer
rilla
tac
tics
, pu
ttin
g fo
rwar
d de
-m
ands
for
the
atta
in m
ent o
f the
abo
litio
n of
pie
ce w
ork,
bet
ter
wor
king
hou
rs a
nd a
be
tter
wor
k en
viro
nmen
t. To
go
beyo
nd
unio
nism
requ
ires a
uton
omy
and
a un
ifi ed
or
gani
sm o
f th
e w
orki
ng c
lass
: the
pol
iti-
cal
com
mitt
ee a
s a
prel
imin
ary
form
of
a pa
rty
and
as a
mot
or fo
r th
e em
erge
nce
of
an u
nifi e
d or
gan
of th
e w
orki
ng c
lass
.W
hile
the
nat
iona
l le
ader
ship
had
al-
read
y gi
ven
up o
n co
-ope
rati
on, i
n Po
rto
31
Mar
gher
a th
ere
was
a jo
int i
nter
vent
ion
in
the
fact
orie
s fr
om F
ebru
ary
to A
pril
1971
w
ith
the
slog
ans:
“em
ploy
mor
e pe
ople
an
d gi
ve a
36
hour
wee
k to
eve
ryon
e”,
“int
rodu
ce a
fi ft
h sh
ift”,
“w
age
incr
ease
s in
inv
erse
pro
port
ion
to q
ualifi
cat
ions
”,
“no
piec
ewor
k or
wor
k in
tens
ifi ca
tion
”,
“no
profi
t-d
epen
dent
bon
us p
aym
ents
”.
Split
…A
t th
e co
ngre
ss i
n th
e E
UR
dis
tric
t of
R
ome
in S
epte
mbe
r 19
71, P
oter
e O
pera
io
actu
ally
spl
it a
roun
d th
e qu
esti
on:
keep
or
gani
sing
the
mas
s wor
kers
, or a
ntic
ipat
e ca
pita
list
deve
lopm
ent
in t
he t
erra
in o
f th
e ‘so
cial
ised
wor
ker’
(ope
raio
soci
ale)
.In
the
end
, the
fol
low
ing
posi
tion
won
ou
t: to
com
e ou
t of
the
fac
tori
es, t
o pu
sh
the
orga
nisi
ng i
nto
the
‘terr
ain’
. To
pre
-pa
re f
or t
he i
nsur
rect
ion.
Man
y pe
ople
di
d no
t ag
ree
wit
h th
is a
nd l
eft
the
or-
gani
sati
on.
The
dri
ve t
o bu
ild u
p a
part
y, a
nd
ever
mor
e na
tion
al c
ongr
esse
s, n
o lo
nger
he
lped
the
wor
kers
in
Port
o M
argh
era.
In
stea
d, t
hey
built
up
a ne
twor
k of
aut
o-no
mou
s w
orke
rs‘ g
roup
s in
Mila
n, R
ome
and
Nap
les a
nd b
roug
ht o
ut a
join
t new
s-pa
per.
… a
nd b
reak
-up
The
org
anis
atio
nal c
onfe
renc
e in
Ros
alin
a in
Jun
e 19
73 e
nded
wit
hout
eit
her
a so
-lu
tion
or
a ne
w s
tatu
te. T
he lo
cal g
roup
s tr
ansf
orm
ed i
nto
the
Org
anis
ed A
uton
o-m
y. D
urin
g th
e yo
uth
mov
emen
t in
1977
th
ere
was
an
infl u
x of
a w
hole
new
gen
era-
tion
of a
ctiv
ists
. A
fter
the
dis
solu
tion
of
Pote
re O
pe-
raio
, th
e ‘N
egri
-ist
s’ m
et i
n th
e su
mm
er
of 1
973
in P
adua
. T
hey
wan
ted
to h
old
on to
the
thre
ad o
f fac
tory
stru
ggle
s. F
inzi
an
d Sb
rogi
ò re
pres
ente
d th
e A
uton
omou
s A
ssem
bly.
The
ir a
ttit
ude
was
eve
ry m
ore
rigi
d: o
nly
the
shop
-fl o
or w
orke
rs w
ere
al-
low
ed t
o re
pres
ent
them
to
the
outs
ide,
no
‘ext
erna
l’ m
embe
rs.
`Mass
mili
tanc
y‘ o
r arm
ed s
trug
gle
Aft
er 1
969
all
the
radi
cal
left
org
anis
a-ti
ons
had
built
up
grou
ps o
f arm
ed ‘s
tew
-ar
ds’,
who
ini
tial
ly s
afeg
uard
ed l
eafl e
ting
ac
tion
s in
fro
nt o
f fa
ctor
ies,
sch
ools
etc
. an
d pr
otec
ted
agai
nst f
asci
st a
ttac
ks.
Aft
er t
he d
isso
luti
on o
f th
e or
gani
sati
-on
s, t
hese
‘mili
tary
win
gs’ m
ade
them
sel-
ves
inde
pend
ent.
One
par
t fo
unde
d th
e gr
oup
Prim
a Li
nea;
the
lea
ders
hip
of t
he
stew
ards
of P
oter
e Ope
raio
in R
ome
join
ed
the
Red
Bri
gade
s.
"
32
“The
split
and
bre
ak-u
p of
Pot
ere
Ope
raio
hap
pene
d on
the
basi
s of t
he a
ntag
onis
m
of th
ree
posi
tions
:a)
The
pro
ject
to b
uild
up
a ne
w p
arty
b) G
lorifi
cat
ion
of th
e sp
onta
neity
of t
he s
ocia
lised
wor
ker a
nd o
rgan
isat
ion
of th
e va
ngua
rds.
c) T
he s
earc
h fo
r a
dial
ectic
al r
elat
ion
betw
een
new
sub
ject
s an
d hi
storic
al o
rga-
nisa
tions
.Po
sitio
ns a
) and
b) s
hare
d th
e be
lief t
hat t
he ti
me
was
ripe
for t
he b
egin
ning
of t
he
revo
lutio
nary
pro
cess
, but
they
diff
ered
fund
amen
tally
in th
eir i
dea
of o
rgan
isat
ion;
th
e fi r
st ha
d a
late
-Leni
nist
idea
, whi
le th
e se
cond
wan
ted
to c
onne
ct w
ith th
e m
ass
vang
uard
.Po
sitio
n c)
tho
ught
tha
t bo
th o
f th
ese
posi
tions
wer
e to
tally
unr
ealis
tic a
nd
pres
umpt
uous
. Now
that
the
phas
e of
the
polit
ical
gro
ups
was
com
ing
to a
n en
d, it
w
as s
een
as m
ore
usef
ul to
ana
lyse
the
new
soc
ial d
i men
sion
s of
the
confl
icts
from
w
ithin
, and
ther
eby
to lo
ok a
t how
the
capi
talis
t res
pons
e to
the
cris
is c
reat
es c
ont-
radi
ctio
ns w
ithin
cla
ss c
ompo
sitio
n. T
his
posi
tion
wan
ted
to tr
y to
ope
n ch
anne
ls of
co
mm
unic
atio
n, p
rimar
ily w
ith th
e un
ions
, who
had
pro
ven
them
selv
es to
be
mor
e op
en to
the
new
real
ity th
an th
e pa
rties
wer
e.”
(Bia
nchi
ni/P
ergo
la, f
orew
ord
to th
e re
prin
t of `
Pote
re O
pera
io –
gio
rnal
e po
litic
o de
gli o
pera
i di
Por
to M
ar gh
era´
, 196
7-69
), Pa
dua
1980
.
33
The
hist
ory
of th
e w
orke
rs‘ c
omm
ittee
of
Por
to M
argh
era
Talk
by Ita
lo S
bro
giò
Giv
en a
t the
pre
sent
atio
n of
the
`Aug
usto
Fin
zi‘ w
orke
rs‘ a
rchi
ve,
Mar
gher
a, 9
June
200
6
34In 1
952
the
fi rst
chem
ical
s fa
ctor
y w
as
set u
p in
Por
to M
argh
era,
the
chlo
rinat
ed
soda
dep
artm
ent,
whi
ch w
as t
o be
com
e th
e m
otor
of g
row
th fo
r an
inte
grat
ed p
ro-
duct
ion
cycl
e w
ith o
ther
par
ts su
ch a
s; te
t-ra
chlo
roet
hyle
ne,
trich
loro
ethy
lene
, vi
nyl
chlo
ride
(from
whi
ch p
olyv
inyl
chl
orid
e,
PVC
, is
mad
e by
a p
roce
ss o
f po
lym
eri-
satio
n).
The
wor
kers
cam
e fro
m th
e co
untry
side
an
d th
eref
ore
had
mos
tly r
ecei
ved
thei
r sk
ills
from
sel
f-edu
catio
n, in
con
trast
to th
e co
mpa
ny m
anag
emen
t, m
any
of w
hom
ca
me
from
the
Fasc
ist t
radi
tion.
Am
ongs
t th
e w
orke
rs t
here
wer
e al
so
PCI
mem
bers
. Em
ploy
ed
with
th
e ap
-pr
oval
and
gua
rant
ee o
f th
e pr
iests
, th
e co
mm
unis
ts w
ere
dilig
ent w
orke
rs, t
he P
CI
had
taug
ht th
em th
at a
goo
d w
orke
r =
a go
od c
omm
unis
t.W
e w
orke
d w
ith o
ur h
eads
dow
n, b
ut
with
a h
uge
will
to
rebe
l ag
ains
t al
l th
e ha
rass
men
t th
at w
e en
dure
d on
a d
aily
ba
sis.
In 1
958
ther
e w
as n
o C
GIL
ther
e. I
t w
as fi
rst
crea
ted
whe
n so
me
com
mun
ist
wor
kers
sto
od f
or e
lect
ion
for
the
wor
ks
coun
cil,
and
won
a m
ajor
ity.
Thes
e co
m-
rade
s th
en f
orm
ed P
oter
e O
pera
io.
They
w
ere
join
ed b
y co
mra
des
from
the
whi
te-
colla
r dep
artm
ents.
Wor
king
in th
e Pe
trolc
him
ico
was
real
ly
hard
, w
hat
with
the
ass
aults
by
the
fore
-
men
and
the
spy
ing
by t
he f
acto
ry s
ecu-
rity;
if
you
wer
e de
noun
ced
by t
hem
for
w
hate
ver
reas
on y
ou w
ould
be
puni
shed
im
med
iate
ly. T
he a
ttitu
de o
f the
com
pany
w
as v
ery
varie
d, ra
ngin
g fro
m s
acki
ngs
to
mer
cile
ss p
a ter
nalis
m. T
his
was
sup
pose
d to
bre
ak th
e w
orke
rs‘ u
nity
, whi
ch d
espi
te
all t
his
actu
ally
was
mak
ing
prog
ress
.
New
Conta
cts
In 1
964
the
fi rst
so-c
alle
d in
telle
ctua
ls ap
-pr
oach
ed u
s. I
met
Ton
i Neg
ri an
d G
uido
Bi
anch
ini w
ho h
ad a
lread
y m
ade
cont
act
with
a c
omm
unis
t wor
ker
in V
etro
coke
by
this
tim
e, c
omra
de P
isto
lato
, who
was
the
chai
rman
of a
circ
le w
hich
saw
itse
lf as
a
peop
le‘s
uni
vers
ity.
In t
he t
ime
whi
ch f
ollo
wed
I a
lso m
et
Mas
sim
o C
acci
ari,
Fran
cesc
o da
l Co
and
othe
r com
rade
s.
At
thes
e m
eetin
gs w
e le
arne
d to
do
polit
ics
by p
artic
ipat
ing
in t
he d
ebat
es,
ever
yone
at t
he s
ame
leve
l.Fr
om th
e PC
I and
its
cent
ralis
ed p
oliti
cs
we
wer
e us
ed to
obe
ying
ord
ers
and
this
ki
nd o
f po
litic
s w
hich
bro
ught
us
into
a
vang
uard
role
was
new
for u
s.
Our
fi rs
t le
afl
et
In 1
967
the
fi rst
leafl
et b
y Po
tere
Ope
raio
ap
pear
ed in
Por
to M
argh
era.
It w
as a
bout
35
the
wor
ks c
ounc
il el
ectio
ns.
The
wor
kers
al
read
y sa
w u
s as
mem
bers
of
Pote
re
Ope
raio
and
we
wer
e re
-ele
c ted
with
a
maj
ority
. W
e di
strib
uted
the
fi rs
t po
litic
al
new
spap
er b
y Po
tere
Ope
raio
in th
e fa
ct-
ory
in M
arch
196
7 an
d th
e se
cond
one
in
May
, w
ith F
ranc
esco
Tol
in a
s of
fi cia
lly
resp
onsi
ble.
The
cont
ent o
f the
se tw
o fi r
st is
sues
was
ba
sed
on r
epor
ts w
hich
wor
kers
‘ au
tono
-m
y va
ngua
rds
had
colle
cted
fro
m a
cros
s th
e w
hole
of I
taly.
In P
orto
Mar
gher
a (P
etro
lchi
mic
o) t
he-
fi rst
repr
essi
on o
ccur
red.
Com
rade
Bru
no
Mas
sa w
as fo
r cib
ly tr
ansf
erre
d to
Bus
si in
A
bruz
zo [
a re
gion
in
Cen
tral
Italy
]. A
u-gu
sto F
inzi
was
inte
rnal
ly tr
ans f
erre
d se
v-er
al ti
mes
. Thi
s cr
uel a
ttack
onl
y m
ade
us
stron
ger.
I too
was
ban
ishe
d to
a p
uniti
ve
de pa
rtmen
t in
ord
er t
o pr
even
t m
e fro
m
havi
ng d
aily
con
tact
with
wor
kmat
es.
Onc
e of
our
fi rs
t go
als
was
to
turn
th
e str
uggl
es f
or o
ur m
ater
ial
need
s in
to
mas
s str
uggl
es. T
he g
roup
of w
orke
rs w
ho
shar
ed o
ur g
oals
orga
nisa
tiona
lly a
nd in
co
nten
t led
up
to o
ur fi
rst f
acto
ry c
ongr
ess
in S
epte
mbe
r 196
7 in
the
subu
rbs
of M
es-
tre. W
e ar
gued
for t
he s
trate
gy th
at P
oter
e O
pera
io s
houl
d in
terv
ene
in a
ll th
e fa
cto-
ries.
As
mem
bers
of t
he w
orks
cou
ncil,
we
argu
ed fo
r th
e eq
ualit
y of
blu
e an
d w
hite
co
llar w
orke
rs.
1968: 5
000 L
ire
for
ever
yone
This
pha
se g
ave
birth
to th
e fi r
st w
orke
rs‘
com
mitt
ee.
Whe
n th
e pr
oduc
tion
bonu
s w
as u
p fo
r re
ne go
tiatio
n in
Jun
e 19
68,
we
dem
ande
d 50
00 L
ire f
or e
very
one.
Th
e w
orke
rs u
nder
stood
our
ega
lit ar
ian
dem
ands
and
inv
olve
d th
emse
lves
in
a ha
rd s
trugg
le w
hich
enf
orce
d th
e pr
inci
-pl
e an
d m
an ag
ed t
o sq
ueez
e ou
t 10
00
Lire
for
ever
yone
. Th
e re
st w
ould
also
be
paid
out
equ
ally,
but
rem
aine
d tie
d to
the
deve
lopm
ent
of p
rodu
ctiv
ity.
In o
rder
to
achi
eve
this
we
had
held
sev
eral
dem
os
and
oc cu
pied
the
train
sta
tion
in M
estre
.
The
Hot
Autu
mn
The
so-c
alle
d ho
t aut
umn
brou
ght w
orke
rs
and
stude
nts
clos
er t
oget
her;
we
parti
ci-
pate
d in
com
mon
dis
cuss
ion
grou
ps a
nd
took
to
the
stree
ts to
geth
er.
In J
anua
ry
1969
we
agita
ted
all a
cros
s Ita
ly f
or th
e sta
ndar
disa
tion
of t
he w
age
agre
emen
t. W
e al
so s
ugge
sted
rank
and
fi le
com
mit-
tees
in
all t
he f
acto
ries
with
the
aim
of
a gu
aran
teed
min
imum
wag
e of
120
,000
Lir
e (a
t th
e tim
e th
e m
inim
um w
age
was
55
,000
Lire
) a
40 h
our
wee
k w
ith 4
8 ho
urs
paid
, ho
liday
and
hea
lth in
sura
nce
at e
qual
leve
ls fo
r eve
ryon
e.In
Jun
e 19
69,
as th
e w
orke
rs‘
com
mit-
tee
in P
orto
Mar
gher
a (a
few
of
us w
ere
36CG
IL-m
embe
rs),
we
foug
ht
agai
nst
the
unio
n ca
ving
in
and
orga
nise
d str
uggl
es
in p
rodu
ctio
n; n
ot th
e pi
npoi
nt s
trike
s th
at
the
unio
n w
as p
ropo
sing
in
orde
r to
af-
fect
pro
duct
ion
as l
ittle
as
poss
ible
. W
e di
rect
ed
the
wor
kers
‘ at
tent
ion
to
the
`wag
e zo
nes‘
[in
the
old
wag
e ag
reem
ent
diffe
rent
wag
e le
vels
wer
e se
t fo
r di
ffer-
ent r
egio
ns o
f Ita
ly]
and
to th
e po
ssib
ility
of
con
verti
ng th
e pr
oduc
tion
bonu
ses
to a
14
th m
onth
wag
e fo
r ev
eryo
ne.
We
also
fo
cuse
d on
exp
osin
g M
onte
diso
n‘s
heal
th
risks
pol
icie
s; th
e co
mpa
ny o
nly
decl
ared
se
ven
depa
rtmen
ts as
hea
lth r
isks
— a
n ad
justm
ent
to t
he l
owes
t sta
ndar
d w
hen
Edis
on a
nd M
onte
catin
i mer
ged
and
cre-
ated
Mon
tedi
son.
In th
e fa
ctor
y, w
e di
d no
t pre
sent
our
sel-
ves
as a
fou
rth u
nion
, bu
t ra
ther
as
an
auto
nom
ous
orga
nisa
tion
with
the
sloga
n `le
ss w
ork,
mor
e w
ages
‘.In
July
196
9, a
s th
e w
orke
rs‘ c
omm
ittee
of
Por
to M
argh
era,
we
spok
e ab
out f
ocus
-si
ng o
ur s
trugg
les
on th
e ab
oliti
on o
f th
e su
b-co
ntra
ctor
s, w
hose
em
ploy
ees w
orke
d w
ith s
hitty
con
ditio
ns a
nd w
ith m
any
daily
w
ork
acci
dent
s, b
ecau
se t
hey
wer
e se
en
as s
econ
d-cl
ass
wor
kers
. A
ll w
orke
rs a
re
ex pl
oite
d, b
ut th
ose
empl
oyed
by
the
sub-
cont
ract
ors
are
doub
ly e
xplo
ited
if th
ey
wor
k 10
to 1
2 ho
urs
a da
y an
d ge
t pai
d on
ly 1
30 to
140
hou
rs p
er m
onth
at a
rate
of
280
or
300
Lire
per
hour
, w
hich
also
cove
rs h
olid
ay p
ay,
Chr
istm
as b
onus
es
and
the
like.
Ano
ther
reas
on th
en, t
o fi g
ht
toge
ther
for
100
0 Lir
e a
day,
for
a 4
0 ho
ur w
eek,
for
a 3
6 ho
ur w
eek
for
shift
w
orke
rs,
for
equa
l ho
liday
tim
e, e
qual
he
alth
ins
uran
ce a
nd e
qual
pen
sion
s fo
r al
l, bl
ue a
nd w
hite
col
lar w
orke
rs.
Betw
een
May
and
Jun
e 19
69 t
he C
GIL
held
its
seve
nth
regi
onal
con
gres
s. In
the
deba
tes
dele
gate
s sh
owed
con
cern
abo
ut
the
re-e
lect
ion
of
the
Pote
re
Ope
raio
re
pre s
enta
tives
in th
e Pe
trolc
him
ico.
In h
is
spee
ch,
the
regi
onal
sec
reta
ry o
f the
met
-al
wor
kers
‘ un
ion
indi
cate
d th
at th
e un
ion
did
not
real
ly p
lay
the
lead
ing
role
: `In
se
vera
l ca
ses
we
wer
e no
t pr
epar
ed f
or
the
pres
sure
of t
he w
orke
rs w
ith th
eir s
pon-
tane
ous
orga
nisa
tiona
l for
ms‘
.
37
Excl
usi
on f
rom
the
unio
n
Bit b
y bi
t the
Pot
ere
Ope
raio
fact
ory
grou
p w
as e
xpel
led
from
the
CG
IL. W
e w
ere
ac-
cuse
d of
not
toei
ng th
e lin
e. W
e an
swer
ed
that
they
wer
e rig
ht,
we
wer
e no
t in
line,
be
caus
e w
e ha
d al
way
s fou
ght a
gain
st th
e lin
e of
cap
itula
tion.
Mor
e an
d m
ore
wor
k-er
s fo
llow
ed o
ur li
ne: I
f a w
orke
r fro
m th
e C
V5 d
e par
tmen
t (P
VC p
rodu
ctio
n) w
as
sack
ed d
ue to
false
alle
gatio
ns, t
he u
nion
tri
ed to
get
him
bac
k in
to th
e fa
ctor
y, b
ut
with
out
succ
ess.
The
wor
ker
then
tur
ned
to u
s at
Pot
ere
Ope
raio
and
ask
ed u
s fo
r he
lp.
We
then
org
anis
ed a
pic
ket l
ine
at
6 a.
m.
with
out m
uch
adva
nce
notic
e an
d bl
ocke
d th
e fa
ct or
y un
til t
he w
orke
r w
as
rein
state
d.In
Aug
ust 1
969
the
unio
n or
dere
d th
e di
ssol
utio
n of
the
wor
ks c
ounc
il an
d or
ga-
nise
d re
-ele
ctio
ns. W
e de
cide
d no
t to
par-
ticip
ate.
Whe
n th
e vo
tes
wer
e co
unte
d,
over
50
perc
ent
of t
he b
allo
t sli
ps w
ere
blan
k.N
ovem
ber
1969
. Th
e w
age
dem
and
by t
he c
hem
ical
wor
kers
‘ un
ion
was
piti
-fu
l: 12
,000
Lire
mor
e pe
r m
onth
, a p
erio
-di
c in
crea
se o
f sen
iorit
y bo
nuse
s be
twee
n 3
and
5 pe
r cen
t, in
crea
se o
f the
min
im um
bo
nus
from
2 p
er c
ent t
o 5
per c
ent,
a 40
ho
ur w
eek
spre
ad o
ver
fi ve
days
and
a
min
imum
of
15 d
ays
holid
ay a
yea
r. In
ad
ditio
n to
that
the
unio
n de
man
ded
an in
-
dex-
base
d ex
tra p
aym
ent f
or h
ealth
-dam
a-gi
ng w
ork
[mea
ning
that
the
mor
e he
alth
da
mag
ing
the
wor
k, th
e m
ore
mon
ey y
ou
get].
In th
e as
sem
blie
s, th
e Pe
trolc
him
ico
Wor
kers
´ C
omm
ittee
and
oth
er g
roup
s ut
-te
rly r
efus
ed th
ese
de m
ands
. At t
hat t
ime,
th
e Pe
trolc
him
ico
Wor
kers
´ C
omm
ittee
, th
e Ra
nk-a
nd-fi
le C
omm
ittee
Mon
tedi
son
Ferr
ara
and
the
Wor
kers
‘ St
uden
ts‘ C
om-
mitt
ee M
onte
diso
n M
antu
a jo
ined
for
ces
and
foug
ht fo
r com
mon
aim
s: e
qual
wag
e in
crea
ses
for
all,
nobo
dy m
ust
earn
les
s th
an 1
20,0
00 L
ire p
er m
onth
, a 4
0 ho
ur-
wee
k fo
r th
ose
on n
orm
al s
hifts
, a
36
hour
-wee
k fo
r th
ose
doin
g sh
ift w
ork.
We
wan
ted
ever
ythi
ng a
nd w
e w
ante
d it
right
aw
ay. B
ecau
se o
f une
mpl
oym
ent,
tech
no-
logi
cal d
evel
opm
ent a
nd h
ealth
dam
age,
an
d be
caus
e th
e fa
ctor
y w
as m
ore
or le
ss
like
a pr
ison
, we
wan
ted
to s
pend
as
little
tim
e as
pos
sibl
e in
side
.
38
The
centr
alit
y o
f th
e w
age
This
is w
hy th
e w
age
beca
me
the
cent
ral
issu
e. If
the
wag
e is
too
low
, sho
rter w
ork-
ing
hour
s w
ill n
ot b
e of
muc
h us
e. I
f w
e la
ck m
oney
we
will
alw
ays
be f
orce
d to
do
ove
rtim
e an
d th
e re
duct
ion
of w
orki
ng
time
will
be
no m
ore
than
a b
luff.
The
re-
fore
we
also
dem
ande
d eq
ual
holid
ays,
eq
ual
heal
th i
nsur
ance
and
equ
al w
age
incr
ease
s ac
cord
ing
to s
enio
rity
for
blue
co
llar
and
whi
te c
olla
r w
orke
rs,
starti
ng
right
aw
ay.
Form
s of
stru
ggle
whi
ch d
is-
rupt
pro
duct
ion
as s
ever
ely
as p
ossi
ble
and
whi
ch fo
rce
the
boss
es to
thei
r kne
es:
one
day
we
wal
ked
out,
the
next
day
we
didn
‘t.In
lat
e 19
69 t
he e
mpl
oyee
s of
Châ
til-
lon
in P
orto
Mar
gher
a an
noun
ced
thei
r de
man
ds fo
r the
col
lect
ive
cont
ract
, whi
ch
alre
ady
soun
d fa
mili
ar: f
rom
wor
king
tim
e re
duct
ion
to e
qual
wag
e in
crea
ses
for a
ll.
The
boss
es a
nsw
ered
with
ope
n th
reat
s.
We
imm
edia
tely
dis
tribu
ted
a le
afl e
t in
the
Petro
l chi
mic
o sa
ying
that
it is
in o
ur o
wn
inte
rest
to jo
in th
e C
hâtil
lon
wor
kers
with
ef
fect
ive
form
s of
stru
ggle
, m
eani
ng t
he
stop-
and-
go s
trike
s th
at w
e w
ere
alre
ady
fam
iliar
with
.Th
e str
uggl
e be
cam
e ha
rder
and
har
-de
r an
d w
e re
duce
d th
e em
erge
ncy
staff
resp
onsi
ble
for t
he s
afet
y of
the
plan
t fro
m
125
to 3
2, w
hich
mea
nt th
e ac
tual
sto
p-pi
ng o
f pro
duct
ion
inste
ad o
f mai
n tai
ning
a
min
imum
pro
duct
ion.
The
pol
itica
l im
-pa
ct o
f Po
tere
Ope
raio
in
the
Petro
lchi
-m
ico
beca
me
mor
e an
d m
ore
sign
ifi ca
nt
and
mor
e an
d m
ore
orga
nise
d. O
n 10
O
ctob
er 1
969
Fiat
in T
urin
was
oc c
upie
d by
the
wor
kers
and
the
re w
as i
nter
nal
fi ght
ing
durin
g th
e hu
nt fo
r sca
bs. A
s Po
te-
re O
pera
io, w
e ha
iled
the
occu
patio
n: w
e m
ust n
ot s
uffe
r an
y w
age
cuts
as a
res
ult
of tr
aditi
onal
stri
kes;
we
have
the
pow
er
to fo
rce
the
boss
es to
thei
r kn
ees,
we
just
39
have
to
use
it. O
ur s
loga
n w
as:
`Uni
ted
with
the
strug
gle
at F
iat w
e w
ill b
ring
the
boss
es to
thei
r kne
es‘.
Th
e unio
n o
f co
unci
ls
The
refo
rmis
m o
f the
PC
I dev
elop
ed a
t hig
h sp
eed;
the
CG
IL w
as th
e pa
rty‘s
tran
smis
-si
on b
elt i
n its
atte
mpt
to re
gain
the
uppe
r ha
nd o
ver
the
orga
nisi
ng p
roce
ss o
f th
e w
orke
rs.
The
Com
mis
sion
i in
tern
e w
ere
actu
ally
out
date
d, s
o a
new
uni
on r
epre
-se
ntat
ion
was
esta
blis
hed
in th
e fa
ctor
ies,
ba
sed
on a
fak
e re
pres
enta
tive
dem
oc-
racy
. Th
e fi r
st de
partm
ent d
eleg
ates
wer
e el
ecte
d di
rect
ly f
rom
the
sho
p-fl o
or l
evel
an
d it
was
pos
sibl
e to
vot
e fo
r no
n-un
ion
mem
bers
. Th
is w
as s
uppo
sed
to m
ake
them
cre
dibl
e to
us.
We
have
to a
dmit
that
w
ith t
he f
acto
ry c
ounc
ils t
hey
partl
y su
c-ce
eded
. In
vie
w o
f th
is,
we,
the
van
guar
d, p
ut
our
back
int
o it
and
said
tha
t th
e in
ter-
vent
ion
insi
de th
e fa
ctor
ies
wou
ld h
ave
to
be c
arrie
d to
the
out
side
, to
the
‚so
cial
‘, as
wel
l, br
oach
ing
the
issu
e of
the
rise
of
livin
g co
sts. S
ome
of u
s di
d no
t agr
ee w
ith
putti
ng th
e in
terv
entio
n in
side
the
fact
ory
and
its d
eman
ds a
nd r
epre
sent
atio
n in
se
cond
pla
ce.
We
had
a ge
nera
l deb
ate
and
cam
e to
the
conc
lusi
on th
at th
e fa
cto-
ry c
ounc
ils w
ere
not w
hat t
hey
had
been
pr
opos
ed t
o be
. So
me
com
rade
s fro
m
Pote
re O
pera
io g
ot e
lect
ed a
nyw
ay, e
ven
into
the
boar
d of
the
fact
ory
coun
cil,
be-
caus
e th
e w
orke
rs w
ante
d it
that
way
. Thi
s ha
d be
en v
ery
diffi
cult
to a
chie
ve a
gain
st he
avy
resi
stanc
e by
the
uni
on.
Man
y of
us
pe
rcei
ved
thes
e ne
w
repr
esen
tativ
e in
stitu
tions
as
anot
her
chal
leng
e, s
imila
r to
the
proc
ess
of o
ur e
mer
genc
e fro
m th
e C
omm
issi
oni i
nter
ne.
Unitin
g f
act
ory
str
uggle
s and
soci
al s
truggle
s
Let‘s
tal
k ab
out
the
soci
al s
trugg
les.
We
calle
d fo
r th
e au
to-re
duct
ion
of
publ
ic
trans
port
fare
s, o
f re
nt,
gas,
ele
ctric
ity
and
food
pric
es. W
e m
anag
ed to
ach
ieve
al
l tha
t in
the
Petro
lchi
mic
o an
d w
e ev
en
man
aged
to
drag
the
uni
on a
long
. Th
e pr
actic
e of
sel
f-red
uctio
n th
en s
prea
d in
th
e ne
ighb
our h
oods
inc
ludi
ng t
he c
ity o
f Ve
nice
. Pe
ople
low
ered
ren
ts, o
ccup
ied
empt
y ho
uses
, pai
d le
ss fo
r the
ir fo
od. W
e or
gani
sed
all
this
by
esta
blis
hing
loc
al
com
mitt
ees
in t
he v
ario
us p
arts
of t
own.
W
e ev
en m
anag
ed t
o or
gani
se a
sho
p-pi
ng s
trike
whi
ch f
orce
d so
me
supe
rmar
-ke
ts (C
a d‘
Oro
, C
oop,
Pam
) to
cut p
rices
fo
r ba
sic
food
(yo
u w
ould
sav
e ab
out
1,00
0 Lir
e ou
t of 8
,000
). Th
e co
mm
ittee
s fo
r se
lf-re
duct
ion
(Com
itati
di a
utor
iduz
i-on
e) s
prea
d as
far
as
Chi
oggi
a, w
here
ab
out
2,50
0 fa
mili
es r
educ
ed t
heir
bills
.
40In t
he p
rovi
nce
of V
enic
e in
tot
al a
bout
15
,000
fam
ilies
took
par
t.Th
e co
mm
ittee
org
anis
ed a
big
sel
f-re-
duct
ion
dem
onstr
atio
n, w
hich
sta
rted
from
th
e br
idge
in M
estre
, hea
ding
tow
ards
the
Piaz
za F
erre
tto, w
here
we
starte
d a
huge
fi r
e by
bur
ning
all
the
gas
and
elec
trici
ty
bills
whi
ch w
e ha
d re
duce
d. A
fter
four
m
onth
s of
nat
ionw
ide
prot
ests
the
gove
rn-
men
t an
d un
ion
sign
ed
an
agre
emen
t w
hich
cut
the
pric
e of
ele
ctric
ity.
Thos
e in
volv
ed in
the
com
mitt
ee s
aid
that
suc
h a
stron
g bo
nd b
etw
een
the
fact
ory
and
the
neig
hbou
rhoo
d ha
d ne
ver e
xiste
d be
fore
.
Fact
ory
work
mak
es y
ou s
ick
!
Let‘s
tal
k ab
out
the
1970
s. T
he h
ealth
da
mag
e in
the
fac
tory
and
in
ever
yday
lif
e be
cam
e w
orse
and
wor
se,
unbe
ar-
able
, I‘d
say
. Th
e un
ions
rem
aine
d si
lent
ab
out w
hat t
o do
abo
ut it
. A
ccid
ents
and
acut
e po
ison
ing
happ
ened
eve
ry d
ay. P
o-te
re O
pera
io w
as a
war
e of
the
pro
blem
an
d pi
cked
up
the
prot
est o
f the
wor
kers
. W
e sa
id t
hat
mon
ey c
anno
t co
mpe
nsat
e fo
r he
alth
dam
age.
Wor
kers
don
‘t go
to
wor
k in
the
fact
ory
in o
rder
to d
o in
quir-
ies,
but
bec
ause
they
are
forc
ed to
. Wor
k is
n‘t a
way
of l
ife, b
ut th
e ne
cess
ity to
sel
l on
esel
f in
orde
r to
be
able
to li
ve.
And
it
is th
is v
ery
strug
gle
agai
nst w
ork,
aga
inst
havi
ng to
sel
l one
self,
whi
ch a
ttack
s al
l the
rule
s of
this
soc
iety
. We
foug
ht a
gain
st th
e he
alth
haz
ards
by
fi ght
ing
for
havi
ng t
o w
ork
less
, for
not
hav
ing
to d
ie o
f poi
son-
ing
thro
ugh
wor
k. It
dam
ages
you
r he
alth
to
get
up
ever
y m
orni
ng t
o go
to
wor
k,
to f
ollo
w t
he r
hyth
m a
nd m
ovem
ents
of
prod
uctio
n, to
wor
k sh
ifts,
to b
ring
hom
e a
wag
e w
hich
for
ces
you
to g
o ba
ck t
o th
e fa
ctor
y th
e ne
xt d
ay...
all
this
dam
ages
yo
ur h
ealth
.St
rikes
kic
ked
off
agai
nst
heal
th d
a-m
age,
tou
gh o
nes
as w
ell.
The
wor
kers
su
rpas
sed
the
abse
nt u
ni on
, w
hich
was
co
nten
ted
with
the
mer
e fa
ct t
hat
now
ev
ery
wor
ker h
ad a
hea
lth p
ass.
Not
onl
y Po
tere
Ope
raio
, bu
t al
so L
otta
Con
tinua
an
d ot
her
grou
ps a
cted
aga
inst
the
apa-
thy
of th
e un
ion,
and
aga
inst
the
apat
hy
of t
he l
eft-w
ing
parti
es.
The
insti
tutio
ns
wer
e ne
arly
abs
ent.
Our
slo
gan
was
: clo
-su
re o
f th
e fa
ctor
y, r
efur
bish
men
t of
the
pl
ant,
and
re-o
peni
ng w
hile
Mon
tedi
son
cont
inue
d to
pay
the
wag
es.
The
strug
g-le
s go
t `b
lood
y‘,
until
nea
rly t
he w
hole
fa
ctor
y ca
me
to a
sta
ndsti
ll, in
clud
ing
the
chem
ical
faci
litie
s w
hich
Mon
tedi
son
had
alw
ays
clai
med
cou
ld n
ot b
e sto
pped
wit-
hout
cau
sing
thei
r des
truct
ion.
At t
his
poin
t we
wer
e su
mm
oned
by
the
heal
th a
nd s
afet
y au
thor
ities
. Afte
r the
au-
thor
ity h
ad li
stene
d to
all
parti
es a
nd u
n-de
rsto
od th
at d
ozen
s of
poi
sone
d w
orke
rs
had
to b
e se
nt to
hos
pita
l due
to d
aily
di-
41
scha
rge
of g
as,
it de
cide
d th
at fr
om n
ow
on a
ll w
orke
rs in
Por
to M
argh
era
had
to
wea
r ga
s m
asks
. Th
is d
ecis
ion
spar
ked
grea
t deb
ates
. Th
e un
ion
tried
to a
ppea
r m
ore
left-
win
g th
an u
s an
d po
inte
d ou
t th
at t
his
mea
sure
wou
ld h
ave
to i
nclu
de
not o
nly
the
fact
orie
s in
Por
to M
argh
era,
bu
t al
so t
hose
in
the
adjo
inin
g ar
eas.
Th
ey r
eally
mad
e a
joke
of
them
selv
es:
in th
e m
idst
of th
e str
ike
we
orga
nise
d a
cruc
ifi xi
on o
n th
e sq
uare
in
front
of
gate
3
of th
e Pe
trolc
him
ico.
We
erec
ted
a fo
ur
met
re h
igh
cros
s, a
pup
pet w
earin
g a
gas
mas
k w
as a
ttach
ed to
it, s
ymbo
lisin
g Je
sus
Chr
ist.
A s
ign
said
: `M
onte
diso
n le
ts yo
u di
e a
seco
nd ti
me.
‘W
e de
man
ded
that
the
com
pany
fi n
d ou
t the
reas
on fo
r the
hea
lth d
amag
e an
d el
imin
ate
it by
clo
s ing
the
pla
nt a
nd t
he
depa
rtmen
t w
hile
con
tinui
ng t
o pa
y w
a-ge
s to
the
affe
cted
wor
kers
, re
-ope
ning
th
e pl
ant a
fterw
ards
. Th
e str
ike
durin
g th
e co
llect
ive
agre
e-m
ent
nego
tiatio
ns a
lso i
nclu
ded
dem
os
insi
de t
he f
acto
ry,
copy
ing
the
dem
os a
t Fi
at M
irafi o
ri, w
hich
for
us
in M
argh
era
wer
e le
gend
ary.
It w
as a
form
of s
trugg
le
whi
ch e
xpre
ssed
the
unity
of t
he w
orke
rs.
Whe
n th
ey w
ere
mot
ivat
ed a
nd a
ngry
, the
in
tern
al d
emos
wer
e a
succ
ess,
oth
erw
ise
it w
as b
ette
r to
forg
et a
bout
them
. As
long
as
the
com
mitt
ee h
ad a
net
wor
k in
side
the
fact
ory
we
coul
d or
gani
se t
hese
dem
os
and
even
forc
e th
e un
ion
to s
uppo
rt th
em.
Dur
ing
the
dem
os w
e w
ere
able
to m
ake
out t
he fe
w w
orke
rs w
ho tr
ied
to c
hick
en
out.
Late
r on
in
the
cant
een
we
ouste
d th
ese
wor
kers
by
ba
ngin
g ou
r pl
ates
, so
met
hing
whi
ch I
thin
k is
psy
chol
ogic
ally
di
ffi cu
lt to
bea
r. In
ord
er n
ot to
suf
fer
this
tre
atm
ent
a lo
t of
pot
entia
l sc
abs
join
ed
the
strik
e.
Co-o
per
ation w
ith il
manif
esto
In 1
970
and
1971
, in
Por
to M
argh
era
il m
anife
sto a
nd P
oter
e O
pera
io f
orm
ed
the
Polit
ical
Com
mitt
ee,
whi
ch s
urvi
ved
for
only
a f
ew m
onth
s. W
e le
t pe
ople
kn
ow a
bout
it
thro
ugh
som
e le
afl e
ts an
d a
cong
ress
, whi
ch I
thin
k to
ok p
lace
in th
e de
partm
ent
of a
rchi
tect
ure
of t
he u
nive
r-si
ty i
n Ve
nice
. Th
e stu
ff th
at w
as s
poke
n ab
out
durin
g th
e co
ngre
ss w
as m
ore
up
our
stree
t. I t
hink
il m
ani fe
sto w
as lo
okin
g fo
r alli
es to
hel
p th
em g
et th
eir d
aily
new
s-pa
per
goin
g in
the
Vene
to.
In M
ar gh
era,
42they
wer
e fo
rmed
by
a fe
w c
omra
des
who
ha
d le
ft th
e PC
I, in
clud
ing
only
a v
ery
few
w
ork e
rs. W
e w
ere
clos
er to
Lotta
Con
tinua
th
an to
Il m
anife
sto.
The
refo
rm o
f th
e unio
n
Dur
ing
the
early
197
0s th
e po
litic
s of
the
unio
n w
as a
bout
the
‚str
uctu
ral
refo
rms‘
. A
fter
the
tax
re fo
rm th
e w
age
tax
was
de-
duct
ed d
irect
ly f
rom
the
wor
kers
‘ w
age;
th
e em
ploy
er b
ecam
e an
aux
iliar
y of
the
state
. Th
e re
form
int
rodu
ced
the
valu
e-
adde
d ta
x IV
A, r
epla
cing
the
old
sale
s ta
x IG
E an
d le
adin
g to
a b
ig p
rice
hike
. The
n th
ere
was
the
refo
rm o
f the
hea
lth s
yste
m
whi
ch tu
rned
com
pany
doc
tors
and
judg
-es
into
com
bata
nts
agai
nst a
bsen
teei
sm.
We
perc
eive
d th
ese
refo
rms
as a
n at
-te
mpt
to p
ull w
ool o
ver t
he w
orke
rs‘ e
yes.
W
e w
ante
d to
bui
ld a
n al
tern
ativ
e to
the
polit
ical
lin
e of
the
uni
on,
rega
rdin
g th
e fo
rms
of s
trugg
le a
s m
uch
as t
he a
ims.
O
ur a
ltern
ativ
es w
ere
dem
ands
for
ma-
jor
wag
e in
crea
ses,
for
the
red
uctio
n of
43
wag
e ca
tego
ries
and
for
auto
mat
ic p
ro-
mot
ion.
Aga
inst
the
heal
th h
azar
ds th
ere
was
a p
reci
se d
eman
d an
d a
mas
s str
ug-
gle:
cl
osur
e of
da
nger
ous
depa
rtmen
ts –
refu
rbis
hmen
t an
d co
ntin
ued
paym
ent
of w
ages
— w
ith s
ubse
quen
t re-
open
ing.
O
n an
ind
ivid
ual
leve
l w
e m
ade
use
of
abse
ntee
ism
. A
gain
st th
e pr
ice
in cr
ease
s w
e pr
opos
ed r
eapp
ropr
iatio
n [c
olle
ctiv
e sh
oplif
ting:
ofte
n re
ferr
ed t
o as
la
spes
a pr
olet
aria
– `
prol
etar
ian
shop
ping
‘], t
he
redu
ctio
n of
hou
sing
ren
ts an
d el
ectri
city
bi
lls.
We
also
pro
pose
d ha
rder
for
ms
of
strug
gle,
in th
e fa
ctor
y: s
trike
s th
at w
ould
ac
tual
ly s
top
prod
uctio
n.
A n
etw
ork
of
shop-fl
oor
colle
ctiv
es
In 1
972
we
inte
nsifi
ed c
onta
ct w
ith o
ther
sh
op-fl
oor
base
d gr
oups
whi
ch w
ere
not
tied
to p
oliti
cal
orga
nisa
tions
or
whi
ch
wer
e si
ck o
f be
ing
thei
r `m
ass
orga
nisa
-tio
n‘.
Thes
e gr
oups
wer
e ba
sed
in M
ilan
(at A
lfa, P
irelli
and
Sie
men
s), i
n Ro
me
(the
poly
clin
ic,
ENEL
), in
Nap
les
(Usc
ri) a
nd
in o
ther
fac
torie
s. T
oget
her
we
publ
ishe
d a
few
issu
es o
f the
mag
azin
e Il
Bolle
ttino
de
gli o
rgan
ism
i aut
o nom
i ope
rai (
Bulle
tin
of a
uton
omou
s w
orke
rs‘ o
rgan
isat
ions
). In
late
197
2, t
he c
omm
ittee
man
aged
to
topp
le th
e co
llect
ive
agre
emen
t for
the
chem
ical
indu
stry
in th
e co
mpa
ny a
ssem
-
blie
s at
the
Pet
rolc
him
ico
and
at C
hâtil
-lo
n. C
arrie
d by
this
wav
e of
suc
cess
and
le
d by
the
will
to o
rgan
ise
inde
pend
ently
, th
e A
ssem
blea
Aut
onom
a di
Mar
gher
a (A
uton
omou
s A
s sem
bly
of P
orto
Mar
ghe-
ra)
was
esta
blis
hed.
The
cor
e w
as m
ade
up o
f w
orke
rs f
rom
the
com
mitt
ee,
from
Lo
tta C
ontin
ua,
wor
kers
fro
m t
he P
etro
l-ch
imic
o an
d C
hâtil
lon
who
had
lef
t th
e un
ion,
and
met
al w
orke
rs fr
om A
mm
i and
D
imm
. The
Ass
embl
ea w
as fo
rmed
bas
ed
on th
e hi
storic
aim
s of
the
Com
mitt
ee:
re-
duct
ion
of th
e w
orki
ng w
eek
to 3
6 ho
urs
at e
qual
wag
es,
beca
use
new
mac
hine
s in
crea
se t
he p
ower
of
dead
lab
our
over
th
e w
orke
rs;
wag
e ca
tego
ries
base
d on
se
nior
ity ra
ther
than
form
al s
kills
, bec
ause
th
e sk
ills
whi
ch t
he b
osse
s de
man
d ca
n be
obt
aine
d af
ter
few
yea
rs i
n th
e fa
cto-
ry;
refu
sal t
o w
ork
in d
epar
tmen
ts w
hich
ar
e ha
zard
ous
for
our
heal
th a
s th
e m
ost
dire
ct w
ay t
o av
oid
the
dam
agin
g co
n-se
quen
ces;
co
mpl
ete
equa
lity
betw
een
blue
and
whi
te-c
olla
r w
orke
rs in
or d
er to
be
abl
e to
fi g
ht t
oget
her
effe
ctiv
ely.
The
ot
her
cent
ral
thre
ad o
f th
e in
terv
entio
n w
as t
he i
n ten
tion
of c
arry
ing
our
topi
cs
from
the
fac
tory
to
the
neig
hbou
rhoo
ds:
pric
es,
rent
, el
ectri
city
, th
e au
to-re
duct
ion
of b
ills
as a
re-a
ppro
pria
tion
of th
e w
age.
Th
e pr
ime
inte
ntio
n w
as b
otto
m-u
p or
gan-
isin
g, o
utsi
de o
f th
e un
ion.
The
Ass
emb-
lea
Aut
onom
a ai
med
at
esta
blis
hing
the
44depa
rtmen
t com
mit t
ees
as c
apill
ary
orga
-ni
sms
insi
de th
e fa
ctor
y. W
e cr
itici
sed
the
polit
ical
gro
ups,
inc
ludi
ng P
oter
e O
pera
-io
, for
‚fl e
eing
forw
ard‘
.
Again
st ‚fl
eein
g f
orw
ard
‘
In M
ay 1
973
the
cong
ress
of
Roso
lina
took
pla
ce.
By t
hen
the
diffe
rent
ten
den-
cies
and
loca
l bra
nche
s of
Pot
ere
Ope
raio
ha
d on
ly li
ttle
in c
omm
on.
We
from
Mar
-gh
era
wen
t to
the
con
gres
s de
term
ined
to
spe
ak f
or o
ur o
wn
prac
tice,
tha
t is
, to
po
int
out
all
the
fact
ory
colle
ctiv
es
whi
ch w
ere
cons
tant
ly b
eing
org
anis
ed
outsi
de o
f th
e po
litic
al g
roup
s an
d ha
d de
man
ds b
eyon
d th
ose
of th
e un
i on
and
whi
ch w
ante
d to
org
anis
e an
d co
ordi
nate
th
emse
lves
just
like
we
did.
The
re w
as n
o sp
ace
for
the
Party
of i
nsur
rect
ion
and
for
esca
pist
mov
es to
war
ds a
mili
tariz
atio
n of
th
e co
nfl ic
t. W
e th
ough
t tha
t it w
as c
orre
ct
to s
peak
of t
he s
ocia
lized
wor
ker
inste
ad
of t
he m
ass
wor
ker,
but
we
com
plet
ely
disa
gree
d w
hen
it ca
me
to t
he q
uesti
on
of h
ow to
org
anis
e th
e so
cial
ized
wor
ker
and
ours
elve
s. A
t th
at t
ime,
we
wer
e ut
-te
rly r
igid
. O
nly
peop
le w
ho w
orke
d in
a
fact
ory
them
selv
es,
no ‚
exte
rnal
s‘,
wer
e al
low
ed
to
spea
k fo
r th
e A
uton
omou
s A
ssem
bly.
We
wan
ted
to g
o ba
ck to
the
basi
cs a
nd r
etur
n to
the
tim
es w
hen
the
vang
uard
of
an o
rgan
isat
ion
wou
ld b
e
form
ed b
y th
ose
peop
le w
ho, i
n th
e m
ate-
rial s
ense
, fou
ght t
he b
attle
s in
the
scho
ols
and
fact
orie
s –
not b
y th
ose
who
onl
y in
-str
ucte
d th
em.
We
wan
ted
to b
reak
with
th
e te
nden
cy o
f de
lega
tion
whe
re t
he i
n-de
pend
ent v
angu
ard
crea
tes
fact
s an
d th
e gr
oup
then
fi gh
ts ov
er th
e le
ader
ship
.
Up
to 1
974
the
wor
kers
‘ co
mm
ittee
and
la
ter
the
Ass
embl
ea A
uton
oma
used
the
m
agaz
ines
Po
tere
O
pera
io
del
Lune
dì
and,
lat
er o
n, R
osso
. W
e us
ed t
hem
in
orde
r to
sub
stant
iate
and
gen
eral
ise
our
own
anal
yses
and
to
com
mun
icat
e w
ith
othe
r gr
oups
. W
e th
en s
tarte
d to
pub
lish
a lit
tle z
ine
of a
bout
30
page
s ca
lled
Lavo
ro
Zero
(Z
ero
Wor
k).
We
wro
te,
prin
ted
and
distr
ibut
ed it
our
selv
es. I
t was
ou
r re
spon
se t
o va
rious
nee
ds a
nd w
as
supp
osed
to
serv
e va
rious
goa
ls, fi
rst
of
all
orga
nisi
ng.
We
wan
ted
to c
reat
e a
refe
renc
e po
int
and
a ce
rtain
uni
fi cat
ion
amon
gst t
he s
trugg
les
in th
e de
part m
ents
whi
ch b
ecam
e ve
ry f
requ
ent
durin
g th
is
stage
and
wer
e or
gani
sed
by u
s. A
fac
-to
ry
new
spa p
er
capa
ble
of
expr
essi
ng
and
com
bini
ng t
he i
nter
est
of a
ll w
ork-
ers,
pub
lishi
ng n
ot o
nly
leafl
ets
from
the
str
uggl
e bu
t al
so a
gen
eral
ana
lysi
s of
th
e si
tuat
ion.
For
us
this
lev
el o
f po
litic
al
prac
tice
was
alre
ady
the
`Par
ty‘:
from
the
strug
gle
in th
e de
partm
ent t
owar
ds a
gen
-er
al a
naly
sis
of t
he s
itu at
ion,
in
orde
r to
45
com
bine
the
econ
omic
al a
nd p
oliti
cal.
On
thos
e le
vels
we
cont
ribut
ed a
ll w
e co
uld.
O
n th
e ot
her l
evel
s, th
ough
, we
eith
er ju
st w
ent a
long
with
thin
gs, r
emai
ned
pass
ive,
or
dis
agre
ed o
utrig
ht.
Dur
ing
thos
e ye
ars
livin
g co
sts s
omet
i-m
es in
crea
sed
by a
bout
15
to 1
6 pe
r cen
t a
year
, al
thou
gh i
n fl a
tion
com
pens
atio
n pa
rtly
cush
ione
d th
e im
pact
. Th
e bo
sses
cl
aim
ed th
at th
e in
fl atio
n w
as it
self
caus
ed
by
infl a
tion
com
pens
atio
n,
and
man
y re
form
ists
(pol
itica
l pa
rties
an
d ot
hers
) sh
ared
this
pos
ition
. Bac
k th
en c
ompe
nsa-
tion
for
infl a
tion
was
cal
cula
ted
base
d on
th
e w
age
cate
gory
, so
that
thos
e w
ho e
ar-
ned
little
also
rec
eive
d lit
tle c
ompe
nsat
i-on
. The
y al
so to
ld u
s th
e fa
iryta
le th
at ‚y
ou
mus
t not
dem
and
high
er w
ages
, be
caus
e th
e in
fl atio
n w
ill s
wal
low
the
m a
nyw
ay‘.
We
thou
ght
we
shou
ld i
nter
vene
out
side
of
the
fact
orie
s as
wel
l in
orde
r to
mak
e ou
r poi
nt o
f vie
w h
eard
. So
me
fem
ale
com
rade
s an
d w
omen
fro
m th
e pr
olet
aria
n ar
eas
of M
estre
trie
d to
com
bine
this
stru
ggle
with
the
dem
and
of a
wag
e fo
r hou
sew
ork.
Dur
ing
the
follo
win
g ye
ars
the
‚com
mit-
tee
for
strug
gle
agai
nst
pric
e in
crea
ses‘
or
gani
sed
the
auto
-redu
ctio
n of
ren
t an
d oc
cupi
ed h
ouse
s. T
hat w
as u
s!O
ur
end
In 1
976
the
polit
ical
clim
ate
was
terr
ible
.
Betw
een
the
‚his
toric
com
prom
ise‘
and
`th
e po
litic
s of
sac
rifi c
e‘,
the
PCI
unde
r Be
rling
uer
had
lost
its t
rack
com
plet
ely.
Th
e un
ion,
with
its
lead
ers
Lam
a, C
arni
ti,
and
Benv
enut
o, b
ecam
e th
e tra
nsm
issi
on
belt
for
a re
spon
sibl
e po
litic
s in
the
fac
e of
the
seve
re e
cono
mic
al c
risis
. Ins
ide
the
fact
orie
s th
ey e
nfor
ced
the
EUR
[par
t of
Ro
me
whe
re th
e un
ion
cong
ress
had
tak-
en p
lace
] po
litic
s of
sac
rifi c
e by
sig
ning
str
angl
ing
agre
emen
ts in
tend
ed t
o cu
rb
wag
e co
sts
and
incr
ease
pr
oduc
tivity
. Th
e se
llout
of
the
wor
kers
got
wor
se a
nd
wor
se;
the
divi
sion
bet
wee
n ‚p
erm
anen
t‘ an
d ‚c
asua
l‘ w
orke
rs w
as b
earin
g fru
it.
We
didn
‘t m
anag
e to
org
anis
e str
uggl
es
with
a p
rom
isin
g po
litic
al p
ersp
ectiv
e an
y lo
nger
.In
late
197
6 th
e la
w to
coo
l dow
n co
m-
pens
atio
n of
infl
atio
n pa
ssed
. In
Jan
uary
19
77 th
e em
ploy
ers‘
ass
ocia
tion
and
uni-
ons
sign
ed a
n ag
reem
ent w
hich
stip
ulat
ed
amon
gst o
ther
thin
gs:
- abo
litio
n of
aut
omat
ic c
ompe
nsat
ion
for
infl a
tion,
- abo
litio
n of
sev
en a
nnua
l hol
iday
s,-
the
right
to
relo
cate
wor
kers
ins
ide
the
com
pany
if re
quire
d by
shi
ft-sc
hedu
le a
nd
over
time,
- mea
sure
s ag
ains
t abs
ente
eism
.In
add
ition
ther
e w
as s
tepp
ed-u
p sta
te r
e-pr
essi
on [t
he C
ossi
ga la
w a
llow
ed fo
r nin
e ye
ars
of p
re-tr
ial c
onfi n
emen
t], C
alog
ero‘
s
46theo
rem
, th
e co
llabo
ratio
n of
th
e PC
I, m
assa
cres
org
anis
ed b
y th
e sta
te ..
.
On
Satu
rday
the
7th
of
Apr
il 19
79 P
ad-
ua‘s
pub
lic p
rose
cuto
r C
alog
ero
atta
cked
in
a b
litz-
like
ac tio
n: d
ozen
s of
peo
ple
in
Mila
n, P
adua
and
Rom
e go
t arr
este
d, a
ll fo
rmer
mem
bers
of
Pote
re O
p era
io a
nd
now
mili
tant
s of
the
Org
anis
ed W
orke
rs‘
Aut
onom
y. O
n M
onda
y th
e 9t
h of
Apr
il,
the
head
line
of C
ontro
Lavo
ro r
ead:
‚Th
e el
ectio
n ca
mpa
ign
has
starte
d‘,
the
elec
-tio
ns w
ere
mea
nt to
be
held
in M
ay.
The
deba
tes
evol
ving
aro
und
the
arre
sts d
ealt
with
the
ques
tion
of h
ow w
e sh
ould
re ac
t. W
e de
cide
d to
tak
e pa
rt in
the
inf
orm
a-tio
n ca
mpa
ign
conc
erni
ng th
e 7t
h of
Apr
il by
esta
blis
h ing
one
of
the
man
y 7t
h of
A
pril
com
mitt
ees,
and
to c
arry
on
with
our
po
litic
al w
ork.
O
n th
e 21
st of
Dec
embe
r 19
79 t
he
next
wav
e of
rep
ress
ion
took
pla
ce,
with
ar
rests
in
Mila
n, R
ome,
Pad
ua a
nd V
e-ni
ce.
This
tim
e w
e w
ere
dire
ctly
affe
cted
, A
ugus
to F
inzi
and
oth
er c
omra
des
got a
r-re
sted.
On
the
24th
of
Janu
ary
the
third
bl
itz
happ
ened
, w
ith
arre
sts
in
Mila
n,
Nov
ara,
Com
o, G
enoa
and
Ven
ice,
our
co
mra
de G
iann
i Sb
rogi
ò am
ongs
t th
em.
On
the
29th
of J
anua
ry th
e Re
d Br
igad
es
kille
d th
e vi
ce-d
irect
or o
f the
Pet
rolc
him
ico
and
the
entir
e pr
ess
linke
d ou
r arr
ests
with
th
is m
urde
r. Th
e sa
me
equa
tion
was
mad
e
som
e m
onth
s la
ter w
hen
the
Red
Brig
ades
ki
lled
the
boss
of t
he a
nti-t
erro
rism
dep
art-
men
t in
Veni
ce. T
he m
edia
con
tinue
d th
eir
publ
ic
trial
ag
ains
t us
.: C
ontro
Lavo
ro,
Lavo
ro Z
ero
and
the
CO
M2
publ
ishi
ng
coop
erat
ive
wer
e ac
cuse
d of
bei
ng t
he
driv
ing
forc
e be
hind
the
mur
ders
, an
d th
e ar
reste
d co
mra
des
wer
e po
rtray
ed a
s te
rror
ists.
Th
e ci
rcle
clo
sed.
We
got c
rush
ed b
et-
wee
n th
e ar
med
gro
ups
and
state
rep
res-
sion
. Th
ere
was
no
spac
e fo
r th
e au
tono
-m
ous
strug
gle
of t
he w
orki
ng c
lass
any
m
ore.
N
ever
thel
ess
ther
e co
uld
be a
n ex
tra-
ordi
nary
fi na
le fo
r a
story
whi
ch h
ad b
e-gu
n ye
ars
earli
er.
Des
pite
all
indi
vidu
al
and
colle
ctiv
e at
tem
pts
to e
dge
them
out
of
the
his
toric
al p
ictu
re,
the
mas
s w
ork-
ers
— d
e-sk
illed
, ro
otle
ss,
not
resp
ecte
d,
resp
onsi
ble
for
havi
ng d
isor
ient
ated
the
le
ft-w
ing
parti
es a
nd th
eir p
oliti
cal m
odel
s –
cons
titut
ed th
e dr
ivin
g fo
rce
behi
nd th
e in
tertw
inin
g of
a g
reat
cyc
le o
f str
uggl
e fo
r a
diffe
rent
life
in
the
fact
orie
s an
d in
so
ciet
y.
"
47
Failu
re
In th
e ea
rly 1
970s
an
impo
rtant
cha
p-te
r in
the
histo
ry o
f cla
ss m
ovem
ent w
as
clos
ed;
all
proc
esse
s of
cen
t ralis
atio
n an
d el
abor
atio
n of
a p
arty
form
whi
ch
wer
e ad
equa
te t
o th
e qu
ality
of
the
mov
emen
t (n
ot j
ust
thos
e in
itiat
ed b
y Po
top)
fai
led.
It
ough
t to
be
stres
sed
that
in
1968
/69
all t
hese
atte
mpt
s to
m
ake
a re
volu
tiona
ry te
nsio
n la
st w
ere
back
ed b
y a
maj
ority
and
had
mas
s ch
arac
ter.
Thei
r fa
ilure
app
ears
as
a lo
ss o
f soc
ial r
ep re
sent
atio
n of
the
ex-
tra-p
arlia
men
tary
left,
as
its d
iasp
ora:
bu
t it
is a
lso a
bac
kwar
dnes
s of
the
en
tire
left
in re
latio
n to
the
proc
esse
s of
de
-com
posi
tion
of t
he c
lass
driv
en b
y ca
pita
list r
estru
ctur
ing
on a
wor
ld s
ca-
le a
nd i
n th
e de
velo
ped
cent
res.
The
of
fi cia
l wor
kers
‘ mov
emen
t is
inca
pab-
le o
f con
solid
atin
g its
refo
rm p
roje
ct a
s a
resp
onse
to c
apita
l‘s in
itiat
ive.
Bian
chin
i/Pe
rgol
a,
Pref
ace
to
the
repr
int
of P
oter
e O
pera
io –
Gio
rnal
e Po
litic
o de
-gl
i op
erai
di
Po
rto
Mar
gher
a 19
67-6
9,
Padu
a 19
80
48‚The
wor
kers
sho
uld
take
thin
gs in
to th
eir
own
hand
s‘
Exce
rpt
from
an in
terv
iew
with G
ianni S
bro
giò
about
polit
ics
of
repre
senta
tion a
nd t
he
att
empt
to im
ple
men
t th
e re
fusa
l of
work
in
side
the
fact
ory
.
One
of
the
mos
t in
tere
sting
bits
in
the
in-
terv
iew
with
Aug
usto
Fin
zi d
eals
with
you
r ef
fort
to
orga
n ise
you
rsel
ves
with
out
a po
li-tic
al la
yer
...T
his h
as a
lway
s bee
n ou
r obs
essi
on. W
e m
anag
ed t
o pu
t th
is id
ea in
to p
ract
ice
by
orga
nisi
ng t
he A
ssem
blea
Aut
onom
a. W
e w
ere
alw
ays
obse
ssed
wit
h re
fusi
ng r
ep-
rese
ntat
ives
. W
e w
ante
d th
e w
orke
rs t
o re
fuse
to
hand
ove
r th
e re
spon
sibi
lity
to
othe
rs, t
o th
e un
ions
or t
he p
olit
ical
Par
ty.
We
did
not
wan
t to
han
d th
em o
ver
to a
st
ruct
ure
that
was
diff
eren
t fr
om u
s. T
his
was
our
pos
itio
n, s
o ou
r bi
g po
litic
al g
rief
ha
s alw
ays b
een,
whe
ther
as P
oter
e O
pera
-io
, as
the
Port
o M
argh
era
wor
kers
‘ gro
up
or a
s th
e A
uton
omou
s A
ssem
bly
of P
orto
M
argh
era,
tha
t in
the
end
the
wor
kers
w
ould
tur
n us
into
del
egat
es. T
his
has
al-
way
s th
row
n us
into
cri
sis
beca
use
we
re-
fuse
d th
ese
polit
ics
of r
epre
sent
a tio
n bu
t in
the
end
the
wor
kers
wan
ted
to s
ee u
s in
thi
s po
siti
on,
as d
eleg
ates
. W
e w
ante
d
thes
e w
orke
rs, w
ho a
gree
d on
a m
inim
um
of d
ebat
es a
nd d
eman
ds,
to t
ake
thin
gs
into
the
ir o
wn
hand
s, f
rom
A t
o Z
, fro
m
the
stru
ggle
to th
e dr
afti
ng o
f dem
ands
.
But
you
did
not
alw
ays
agre
e on
thi
s su
b-je
ct.
Ger
man
o M
ariti
tal
ks v
ery
posit
ivel
y ab
out
the
de pa
rtm
ent
dele
gate
s an
d ab
out
the
fact
ory
coun
cil.
He
perc
eive
s th
em b
oth
as a
con
ques
t of t
he w
orke
rs. A
ugus
to F
inzi
, on
the
othe
r ha
nd, s
ees t
hat t
he u
nion
s wer
e ab
le to
use
thes
e bo
dies
to re
gain
cont
rol o
ver
the
strug
gles
.Ye
s, w
e ha
d tw
o he
arts
bea
ting
in
our
ches
ts. T
he fa
ctor
y co
unci
ls w
ere
esta
blis
-he
d in
Ita
ly i
n 19
69,
at t
he e
nd o
f a
big
cycl
e of
str
uggl
es.
Polit
ical
ly t
hey
wer
e th
e in
stit
utio
nal a
ttem
pt o
f th
e un
ions
to
cont
ain
thos
e st
rugg
les
whi
ch d
evel
oped
ou
tsid
e of
the
ir o
rgan
isat
ion.
For
man
y w
orke
rs w
ho w
ere
orga
nise
d in
the
uni
-on
s, t
he f
acto
ry c
ounc
ils a
llow
ed t
hem
to
deb
ate
wit
h ea
ch o
ther
dem
ocra
tica
lly.
49
The
est
ablis
hmen
t of f
acto
ry c
ounc
ils w
as
a ne
ed o
f th
e ra
nk-a
nd-fi
le a
nd b
ecam
e a
need
of
the
lead
ersh
ip w
hich
in
som
e w
ay o
r th
e ot
her
had
to m
odify
the
or-
gani
sed
leve
l of
wor
kers
‘ str
uggl
es. P
oter
e O
pera
io w
as c
ompl
etel
y op
pose
d, o
ur p
o-si
tion
was
tha
t th
e fa
ctor
y co
unci
l w
as a
st
ruct
ure
in t
he h
ands
of
the
unio
ns a
nd
func
tion
al fo
r th
em. I
n M
argh
era
inte
nsi-
ve d
ebat
es e
volv
ed a
roun
d th
is i
ssue
. O
n on
e ha
nd w
e sa
w th
e es
tabl
ishm
ent o
f the
fa
ctor
y co
unci
l as a
n at
tem
pt to
ass
imila
te
the
fact
ory
stru
ggle
s. O
n th
e ot
her
hand
w
e no
tice
d th
at t
he w
orke
rs u
sed
it a
nd
ther
efor
e w
e ac
cep t
ed t
his
orga
nism
in
orde
r to
say
wha
t w
e ha
d to
say
, de
spit
e th
e fa
ct t
hat
we
ours
elve
s ha
d no
in te
rest
in
bei
ng in
side
the
fact
ory
coun
cil.
To p
ut
it a
noth
er w
ay: w
e kn
ew th
at o
nce
we
got
elec
ted
into
the
fact
ory
coun
cil (
at A
mm
i G
erm
ano
got
elec
ted
as a
dep
artm
ent
de-
lega
te a
nd I
got
ele
cted
as
a re
pres
enta
tive
of
the
whi
te-c
olla
r w
orke
rs)
ever
thin
g de
-pe
nded
on
bein
g or
gani
sed
outs
ide
of th
at
body
, in
orde
r to
car
ry t
he s
o-ca
lled
poli-
tica
l lin
e (w
hich
had
bee
n la
id d
own
ex-
tern
ally
), i.
e. t
he c
hoic
e of
goa
ls, i
nto
the
coun
cil w
hich
wou
ld th
en a
dopt
them
. O
ur p
olit
ical
goa
l w
as t
o or
gani
se t
he
auto
nom
y of
the
wor
king
cla
ss. I
n th
e en
d,
the
fact
ory
coun
cil,
whi
ch h
ad b
een
for-
med
as a
dem
ocra
tic
poss
ibili
ty to
adv
ance
th
e w
orke
rs‘ r
ank-
and-
fi le
need
s, b
ecam
e m
ore
and
mor
e an
inst
rum
ent o
f the
uni
-on
app
arat
us. S
ome
coun
cil m
embe
rs h
ad
to b
e un
i on
mem
bers
, whi
ch in
itia
lly h
ad
not
been
the
cas
e. W
hen
the
thre
e un
ion
fede
rati
ons
agre
ed o
n a
com
mon
dea
l an
ev
en m
ore
rest
rict
ive
phas
e be
gun
and
the
stru
ctur
e be
cam
e ev
en m
ore
bure
aucr
at ic
. In
the
end
all
deci
sion
s w
ere
mad
e by
the
co
unci
l bo
ard
who
se a
ims
rare
ly d
iffer
ed
from
the
offi c
ial u
nion
line
.
Ref
usa
l of
hea
lth-d
am
agin
g w
ork
Why
did
it ta
ke su
ch a
long
tim
e in
the
Pe-
trol
chim
ico
for
strug
gles
aga
inst
the
heal
th
dam
agin
g ch
emic
al p
rodu
ctio
n to
eru
pt?
At
whi
ch p
oint
did
the
wor
kers
ref
use
to a
ccep
t th
eir
fate
? W
hat
kind
of
form
s of
str
uggl
e di
d th
ey c
ome
up w
ith?
We
have
to
dist
ingu
ish
betw
een
the
met
al a
nd t
he c
hem
ical
ind
ustr
ies.
The
da
nger
tha
t th
e m
etal
wor
ker
is s
ubje
cted
to
is m
uch
mor
e vi
sibl
e an
d m
ore
imm
e-di
ate:
ran
ging
from
dus
t to
noi
se. F
or t
he
chem
ical
wor
ker t
he d
ange
r is m
uch
mor
e in
sidi
ous.
Her
e th
e he
alth
haz
ards
wer
e
50unco
vere
d la
ter,
part
ly d
ue to
the
fact
that
th
ey h
ad b
een
kept
sec
ret.
A m
etal
wor
ker
wor
king
in f
ront
of
a fu
r nac
e kn
ew w
hat
he h
ad t
o fi g
ht a
gain
st –
noi
se, d
irt,
heat
–
and
ther
efor
e it
was
pos
sibl
e to
org
anis
e a
stru
ggle
aga
inst
it. O
f cou
rse,
the
chem
i-ca
l w
orke
rs k
new
som
ethi
ng,
but
caug
ht
betw
een
the
low
wag
e an
d th
e un
ion
whi
ch h
ad a
ddop
ted
the
boss
es’
poin
t of
vi
ew t
hey
acce
pted
the
hea
lth h
azar
d bo
-nu
s. W
e w
ere
arou
nd d
urin
g th
is p
hase
. T
his i
s why
we
said
: no,
this
kin
d of
wor
k is
una
ccep
t abl
e! A
nd w
e tr
ied
to e
xpre
ss
the
line
of th
e re
fusa
l of w
ork,
whi
ch c
ame
from
Pot
ere
Ope
raio
, thi
s sl
ogan
, thi
s pr
o-je
ct w
hich
we
thou
ght
was
indi
spen
sabl
e.
The
wor
ker
had
to p
ut h
imse
lf in
to t
his
cont
radi
ctio
n, h
e ha
d to
say
: w
e ha
ve t
o pr
oduc
e, b
ut h
ow,
wha
t an
d w
hen?
And
w
ith
thes
e th
ree
ques
tion
s w
e st
arte
d th
e de
bate
on
the
refu
sal o
f wor
k.N
o w
orke
r th
ough
t of
us
as id
lers
or
of
peop
le w
ho d
on’t
wan
t to
wor
k, b
ecau
se
we
said
: ‚W
e w
ork
even
mor
e th
an y
ou d
o,
we
wor
k in
side
the
fac
tory
lik
e yo
u do
, af
ter
the
wor
k w
e go
to
the
as se
mbl
y fo
r th
ree
hour
s an
d af
ter
that
we
orga
nise
the
stru
ggle
s. W
e w
ork
muc
h m
ore
than
you
!‘ T
he w
ork
whi
ch y
ou a
re f
orce
d to
do
is
one
thin
g, t
he w
ork
whi
ch y
ou c
hoos
e to
do i
s an
othe
r. Yo
u ar
e fo
rced
to
wor
k on
a
low
wag
e in
a h
ealth
-dam
agin
g en
viro
n-m
ent,
ther
efor
e th
e re
fusa
l of w
ork
mea
ns
star
ting
to
chan
ge t
he v
ery
orga
nisa
tion
of
wor
k.W
ithi
n Po
tere
Ope
raio
we
wer
e of
ten
seen
as t
he ‘r
ight
-win
g’, b
ecau
se w
e ta
lked
ab
out
the
refu
sal
of w
ork
in a
ref
orm
ist,
rath
er t
han
a re
volu
tion
ary
way
. B
ecau
se
we
‘took
apa
rt’ t
he re
fusa
l of w
ork,
bec
au-
se w
e di
d no
t on
ly t
alk
abou
t a
stru
ggle
w
hich
was
supp
osed
to to
pple
the
syst
em.
We
wer
e se
en a
s th
e ‘u
nion
ists
’. W
ho
know
s, l
ooki
ng b
ack
from
tod
ay’s
pers
-pe
ctiv
e m
aybe
we
wou
ld h
ave
mad
e go
od
unio
nist
s if
we
had
not
chos
en d
iffer
ent
path
s, b
ut i
n re
alit
y w
e of
ten
func
tion
ed
as t
he c
riti
cal c
onsc
ious
ness
of
the
unio
n.
We
open
ed t
he e
yes
of t
he w
orke
rs a
nd
dem
onst
rate
d th
at it
was
pos
sibl
e to
org
a-ni
se in
way
s di
ffer
ent f
rom
the
unio
ns.
Dir
ect
reduct
ion o
f w
ork
ing t
ime
How
did
you
enf
orce
the
36
hour
s wee
k? I
s it
true
tha
t th
e w
orke
rs h
ad t
o w
ork
only
six
hou
rs b
ut c
ould
not
go
hom
e af
terw
ards
, th
at th
ey h
ad to
stay
in th
e pla
nt fo
r ano
ther
tw
o ho
urs?
Thi
s w
as i
n th
e zi
nc e
lect
roly
sis
depa
rt-
51
men
t. T
his
stru
ggle
was
the
att
empt
to
put
Pote
re O
pera
io‘s
slog
an in
to p
ract
ice:
re
duct
ion
of t
he w
orki
ng-t
ime
as a
n ex
-pr
essi
on o
f th
e re
fusa
l or
wor
k an
d of
the
st
rugg
le a
gain
st h
ealth
-dam
agin
g w
ork.
A
dem
and
for
the
imm
edia
te i
mpr
ovem
ent
of t
he q
ual it
y of
life
. We
thou
ght
that
the
de
man
d w
ould
go
dow
n be
st in
thos
e si
tu-
atio
ns w
here
wor
k w
as th
e m
ost d
amag
ing
and
hard
. Thi
s w
as in
the
zinc
ele
ctro
lysi
s de
part
men
t, w
here
she
er z
inc
is p
rodu
ced
by e
lect
roly
sis
from
zin
c ox
ide
diss
olve
d in
sul
phur
ic a
cid.
In
this
dep
artm
ent
it
was
ver
y da
mp,
ther
e w
ere
elec
tro-
mag
ne-
tic
fi eld
s an
d su
lphu
ric
acid
vap
ours
. The
zi
nc i
s pr
oduc
ed i
n a
syst
em w
here
cel
ls
fi lle
d w
ith
the
solu
tion
are
ene
rgis
ed. T
he
shee
r zi
nc a
ccum
ulat
es a
t th
e al
umin
ium
ca
thod
es.
Ever
y da
y, t
he w
orke
rs h
ad t
he
six-
hour
dut
y to
str
ip t
he z
inc
off
the
ca-
thod
es.
Aft
erw
ards
the
ano
des
had
to b
e cl
eane
d fr
om e
ncru
stat
ions
, w
hich
too
k an
othe
r ho
ur a
nd a
hal
f. W
e or
gani
sed
a m
edic
al c
heck
for t
he w
orke
rs in
thes
e de
-pa
rtm
ents
in o
rder
to
show
tha
t th
e w
ork
was
dam
agin
g. It
bec
ame
clea
r tha
t a lo
t of
wor
kers
had
dev
elop
ed p
robl
ems a
ffec
ting
th
eir
mou
ths,
nos
es,
thro
ats
and
ears
be-
caus
e th
ey w
ere
expo
sed
to s
ulph
uric
aci
d an
d no
ise.
We
orga
nise
d a
stru
ggle
for
the
re du
ctio
n of
wor
k pr
essu
re th
roug
h th
e re
-du
ctio
n of
wor
king
hou
rs. W
e ch
ose
very
ha
rd f
orm
s of
str
uggl
e to
geth
er w
ith
the
wor
kers
who
sto
pped
str
ippi
ng th
e ca
tho-
des.
The
man
agem
ent
had
to s
wit
ch o
ff
the
elec
tric
ity
and
the
mac
hine
s st
oppe
d pr
oduc
ing
zinc
. If
the
man
agem
ent
had
not
swit
ched
of
the
elec
tric
ity
mor
e an
d m
ore
zinc
wou
ld h
ave
accu
mul
ated
and
fi n
ally
des
troy
ed t
he f
acili
ty. T
his
is w
hy
they
wer
e fo
rced
to
stop
the
mac
hine
s.
Thi
s w
ent
on f
or s
ome
days
, I
thin
k at
so
me
poin
t the
pro
duct
ion
lay
idle
for t
en
days
in
a ro
w.
We
achi
eved
the
rul
e th
at
the
wor
kers
onl
y ha
d to
stri
p th
e ca
thod
es
for
six
hour
s w
itho
ut h
avin
g to
kno
ck o
ff
the
anod
es a
fter
war
ds.
Prev
ious
ly t
hey
had
had
a br
eak
af-
ter
six
hour
s of
wor
k an
d th
en c
lean
ed
the
anod
es f
or a
noth
er h
our
and
a ha
lf,
whi
ch a
mou
nted
to e
ight
hou
rs. A
fter
the
stru
ggle
the
y w
orke
d on
ly s
ix h
ours
, the
n w
ent
to c
atch
lun
ch i
n th
e ca
ntee
n an
d di
d no
t re
turn
bac
k to
wor
k af
terw
ards
. T
he c
lean
ing
of t
he a
node
s w
as d
one
by
anot
her
grou
p of
wor
kers
whi
ch t
he e
m-
ploy
er h
ad t
o hi
re f
or t
his
purp
ose.
We
fi nal
ly p
ut t
his
dow
n in
a d
epar
tmen
t le
vel
agre
emen
t w
hich
offi
cial
ly d
id n
ot
exis
t be
caus
e th
e un
i on
did
not
supp
ort
52the
dem
and.
But
the
n th
e un
ion
deci
ded
to si
gn th
e co
ntra
ct a
fter
all
and
it b
e cam
e of
fi cia
l. T
he u
nion
did
not
wan
t to
mak
e th
e ac
hiev
emen
t pu
blic
. W
e, i
n co
ntra
st,
trie
d to
mak
e it
kno
wn
by a
ll m
eans
ima-
gina
ble.
Unt
il 19
75 t
he w
orke
rs s
at in
the
can
-te
en a
nd p
laye
d ca
rds,
but
the
y w
ere
not
allo
wed
to
leav
e th
e fa
ctor
y. T
here
fore
w
e or
gani
sed
a st
rugg
le f
or t
he r
ight
to
leav
e th
e fa
ctor
y. T
he f
orm
of
stru
ggle
w
as t
o le
ave
afte
r lu
nch
wit
hout
pun
ch-
ing
out.
The
man
agem
ent
post
ed l
ette
rs
of d
ism
issa
l, ju
stify
ing
it b
y th
e fa
ct t
hat
the
wor
kers
had
left
the
ir w
ork
plac
e be
-fo
re e
nd o
f sh
ift. A
t th
is p
oint
the
uni
on
had
to i
nter
vene
. In
the
end
, th
e so
lu-
tion
was
tha
t on
ban
k ho
liday
s w
orke
rs
wer
e al
low
ed t
o le
ave
one
hour
ear
lier,
on
norm
al w
orki
ng d
ays
half
an h
our
earl
ier.
The
em
ploy
er h
ad to
hir
e ne
w w
orke
rs to
cl
ean
the
anod
es. I
t re
mai
ned
that
way
as
long
as
I w
orke
d in
the
pla
nt, u
ntil
I go
t ar
res t
ed in
198
0. A
fter
that
they
som
ehow
re
stru
ctur
ed th
ings
. "
53
APP
END
IX
`Pro
cess
o Pe
trolc
him
ico‘
–
The
tria
l aga
inst
Mon
tedi
son
and
Enic
hem
Gab
riel
e B
orto
lozz
o, b
orn
1934
in
Cam
-pa
lto
clos
e to
Ven
ice,
w
as
a ch
emic
al
wor
ker
at t
he P
orto
Mar
gher
a Pe
troc
l-hi
mic
o fo
r 35
yea
rs. I
n th
e 70
s he
lear
ned
of t
he c
ance
r ri
sk i
n PV
C p
rodu
ctio
n an
d no
tice
d th
at m
ore
and
mor
e of
his
co
lleag
ues
wer
e dy
ing
of
canc
er.
Soon
af
terw
ards
he
st
arte
d hi
s in
vest
igat
ion.
In
a s
urve
y co
nduc
ted
in t
he d
epar
tmen
t th
at p
olym
eris
es M
VC
(m
onom
eric
al v
i-ny
l ch
lori
de)
in a
utoc
lave
s an
d so
tur
ns
it i
nto
PVC
, he
cou
nted
149
wor
kers
de
ad a
nd m
ore
than
500
suf
feri
ng f
rom
ca
ncer
. Fr
om 1
985
onw
ards
he
wor
ked
wit
h th
e m
agaz
ine
Med
icin
a D
emoc
ratic
a w
hich
pub
lishe
d hi
s re
port
on
the
deat
hs
in t
he p
etro
chem
ical
ind
ustr
y in
199
4.
Bor
tolo
zzo
re pe
ated
ly to
ok a
ctio
n to
poi
nt
to t
he d
eadl
y th
reat
. He
also
fi le
d nu
mer
-ou
s ch
arge
s.T
he c
hem
ical
tra
de u
nion
FU
LC d
e-fa
med
Bor
tolo
zzo
as a
spy
pai
d fo
r by
over
seas
com
peti
tors
to
harm
the
Ita
lian
indu
stry
wit
h hi
s in
vest
igat
ion.
Bor
tolo
zzo’
s ac
tion
rec
eive
d co
mm
itte
d su
ppor
t fr
om p
rose
cuto
r C
asso
n, a
PC
I m
embe
r w
ho h
ad p
revi
ousl
y in
vest
igat
ed
the
Gla
dio
affa
ir. W
hen
an a
nnou
nce-
men
t w
as p
ublis
hed
in V
enic
e’s t
wo
daily
ne
wsp
aper
s as
king
all
the
sick
and
the
be-
reav
ed r
elat
ives
to
get
in t
ouch
to
repo
rt
med
ical
his
tori
es a
nd w
orki
ng c
ondi
tion
s,
new
evi
denc
e co
ntin
ued
to c
ome
to li
ght
and
507
peop
le jo
ined
the
acti
on.
Bor
tolo
zzo
did
not
live
to s
ee t
he o
pe-
ning
of
the
tria
l. O
n th
e 12
Sep
tem
ber
1995
he
died
in a
car
acc
iden
t.
The
tri
al o
f 31
top
man
ager
s, i
nclu
ding
th
e le
ader
ship
of
the
Ital
ian
chem
ical
in-
dust
ry, b
egan
in M
arch
199
8. T
he c
harg
e:
‘neg
ligen
t ca
usin
g of
mas
s m
orta
lity’
and
‘b
eing
res
pons
ible
for
an
envi
r onm
enta
l ca
tast
roph
e‘ b
y di
spos
ing
of d
ioxi
n an
d
54othe
r po
ison
ous
chem
ical
was
te i
n th
e w
ater
s an
d su
rrou
ndin
gs o
f Ven
ice.
O
nly
a fe
w w
eeks
aft
er b
egin
ning
of t
he
tria
l th
e co
mpa
ny b
osse
s ad
mit
ted
part
i-al
res
pons
ibili
ty a
nd o
ffer
ed a
30
mill
ion
sett
lem
ent
to t
he b
erea
ved
rela
tive
s of
the
M
VC
vic
tim
s. M
any
acce
pted
the
set
tle-
men
t, as
the
y di
d no
t w
ant
to w
ait
thei
r w
hole
live
s fo
r pa
yout
s, a
s in
the
cas
es o
f V
ajon
t an
d Se
veso
. Apa
rt fr
om t
he I
talia
n st
ate,
the
loc
al a
utho
riti
es,
trad
e un
ions
an
d as
soci
atio
ns li
ke t
he d
emoc
rati
c ph
y-si
cian
s on
ly 1
5 pe
ople
con
tinu
ed t
o pu
r-su
e th
eir
clai
m,
amon
gst
them
Gab
riel
e B
or to
lozz
o‘s
sons
.In
the
add
ress
by
the
coun
sel,
the
pro-
secu
tor
foun
d al
l of
the
28
accu
sed
con-
vict
able
of
se
vera
l ho
mic
ides
th
roug
h ne
glig
ence
and
of
an o
utra
ge a
gain
st t
he
envi
ronm
ent.
Cas
son
dem
ande
d 12
yea
rs
impr
ison
men
t fo
r ea
ch o
f E
ugen
io C
efi s
, fo
rmer
pre
side
nt o
f EN
I an
d M
onte
diso
n,
Alb
erto
Gra
ndi,
form
er C
EO
of
Mon
te-
diso
n an
d vi
ce p
resi
dent
of
Mon
tefi b
re,
and
prof
esso
r E
mili
o B
arta
lini,
head
of
Mon
tedi
son‘
s ce
ntra
l he
alth
ser
vice
. H
e de
man
ded
185
year
s im
pris
onm
ent i
n to
-ta
l for
all
of th
e ac
cuse
d.A
gain
st a
ll ex
pect
atio
ns,
the
accu
sed
wer
e ac
quit
ted
by t
he c
ourt
on
the
2nd
of N
ovem
ber
2001
. The
cou
rt d
ism
isse
d al
l ev
iden
ce w
hich
had
bee
n pr
esen
ted
and
gave
as
grou
nds
for
the
verd
ict
that
in
the
ear
ly 7
0s, w
hen
the
deat
hs s
tart
ed,
the
accu
sed
coul
d no
t ha
ve k
now
n of
the
pr
oduc
tion
’s de
adly
im
pact
on
the
wor
-ke
rs. O
utra
ged,
the
join
t pla
inti
ffs fi
led
an
appe
al to
geth
er w
ith
pros
ecut
or C
asso
n.
The
sec
ond
tria
l com
men
ced
in t
he w
in-
ter
of
2003
/04,
en
ding
on
D
ecem
ber
15th
wit
h a
rulin
g ac
quit
ting
the
acc
used
of
the
mai
n po
ints
of
the
pros
ecut
ion.
A
few
wer
e co
nvic
ted
to a
sen
tenc
e of
one
an
d a
half
year
s on
pro
bati
on.
In t
he c
ivil
proc
eedi
ngs
a fe
w w
orke
rs
man
aged
to
rece
ive
com
pens
atio
ns o
f va
-ri
ous
amou
nts.
"
All
fact
s ab
out t
he tr
ials:
ht
tp:/
/ww
w.p
etro
lchi
mic
o.it/
Ther
e is
a d
ocum
enta
ry fe
atur
e ab
out B
orto
lozz
o‘s
strug
gle
agai
nst
Mon
tedi
son:
Port
o M
arg
her
a –
un in
ganno le
tale
(P
orto
Mar
gher
a - a
dea
dly
dece
it)
55
The
pro
duct
ion p
roce
ss o
f PV
C
Mon
omer
ic v
inyl
chl
orid
e w
as p
olym
e-ri
sed
into
PV
C i
n au
tocl
aves
. A
t Po
rto
Mar
gher
a, o
bsol
ete
wor
king
met
hods
ex-
pose
d th
e w
orke
rs to
can
cer r
isk.
Who
ever
ha
d to
cle
an M
VC
resi
dues
off
the
seal
able
ai
r-an
d-st
eam
-tig
ht p
rodu
ctio
n va
ts a
nd
then
fi ll
the
MV
C i
nto
bags
wou
ld f
eel
‚as
thou
gh w
alki
ng o
n cl
ouds
‘ for
sev
eral
da
ys a
fter
war
ds.
On
som
e da
ys t
he c
on-
cent
rati
on o
f chl
orin
e ga
s was
so h
igh
that
th
e w
orke
rs, w
ho a
lrea
dy h
ad a
swee
t tas
te
in t
heir
mou
ths
from
the
gas
, cou
ld o
nly
brea
k th
e w
indo
ws
of t
he d
epar
tmen
t. D
espi
te t
his,
no
mon
ey w
as i
nves
ted
in
less
dan
gero
us e
quip
men
t, an
d th
ere
was
ev
en a
n in
stru
ctio
n to
mai
ntai
n th
e ol
d,
decr
epit
mac
hine
s ‚a
s lit
tle a
s po
ssib
le‘,
so
as n
ot to
dis
turb
pro
duct
ion.
T
he
indi
vidu
al
chem
ical
co
mpa
nies
ar
rang
ed a
mon
gst
them
selv
es t
o hu
sh u
p th
e M
VC
ris
k. T
he o
r gan
isat
ion
of w
ork
mus
t no
t be
cha
lleng
ed.
Thu
s th
e af
fec-
ted
wor
kers
wer
e di
agno
sed
wro
ngly
wit
h co
ntag
ious
dis
ease
s an
d le
ft i
n th
e da
rk
abou
t th
e da
nger
inh
eren
t in
the
obj
ects
th
ey w
ere
wor
king
wit
h. N
umer
ous
tu-
mou
rous
affl
icti
ons
and
deat
hs w
ere
the
cons
eque
nce.
The
conta
min
ation o
f th
e la
goon
Dur
ing
the
tria
l, th
e ex
cess
es o
f th
e pa
st
cam
e to
the
sur
face
, the
har
mfu
l pro
duc-
tion
pro
cess
, cl
ouds
of
toxi
c ga
s, i
llega
l to
xic-
was
te
dum
ps
and
tran
spor
ts,
the
disc
harg
e of
toxi
c se
wag
e in
to th
e la
goon
, th
e co
ntam
inat
ion
of t
he g
roun
d w
ater
. 50
0,00
0 to
ns o
f a
pois
onou
s co
ckta
il of
di
oxin
, le
ad,
mer
cury
, an
d ar
seni
c ha
ve
dest
roye
d on
e of
the
mos
t be
auti
ful
la-
goon
s in
Eur
ope.
80
mill
ion
cubi
c m
etre
s of
ind
ustr
ial
was
te,
equi
vale
nt t
o tw
ice
the
capa
city
of
the
lago
on,
was
sim
ply
dum
ped
into
the
sea.
Ano
ther
fi ve
mill
ion
cubi
c m
etre
s of
was
te w
as d
umpe
d on
the
land
. W
hen
toxi
c du
mps
wer
e di
scov
e-re
d on
the
fac
tory
pre
mis
es t
wel
ve y
ears
ag
o, t
he c
ompa
ny p
roce
eded
to
limit
the
da
mag
e by
sim
ply
leve
lling
a d
ump
and
cove
ring
it
wit
h as
h. S
ubse
quen
tly a
he-
licop
ter
airfi
eld
for
the
n-m
anag
er R
aul
Gar
dini
was
bui
lt on
top
of it
. "
Info
rmat
ion
abou
t the
lago
on:
http
://w
ww
.sal
ve.it
/uk/
eco/
defa
ult.h
tm
56
The
dio
xin
clo
ud o
ver
Seve
soSa
turd
ay, 1
0th
of Ju
ly 1
976,
Sev
eso,
on
the
outs
kirt
s of M
ilan.
The
che
mic
al fa
ctor
y Ic
mes
a w
ith
153
em pl
oyee
s is
a s
ubsi
diar
y co
mpa
ny o
f th
e Sw
iss
chem
ical
com
pa-
ny H
offm
ann-
La R
oche
. A r
eact
or p
rodu
cing
tri
chlo
roph
enol
hea
ts u
p,
and
larg
e qu
anti
ties
of
diox
in e
scap
e. O
nly
a fe
w m
aint
enan
ce a
nd t
empo
rary
wor
kers
are
in
side
the
fact
ory.
The
toxi
c cl
oud
diss
emin
ates
invi
sibl
y.Pr
oduc
tion
con
tinu
ed f
or 1
0 da
ys a
fter
war
ds u
ntil
man
agem
ent
adm
itte
d th
at
a ve
ry d
ange
rous
sub
stan
ce h
ad le
aked
from
the
rea
ctor
and
tha
t th
e su
rrou
ndin
gs
mig
ht b
e co
ntam
inat
ed. D
urin
g th
ese
days
ani
mal
s of
all
kind
s di
ed in
larg
e nu
m-
bers
. The
dio
xin
caus
ed b
reat
hing
diffi
cul
ties
and
then
chl
orin
e ac
ne in
the
inha
bit-
ants
of t
he s
urro
undi
ng m
unic
ipal
itie
s. E
vent
ually
a w
ide
area
was
clo
sed
off a
nd a
la
rge
part
of
the
popu
la ti
on w
as e
vacu
ated
. Som
e of
the
inc
ompe
tent
aut
hori
ties
’ em
erge
ncy
mea
sure
s ev
en in
crea
sed
the
dam
age
done
to
natu
re a
nd t
o hu
man
s. I
n th
e en
d, p
regn
ant w
omen
wer
e al
low
ed to
abo
rt; b
ack
then
abo
rtio
n w
as st
ill st
rict
-ly
for
bidd
en in
Ita
ly. T
he w
orke
rs‘ g
roup
of
the
neig
hbou
ring
Mon
tedi
son
fact
ory
in C
aste
llanz
a co
n tac
ted
the
wor
kers
in S
eves
o im
med
iate
ly. A
peo
ple’s
com
mit
tee
was
est
ablis
hed,
in
orde
r to
rev
eal
the
caus
es o
f th
e ac
cide
nt a
nd t
o ca
ll th
ose
re-
spon
sibl
e to
acc
ount
. The
mag
azin
e Sa
pere
pub
lishe
d an
ext
ens i
ve re
port
that
sam
e ye
ar. A
ll th
e ex
pert
s w
ere
excl
uded
fro
m t
he s
tate
’s cr
isis
man
agem
ent.
The
Icm
esa
tria
l dra
gged
on
for
year
s, e
ndin
g in
198
7 w
ith
acqu
itta
l on
alm
ost a
ll co
unts
. The
in
cide
nts
of S
eves
o m
ade
clea
r th
e re
ckle
ssne
ss o
f ch
emic
al f
acto
ries
’ pr
oduc
tion
an
d th
at t
he w
orke
rs h
ave
to t
ake
the
stru
ggle
aga
inst
hea
lth d
amag
e in
to t
heir
ow
n ha
nds.
Ludw
igsh
afe
n-O
ppau
Larg
e ch
emic
al a
ccid
ents
als
o oc
curr
ed in
Ger
man
y –
for
exam
ple
the
long
-for
got-
ten
expl
osio
n of
a B
ASF
fact
ory
in L
udw
igsh
afen
-Opp
au o
n th
e 21
st o
f Sep
tem
ber
1921
, whi
ch c
ost 5
61 li
ves
and
eras
ed a
n en
tire
dis
tric
t.
57
The
new
che
mic
als
indu
stry
di
rect
ive
and
the
Ger
man
uni
ons
“The
Ger
man
Tra
de U
nion
Fed
erat
ion
and
the
chem
ical
uni
on IG
BCE
prot
es-
ted
agai
nst a
tigh
teni
ng o
f EU
che
mi-
cals
legi
slatio
n. I
n a
lette
r to
all
Ger
-m
an m
embe
rs o
f th
e EU
par
liam
ent,
they
adv
ocat
e th
e im
plem
enta
tion
of
the
com
prom
ise
reac
hed
in p
arlia
men
t an
d th
e di
smis
sal
of f
urth
er-re
achi
ng
atte
mpt
s by
the
envi
ronm
enta
l com
mis
-si
on. T
he u
nion
s sa
id th
e co
mm
issi
on‘s
ap
proa
ch d
iver
ged
grea
tly f
rom
the
ag
reed
com
prom
ises
and
wou
ld e
n-da
nger
jobs
in th
e ch
emic
al in
dustr
y.Th
e cr
itici
sm w
as l
evel
led
for
ex-
ampl
e at
th
e in
tent
ion
to
ban
and
repl
ace
dang
erou
s su
bsta
nces
. A
ccor
-di
ng t
o th
e le
tter
this
was
not
alw
ays
poss
ible
or
nece
ssar
y, a
s so
me
of th
e-se
sub
stanc
es c
ould
be
hand
led
safe
ly
and
with
out d
ange
r. Fu
rther
mor
e, th
ey
wou
ld g
o on
to e
xist
on th
e EU
mar
ket
thro
ugh
the
impo
rtatio
n of
read
y-m
ade
prod
ucts
from
non
-EU
cou
ntrie
s.“
(Fra
nkfu
rter R
unds
chau
, 2 N
ov. 2
006)
The
EU
par
liam
ent
is c
urre
ntly
(N
ovem
-be
r 20
06)
deba
ting
a s
tric
ter
stan
dard
for
th
e ch
emic
als i
n dus
try,
bec
ause
the
risk
s of
man
y of
the
30
000
chem
ical
sub
stan
ces
whi
ch h
ave
been
use
d in
the
EU
for m
any
year
s ar
e la
rgel
y un
know
n. L
ast
year
the
ch
emic
als
indu
stry
pre
vaile
d, i
mpo
sing
a
‘com
prom
ise
betw
een
econ
omic
effi
cien
-cy
and
env
iron
men
talis
m’.
Acc
ordi
ng t
o th
ese
term
s th
e st
anda
rd s
houl
d be
com
e le
ss b
urea
ucra
tic
and
mos
t im
port
antly
it
shou
ld n
ot b
urde
n th
e E
urop
ean
indu
s-tr
y un
duly
in
the
inte
rnat
iona
l co
mpe
ti-
tion
. T
he e
nvir
onm
enta
l co
mm
issi
on i
n th
e m
eant
ime
has
mad
e th
e dr
aft
a ta
r-ge
t fo
r at
tack
. E
spec
ially
con
trov
ersi
al i
s th
e ba
nnin
g of
dan
gero
us c
hem
ic al
s fo
r w
hich
alte
rnat
ives
exi
st,
even
whe
re c
ost
to th
e in
dust
ry is
incr
ease
d.
The
en
viro
nmen
tal
com
mis
sion
ha
s di
smis
sed
exce
ptio
ns f
or A
irbu
s, w
hich
fi r
epro
ofs
its
pass
enge
r se
ats
wit
h ch
emi-
cal
subs
tanc
es.
The
lea
der
of t
he C
DU
/EP
P pa
rlia
men
tary
gro
up fe
ars
a ‚d
isas
ter‘
if
Air
bus
will
hav
e to
tes
t th
ese
prod
ucts
ti
me-
cons
umin
gly
and
then
pos
sibl
y ha
ve
to d
o w
itho
ut th
em.
(cf.
Stut
tgar
ter
Zei
tung
, 11
Oct
ober
06)
"
58The
stru
ggle
is w
orth
it!
Spee
ch b
y G
iann
i Sbr
ogiò
in M
arch
200
6 at
the
Uni
vers
ity o
f Pad
ua a
s pa
rt of
a s
e-m
inar
on
the
wor
kers
‘ fi g
ht a
gain
st de
ath
caus
ed b
y as
besto
s. W
orke
rs f
rom
Por
to
Mar
gher
a an
d Se
sto S
an G
io va
nni
wer
e pr
esen
t on
the
podi
um.
In It
aly
the
use
of
asbe
stos
was
onl
y pr
ohib
ited
from
199
2 (G
er m
any:
199
3, U
.K.:
1985
out
law
ing
of a
mph
ibol
e as
besto
s).
Wor
kers
‘ de
aths
fro
m t
he m
alig
nant
tu m
or m
esot
helio
ma,
w
hich
gr
ows
in
the
pleu
ra,
perit
onea
or
per
icar
dium
, co
ntin
ue.
Cas
es a
re e
x-pe
cted
to p
eak
betw
een
2010
and
201
5.
It is
har
d to
dia
gnos
e th
is il
lnes
s ea
rly a
nd
it al
mos
t alw
ays
ends
fata
lly. T
he w
orke
rs
conc
erne
d w
ere
wor
king
with
asb
esto
s m
ostly
in th
e ‚7
0s:
at E
tern
it, B
reda
(shi
p-bu
ildin
g),
in tr
ain
cons
truct
ion
and
at th
e Pe
trolc
him
ico.
I wan
t to
read
to y
ou a
few
sen
tenc
es fr
om
the
fl yer
s w
e m
ade
back
then
.N
ovem
ber
1972
, an
alys
is o
f th
e w
or-
king
con
ditio
ns a
t the
fact
ory:
”I
t em
erge
s fro
m th
e ne
w m
eetin
gs o
f the
ne
w d
epar
tmen
ts at
Pet
rolc
him
ico
2 th
at
the
cond
ition
s w
hen
com
pare
d to
the
al-
read
y dr
amat
ical
ly b
ad s
ituat
ion
at t
he
old
plan
t are
terr
ible
. Ev
eryt
hing
is th
ere:
he
alth
ha
zard
, hu
ge
wor
kloa
ds,
nois
e an
d au
thor
itaria
n co
nditi
ons.
A b
rief o
ver-
view
ove
r th
e w
ork
cond
ition
s in
the
new
de
partm
ents:
TD
I (p
hosg
ene
prod
uctio
n):
alre
ady
150
pois
oned
w
orke
rs
at
the
end
of
1972
. A
t the
CR
depa
rtmen
t the
noi
se a
nd v
i-br
atio
ns c
ause
d by
the
huge
com
pres
sors
ar
e un
bear
able
. Afte
r eig
ht h
ours
of w
ork,
th
e w
orke
rs lo
se th
eir s
ense
of b
alan
ce.
At
the
DL
depa
rtmen
t, w
here
per
chlo
-ro
ethy
lene
is
prod
uced
, 70
peo
ple
have
al
read
y be
en
pois
oned
. In
A
ugus
t, a
clou
d of
chl
orid
e fro
m th
e C
S de
partm
ent,
59
whe
re c
hlor
ide
and
caus
tic s
oda
are
pro-
duce
d by
ele
ctro
lysi
s, c
over
ed a
ll of
Por
to
Mar
gher
a.“
The
auto
nom
ous
asse
mbl
y of
Por
to M
ar-
gher
a w
rote
in
1974
: ”T
he w
orke
rs d
o no
t go
to
the
fact
ory
to c
ondu
ct i
nqui
ry
but
beca
use
they
are
for
ced
to.
Wor
k is
no
t a w
ay o
f life
, but
the
nece
ssity
of s
ell-
ing
ones
elf
so a
s to
sur
vive
. By
fi g
htin
g ag
ains
t wor
k, a
gain
st th
e co
erci
on to
sel
l ou
rsel
ves,
we
offe
nd a
gain
st al
l ru
les
of
soci
ety.
And
by
fi ght
ing
for
less
wor
k, s
o as
not
to
die
of p
oiso
ning
thr
ough
wor
k an
y m
ore,
we
fi ght
aga
inst
heal
th h
az-
ards
. Be
caus
e it
dam
ages
one
‘s h
ealth
to
get u
p ev
ery
mor
ning
and
go
to w
ork,
it is
ha
rmfu
l to
keep
to th
e w
ork
cycl
es,
to th
e m
etho
ds o
f pro
duct
ion,
it is
har
mfu
l to
do
shift
wor
k, i
t is
har
mfu
l to
go
hom
e w
ith
a w
age
that
forc
es y
ou to
go
back
to th
e fa
ctor
y th
e ne
xt d
ay.“
And
the
n, i
n M
arch
197
5 th
e co
llect
ive
agai
nst
heal
th-d
amag
ing
prod
uctio
n w
rote
a p
amph
let a
nd p
rinte
d it
toge
ther
w
ith o
ther
fac
tory
gro
ups,
in
whi
ch t
hey
notifi
ed
the
popu
latio
n an
d w
orke
rs o
f th
e co
nsta
nt,
i.e.
24/7
, em
issi
on o
f vi
nyl
chlo
ride,
a c
ance
r-cau
sing
gas
all
over
the
area
s of
Mar
gher
a, M
estre
and
Ven
ice.
A
t the
tim
e, 4
000
kilo
gram
mes
dai
ly w
ere
emitt
ed,
that
‘s 3
000
kilo
gram
mes
per
in-
habi
tant
per
yea
r in
the
mun
icip
ality
of
Veni
ce.
In t
his
situ
atio
n th
e un
ion
aske
d fo
r m
ore
mon
ey f
or t
he w
orke
rs –
it
wan
ted
to s
olve
this
pro
blem
by
mea
ns o
f haz
ard
pay
only.
The
haz
ard
was
alre
ady
ob-
viou
s ba
ck t
hen
and
it sti
ll is
now
, as
in
man
y fa
ctor
ies
it ha
s by
no
mea
ns b
een
solv
ed. W
e sa
id it
can
‘t be
don
e lik
e th
at.
You
can‘
t jus
t tak
e a
little
bit
mor
e m
oney
an
d le
ave
ever
ythi
ng a
s it
was
. We
inve
n-te
d slo
gans
, ai
min
g to
ask
how
wor
k in
th
e fa
ctor
y co
uld
be o
rgan
ised
diff
eren
tly
from
the
way
we
have
to e
ndur
e it
now
. W
e sa
id:
an e
nd t
o he
alth
haz
ard
pay
and
we
tried
ind
epen
dent
ly t
o fi n
d ou
t ho
w w
e co
uld
orga
nise
in o
rder
to s
pend
le
ss ti
me
at th
e fa
ctor
y.
At t
he P
etro
lchi
mic
o th
e w
orke
rs o
rgan
ised
fo
r th
emse
lves
diff
eren
t w
orki
ng h
ours
in
an o
bstin
ate,
pre
cise
and
con
cret
e m
an-
ner
outsi
de o
f and
with
out t
he u
nion
. Th
e w
ork
at th
e Pe
trolc
him
ico
was
org
anis
ed
in s
hifts
, ju
st lik
e to
day.
And
in
orde
r to
sp
end
less
tim
e at
the
fact
ory
the
wor
kers
m
ade
a sh
ift p
lan
as a
for
m o
f str
uggl
e,
cons
istin
g of
fi ve
inste
ad o
f fou
r sh
ifts.
So
that
one
onl
y ha
d to
wor
k 36
, rat
her t
han
40 h
ours
. Th
us th
e co
ntra
ctor
had
to fi
nd
othe
r wor
kers
dur
ing
the
wee
k, in
or d
er to
fi l
l the
rem
aini
ng jo
bs.
This
stru
ggle
wen
t on
for
a g
ood
whi
le,
then
it
rece
ded.
In
60othe
r fac
torie
s w
e w
ere
able
to w
in th
e re
-du
ctio
n of
wor
king
hou
rs p
erm
anen
tly.
At
Am
mi t
he w
orke
rs in
zin
c pr
oduc
tion
had
orga
nise
d th
emse
lves
and
pus
hed
thro
ugh
to w
ork
six,
rath
er th
an e
ight
hou
rs a
day
, w
ith th
e sa
me
pay,
of c
ours
e.
Abse
nte
eism
Ano
ther
thi
ng w
e w
ante
d to
def
end
was
th
e w
orke
rs‘
very
spo
ntan
eous
wor
k at
ti-tu
de b
ack
then
– b
ut I
thi
nk i
t sti
ll ex
ists
toda
y: a
bsen
teei
sm.
In o
rder
to
prot
ect
ones
elf
agai
nst
inte
nsifi
catio
n of
la b
our,
the
hour
s, th
e en
dang
erin
g of
hea
lth a
nd
agai
nst
this
unb
eara
ble
orga
nisa
tion
of
wor
k, t
he w
orke
rs s
taye
d at
hom
e an
d us
ed i
llnes
s as
a s
pont
aneo
us f
orm
of
defe
nce
agai
nst
the
haza
rdou
s na
ture
of
wor
k. A
s th
e A
uton
omou
s A
ssem
bly
we
publ
ishe
d a
smal
l pa
mph
let
expl
aini
ng
how
we
need
ed t
o or
gani
se s
o th
at t
he
abse
ntee
wor
ker
coul
d no
t be
pun
ishe
d.
The
cont
ract
or a
nd t
he h
ealth
ins
uran
ces
wou
ld s
end
exam
inin
g do
ctor
s to
che
ck
whe
ther
the
wor
ker
was
rea
lly i
ll. A
nd
we
or ga
nise
d a
kind
of
`red
aid
‘, as
a
way
of p
re-e
mpt
ing
the
boss
es‘ r
epre
ssiv
e ac
tion
agai
nst
this
spo
n tan
eous
stru
ggle
. W
e w
ere
supp
orte
d in
this
by
a fe
w la
wy-
er c
omra
des,
who
def
ende
d an
y sa
cked
ab
ente
eist
wor
kers
for f
ree.
Obv
ious
ly th
e-se
wer
e ve
ry d
efen
sive
for
ms
of s
trugg
le
agai
nst t
he e
n dan
gerin
g of
hea
lth.
It w
as
mor
e im
porta
nt to
avo
id th
e he
alth
haz
ard
of th
e fa
ctor
y co
mpl
etel
y. T
hat‘s
why
, vi
a a
depa
rtmen
tal c
omm
ittee
, w
e co
ntac
ted
wor
k m
edic
ine
in P
adua
. D
octo
r co
mra
-de
s fro
m t
here
the
n un
derto
ok i
nves
tiga-
tions
in th
e fa
ctor
y fo
r th
eir
rese
arch
and
w
e us
ed th
e do
ctor
s to
info
rm th
e w
orke
rs
of a
ll ki
nds
of p
robl
ems
they
had
at w
ork.
O
ur d
eman
d: c
losu
re o
f th
e pl
ant,
sani
-ta
tion
acco
rdin
g to
the
tech
nica
l-sci
entifi
c
state
-of-t
he-a
rt,
re-o
peni
ng
of
the
plan
t. W
ages
wer
e to
be
guar
ante
ed d
urin
g th
e w
hole
clo
sure
tim
e.M
y qu
estio
n is
now
: is
the
situ
atio
n to
-da
y re
ally
so
diffe
rent
from
the
one
back
th
en?
Yes,
the
de v
elop
ed c
ount
ries
have
m
ade
sure
that
all
noxi
ous
wor
k is
out
sour
-ce
d to
the
und
erde
velo
ped
coun
tries
. A
t th
e sa
me
time,
cap
ital
has
mad
e us
e of
pr
ecar
ious
and
ille
gal e
mpl
oym
ent t
o ta
ke
wor
king
con
ditio
ns b
ackw
ards
in
man
y se
ctor
s. T
here
fore
not
all
that
muc
h ha
s ch
ange
d. B
ut it
see
ms
to m
e th
at th
e w
ill
to s
trugg
le h
as d
imin
ishe
d. A
lot
of p
eo-
ple
thin
k th
e w
orki
ng c
lass
‘ pro
blem
s ca
n be
sol
ved
in o
ther
way
s, b
ut y
ou y
oung
pe
ople
can
exp
erie
nce
for y
ours
elve
s how
w
ork
is g
ettin
g m
ore
and
mor
e pr
ecar
ious
–
if th
ere
is a
ny –
and
how
con
ditio
ns
have
wor
sene
d. W
age
rises
don
‘t ev
en
cove
r infl
atio
n an
y m
ore.
61
The
stru
ggle
is w
ort
h it
!
I thi
nk o
ne o
f the
mai
n re
ason
s fo
r tod
ay‘s
si
tuat
ion
is t
hat
they
som
ehow
man
aged
to
per
suad
e us
that
stru
gglin
g do
esn‘
t pay
of
f! Bu
t I
thin
k th
e co
ntra
ry i
s tru
e: s
trug-
glin
g do
es p
ay o
ff! I
wan
t to
em
phas
ise
anot
her
thin
g: c
apita
l has
dev
elop
ed b
e-ca
use
ther
e w
as a
wor
kers
‘ stru
ggle
. In
re-
ality
, eac
h fo
rm o
f stru
ggle
, eac
h de
man
d by
the
wor
kers
lead
s to
a ju
mp
in th
e de
-ve
lopm
ent o
f cap
ital,
clea
rly a
ccom
pani
ed
by a
n im
prov
emen
t of t
he w
orke
rs‘
livin
g co
nditi
ons.
The
re is
alw
ays
the
othe
r si
de
of th
e co
in: i
n a
certa
in w
ay th
e bo
ss s
uc-
ceed
s in
cap
turin
g th
e w
orke
rs‘ s
trugg
le in
or
der
to i
n cre
ase
his
pow
er o
r so
meh
ow
to k
eep
hold
of
it, a
nd th
e w
orki
ng c
lass
–
even
if
the
term
is
a bi
t ou
t of
fas
hion
to
day
– su
ccee
ds b
y str
uggl
ing
to im
prov
e its
livi
ng c
ondi
tions
. Sur
ely
our l
ivin
g co
ndi-
tions
are
not
onl
y a
quan
titat
ive
but a
lso
a qu
alita
tive
issu
e. I
am c
onvi
nced
that
it
can
only
be
im pr
oved
by
join
ing
forc
es,
esta
blis
hing
aim
s an
d fo
rms
of s
trugg
le
thro
ugh
whi
ch p
ower
can
be
take
n fo
rm
the
boss
es.
"
62
The
refu
sal o
f wor
k
Porto
Mar
gher
a W
orke
rs‘ C
omm
ittee
(197
0)
In 1
973,
Mer
ve P
ublis
hers
in B
erlin
pub
lishe
d To
ni N
egri
‘s sm
all b
ook
Die
Kri
se d
es
Plan
-Sta
ats.
Kom
mun
is mus
und
rev
olut
ionä
re O
rgan
isatio
n. I
ts a
ppen
dix
cont
ains
tex
ts
by F
erru
ccio
Gam
bino
(G
egen
den
Fab
riki
smus
, fü
r po
litisc
hen
Lohn
), b
y th
e Po
rto
Mar
gher
a W
orke
rs‘ C
omm
ittee
and
by
Aug
usto
Fin
zi.
We
are
repr
inti
ng t
he t
ext
by t
he W
orke
rs’ C
omm
ittee
bec
ause
her
e w
orke
rs f
orm
ulat
e th
e ce
ntra
l cla
ims
of o
pera
ismo:
– w
orke
rs’ s
trug
gle
is im
med
iate
ly p
olit
ical
str
uggl
e, i.
e. a
str
uggl
e fo
r po
wer
;–
wor
kers
are
forc
ed to
wor
k in
ord
er to
con
trol
them
;–
wor
kers
are
a s
peci
al fo
rce
and
stan
d ag
ains
t soc
iety
in it
s en
tire
ty.
We
did
not
have
spa
ce h
ere
for
Aug
usto
Fin
zi’s
text
fro
m 1
972
in w
hich
he
argu
es f
or
the
form
atio
n of
Pol
itic a
l Com
mitt
ees a
nd w
hich
ser
ved
as m
ater
ial f
or t
he d
ebat
e on
th
e na
tion
cong
ress
of P
oter
e O
pera
io. Y
ou c
an re
ad it
[in
Ger
man
] at w
ildca
t-w
ww
.de.
If y
ou h
ave
read
it y
ou w
ill u
nder
stan
d be
tter
wha
t Aug
usto
Fin
zi h
ad in
min
d w
ith
his
self-
crit
ique
of
‘sect
ari a
nism
’ in
the
long
int
ervi
ew w
hich
is
in t
he D
VD
as
a sp
ecia
l fe
atur
e.
63
Wha
t do
es i
t m
ean
to d
estro
y th
e po
-w
er o
f th
e bo
sses
? W
ho a
re t
he b
osse
s an
d w
hat d
o th
ey w
ant?
The
se q
uesti
ons
seem
stu
pid
but r
eally
they
are
fund
amen
-ta
l if
we
wan
t to
lay
dow
n ou
r po
litic
al
line
agai
nst
wor
k. F
irst
of a
ll w
e ha
ve
to s
ay t
hat
the
com
mon
sen
se c
laim
tha
t th
e bo
sses
exp
loit
the
wor
kers
in
orde
r to
enr
ich
them
selv
es i
s w
rong
. O
f co
urse
th
is is
true
but
the
wea
lth o
f the
bos
ses
is
in n
o pr
opor
tion
to t
heir
pow
er.
Agn
elli
for
exam
ple
wou
ld h
ave
to w
alk
arou
nd
dres
sed
in g
old
in p
ropo
rtion
to th
e ca
rs
he p
rodu
ces,
but
ins
tead
he
settl
es f
or a
bo
at a
nd a
priv
ate
aero
plan
e, s
omet
hing
th
e bo
ss o
f a
muc
h m
ore
mod
est
fact
ory
than
Fia
t cou
ld a
lso a
fford
. W
hat A
gnel
li w
ants
is to
kee
p an
d de
velo
p hi
s po
wer
, an
d th
is c
oinc
ides
with
the
dev
elop
men
t an
d gr
owth
of
capi
tal is
m.
Cap
italis
m i
s an
im
pers
onal
for
ce a
nd c
apita
lists
act
as i
ts fu
nctio
narie
s. A
ctua
lly,
capi
talis
m
does
not
eve
n n
eed
capi
talis
ts an
y m
ore.
In
Rus
sia,
for
eam
ple,
the
re i
s ca
pita
lism
al
thou
gh th
ere
are
no c
apita
lists.
The
exi
s-te
nce
of c
apita
lism
in
Russ
ia i
s re
veal
ed
by t
he e
xiste
nce
of p
rofi t
. It
is p
roba
bly
distr
ibut
ed “
mor
e ju
stly“
but
the
com
mu-
nist
revo
lutio
n do
es n
ot a
im a
t mak
ing
the
distr
ibut
ion
of s
ocia
l pr
ofi t
mor
e ju
st, i
t ai
ms
at o
vertu
rnin
g th
e ve
ry c
apita
list r
e-la
tions
of
prod
uctio
n w
hich
cre
ate
profi
t.
A s
ocia
l sy
stem
tha
t en
sure
s th
at p
eopl
e
are
forc
ed to
wor
k m
ust b
e ov
ertu
rned
. In
this
sen
se th
e ex
perie
nces
of t
he C
hine
se
and
Cub
an r
evol
utio
ns h
ave
to b
e ta
ken
into
acc
ount
as
wel
l.
Mor
e th
an a
nyth
ing
it is
in
the
natu
re o
f ca
pita
lism
to
try t
o co
nser
ve t
his
pow
er
rela
tion
agai
nst
the
wor
king
cla
ss a
nd
to u
se i
ts de
velo
pmen
t to
stre
ngth
en t
his
pow
er m
ore
and
mor
e. T
his
mea
ns t
hat
all
the
mac
hine
s, t
he t
echn
olog
ical
inn
o-va
tions
, th
e de
velo
pmen
t of
in
dustr
ies,
ju
st as
the
und
er de
velo
pmen
t of
cer
tain
ar
eas,
are
use
d to
con
trol
the
wor
king
cl
ass
polit
ical
ly. B
y no
w,
ther
e ar
e cl
assi
-ca
l exa
mpl
es o
f th
is c
apita
list b
ehav
iour
; th
e in
trodu
ctio
n of
the
conv
eyor
bel
t in
the
1920
s, f
or e
xam
ple,
was
a r
espo
nse
to
the
revo
lutio
nary
wav
e w
hich
sho
ok t
he
wor
ld i
n th
e ye
ars
imm
e dia
tely
afte
r th
e Fi
rst
Wor
ld W
ar.
They
wan
ted
to g
et r
id
of th
e ki
nd o
f ski
lled
wor
king
cla
ss w
hich
ha
d m
ade
the
Russ
ian
revo
lutio
n of
191
7 an
d th
e fa
ctor
y co
unci
ls m
ovem
ent
all
over
Eur
ope
poss
ible
. Th
e co
nvey
or b
elt
desk
illed
all
wor
kers
, pu
shin
g ba
ck t
he
revo
lutio
nary
wav
e an
d ev
en c
hang
ing
the
appe
aran
ce o
f cla
ss s
trugg
le; i
n m
any
coun
tries
, al
l th
is l
ed t
o a
defi n
ite p
oliti
-ca
l def
eat b
ecau
se th
ere
in th
e ab
senc
e of
an
y po
litic
al o
rgan
isat
ion
able
to a
dapt
ed
its in
terv
entio
n to
the
new
type
of w
orke
rs‘
beha
viou
r.
64Now
how
ever
, thi
s te
chni
cal s
truct
ure
has
turn
ed a
gain
st ca
pita
l by
pro
duci
ng a
m
assi
fi cat
ion
of w
age
dem
ands
, and
one
of
the
mai
n re
ason
s fo
r tha
t is
the
fl at s
truc-
ture
of t
he c
ycle
of p
rodu
ctio
n. C
apita
l is
ther
efor
e re
volu
tioni
sing
this
stru
ctur
e, a
nd
in th
e m
eant
ime
it tri
es to
get
rid
of
wor
-ke
rs a
nd to
cre
ate
muc
h w
ider
wag
e di
ffe-
rent
ials
than
cur
rent
ly e
xist,
by
intro
duci
ng
auto
mat
ion
liter
ally
as a
pol
itica
l atta
ck o
n th
e w
orki
ng c
lass
.In
the
Uni
ted
Stat
es,
this
man
oeuv
re
has
alre
ady
take
n pl
ace,
and
the
onl
y re
ason
the
bos
ses
have
n‘t
repe
ated
it
in
Italy
is th
at th
ey a
ren‘
t sur
e th
ey c
an c
on-
trol
the
wor
kers
‘ re
spon
se t
o th
e at
tack
. Th
is s
how
s th
at p
rogr
ess,
the
deve
lopm
ent
muc
h fl a
unte
d by
the
bos
ses,
is
noth
ing
but
an o
ngoi
ng a
t tem
pt t
o ad
apt
the
or-
gani
satio
n of
col
lect
ive
capi
tal t
o w
orki
ng
clas
s at
tack
. Te
chno
logi
cal
prog
ress
is
ne
ver
neut
ral o
r in
evita
ble,
as
the
boss
es
and
the
unio
ns h
ave
told
us
it is
eve
ry ti
me
ther
e is
tal
k of
red
unda
ncie
s ca
used
by
the
intro
duct
ion
of n
ew m
achi
nes.
Exa
ctly
be
caus
e th
ey b
elie
ve in
the
fairy
tale
of t
he
neut
ralit
y of
sci
ence
, the
uni
ons
limit
thos
e str
uggl
es to
the
defe
nce
of jo
bs a
nd n
ev-
er a
ppro
ach
the
prob
lem
fro
m t
he p
oint
of
vie
w o
f th
e re
duct
ion
of t
he w
orki
ng
day.
The
y be
lieve
or
pret
end
to b
elie
ve
that
the
bos
ses
are
telli
ng t
he t
ruth
: th
at
the
intro
duct
ion
of s
ome
mac
hine
in s
ome
depa
rtmen
t m
eans
tha
t th
ere
is w
ork
for
only
let‘s
say
100
out
of 2
00 w
orke
rs a
nd
that
the
rest
will
hav
e to
go
as v
ictim
s of
an
inev
itabl
e pr
ogre
ss.
But t
he w
orke
rs h
ave
a co
mpl
etel
y di
f-fe
rent
logi
c: a
ccor
ding
to th
em,
the
intro
-du
ctio
n of
the
afo
re m
entio
ned
mac
hine
co
uld
mea
n th
at i
nste
ad o
f 10
0 pe
ople
w
orki
ng 8
hou
rs t
here
mig
ht v
ery
wel
l be
200
peo
ple
wor
king
4 h
ours
. A
part
from
mak
ing
it m
ore
bear
able
to
rem
ain
in th
e fa
ctor
y th
is lo
gic
wou
ld a
lso s
olve
th
e pr
oble
m o
f un
empl
oym
ent.
Thus
the
w
orke
rs a
re n
ot a
gain
st th
e m
achi
nes
but
agai
nst t
hose
who
use
the
mac
hine
s to
im-
pose
wor
k on
them
. Som
e pe
ople
say
that
w
ork
is n
eces
sary
. We
repl
y th
at th
e sh
eer
amou
nt o
f ac
cum
ulat
ed s
cien
ce (
see
for
exam
ple
the
mis
sion
s to
the
moo
n) is
suc
h th
at w
ork
can
imm
edia
tely
be
redu
ced
to a
mer
ely
perip
hera
l as
pect
of
hum
an
life,
rat
her
bein
g co
ncei
ved
as th
e ”v
ery
reas
on o
f hu
man
exi
stenc
e“.
Som
e pe
o-pl
e sa
y th
at m
an h
as a
l way
s w
orke
d. W
e re
ply
that
acc
ordi
ng to
the
Bibl
e th
e ea
rth
is fl
at a
nd th
e su
n re
volv
es a
roun
d it.
Be-
fore
Gal
ilei,
this
was
real
ity, i
t had
alw
ays
been
like
this
, it w
as th
e sc
ient
ifi c
poin
t of
view
. But
rath
er th
an g
ivin
g sc
ient
ifi c
dem
-on
strat
ions
the
prob
lem
is
revo
lutio
nisi
ng
the
curr
ent s
ocia
l ord
er a
nd a
sser
ting
the
inte
rest
of th
ose
who
hav
e m
ater
ially
cre
-at
ed t
he c
ondi
tions
whi
ch m
ake
a be
tter
65
soci
ety
than
the
curr
ently
exi
sting
one
pos
-si
ble. Ther
efor
e th
e w
orke
rs n
eed
to c
reat
e an
or
gani
satio
n w
hich
is c
apab
le o
f fi g
htin
g ba
ck a
gain
st th
e bo
sses
‘ pol
itica
l con
trol,
capa
ble
of ta
king
all
the
pow
er n
eces
sary
to
mak
e cl
ass
inte
rests
triu
mph
. Rig
ht n
ow
ever
ythi
ng i
s us
eful
for
the
bos
ses
and
thei
r m
echa
nism
s of
pow
er,
from
sci
ence
to
wor
kers
‘ str
uggl
e its
elf
if it
does
not
re
ally
aim
at
destr
oyin
g th
e re
latio
ns o
f pr
oduc
tion,
tha
t is
, at
esc
apin
g fro
m t
he
polit
ical
con
trol o
f the
bos
ses.
The
boss
es a
re e
ven
will
ing
to s
pend
mo-
ney
to c
ontro
l the
wor
kers
pol
itica
lly a
nd
keep
thei
r pow
er. I
n A
mer
ica,
they
are
the
ones
who
are
goi
ng a
gain
st ‚p
rogr
ess‘
. Fo
r ex
ampl
e, s
ome
fact
orie
s w
here
wor
-ke
r nu
mbe
rs h
ad b
een
redu
ced
thro
ugh
auto
mat
ion
wer
e fo
rced
to
retu
rn t
o ol
d pr
oduc
tive
sys te
ms
to r
e-em
ploy
wor
kers
, un
der
mas
sive
pre
ssur
e fro
m th
e str
uggl
es
in le
d m
ostly
in A
mer
ica
by th
e bl
ack
un-
empl
oyed
. O
bvio
usly
thi
s do
esn‘
t m
ean
the
blac
k un
empl
oyed
had
aim
ed fo
r th
is
resu
lt, b
ut i
t sh
ows
how
the
bos
ses
are
usin
g sc
ienc
e to
exe
rcis
e po
litic
al c
ont-
rol
over
the
wor
king
cla
ss.
The
boss
es‘
beha
viou
r sh
ows
two
thin
gs:
fi rstl
y, t
hat
prog
ress
is n
ot n
eutra
l at a
ll, th
at it
is d
e-ci
ded
excl
usiv
ely
from
the
poin
t of v
iew
of
polit
ical
ly c
ontro
lling
the
forc
es th
at m
ight
curta
il ca
pita
list p
ower
; sec
ondl
y, th
at th
is
cont
rol i
s ex
erci
sed
mai
nly
thro
ugh
wor
k;
in f
act
ther
e w
as n
o w
ay t
he b
osse
s of
th
ese
Am
eric
an f
acto
ries
wou
ld h
ave
re-
duce
d th
e w
orki
ng d
ay fo
r al
l in
orde
r to
gi
ve w
ork
to t
he n
ewly
em
ploy
ed.
They
ke
pt u
p th
e ol
d w
orki
ng d
ay e
ven
at th
e pr
ice
of g
oing
bac
k to
wor
king
con
ditio
ns
whi
ch h
ad e
xiste
d be
fore
the
auto
mat
ion
of th
e pl
ant.
Thus
cap
ital i
s w
illin
g to
go
back
, to
build
tech
nica
lly s
uper
sede
d m
a-ch
iner
y ju
st to
con
trol
the
wor
kers
pol
iti-
cally
; to
this
end
it is
eve
n w
illin
g to
pay
pe
ople
who
se w
ork
is c
ompl
etel
y vo
id.
This
is
whe
re t
he q
uesti
on o
f th
e re
fusa
l of
wor
k be
com
es c
entra
l. W
ith th
e cu
rren
t de
velo
pmen
t of m
achi
nes,
it is
pos
sibl
e to
w
ork
muc
h le
ss,
prov
ided
that
the
mac
hi-
nes
inve
nted
by
mod
ern
scie
nce
do n
ot
beco
me
the
excl
usiv
e m
onop
oly
of t
he
Uni
ted
Stat
es a
nd th
e So
viet
Uni
on a
s cu
r-re
ntly
hap
pens
, bu
t are
inste
ad a
vaila
ble
for
use
thro
ugho
ut th
e w
orld
. We
need
to
impo
se t
he w
orke
rs‘
logi
c ac
cord
ing
to
whi
ch m
any
mac
hine
s sh
ould
be
inve
nted
in
ord
er to
red
uce
the
wor
king
day
mor
e an
d m
ore,
ten
dent
ially
mak
ing
it di
sap-
pear
. Th
e w
orke
rs‘
need
s ar
e co
mm
unis
t ne
eds.
At
this
poi
nt w
e ca
nnot
spe
ak o
f so
ci-
alis
m a
ny m
ore.
Soc
ialis
m i
s w
hat
exis
ts in
the
Sov
iet
Uni
on,
a ne
w o
rgan
isat
ion
of w
ork,
but
this
is
not w
hat t
he w
orke
rs
66wan
t. Th
e w
orke
rs w
ant t
o w
ork
less
and
le
ss u
ntil
anyt
hing
whi
ch e
ffect
ivel
y m
eans
co
erci
on to
wor
k di
sapp
ears
. It
is n
ot tr
ue th
at in
this
soc
iety
we
are
free.
W
e ar
e fre
e to
get
up
to g
o to
wor
k ev
ery
mor
ning
. ‚If
you
don‘
t wor
k yo
u do
n‘t e
at!‘
Is th
is f
reed
om?
Ther
e is
one
thin
g w
hich
re
stric
ts ou
r fre
edom
: w
ork.
In r
ealit
y, w
e ar
e fo
rced
to w
ork.
The
say
ing
acco
rdin
g to
whi
ch w
ork
enno
bles
is a
n in
ven t
ion
of
the
boss
es. W
hen
all p
eopl
e ar
e fre
e fro
m
the
need
to w
ork
beca
use
ther
e is
eno
ugh
for
them
to e
at, d
ress
and
sat
isfy
thei
r pr
i-m
ary
desi
res,
then
ther
e w
ill b
e re
al fr
ee-
dom
! We
clai
m th
at a
lread
y no
w, w
ith th
e ex
istin
g m
achi
nes,
it w
ould
be
poss
ible
to
real
ise
man
y of
tho
se t
hing
s w
hich
see
m
like
scie
nce
fi ctio
n w
hen
we
talk
abo
ut
them
lik
e th
is.
In t
he C
V 16
dep
artm
ent,
for
insta
nce,
dur
ing
the
last
`col
lect
ive
agre
emen
t‘ str
ikes
of 1
969,
man
agem
ent
kept
the
auto
clav
es r
unni
ng b
y us
ing
new
in
strum
ents
for
the
auto
mat
ic o
pera
tion
of
the
faci
litie
s. T
he w
orke
rs w
ere
at h
ome
and
the
fa ci
litie
s ke
pt p
rodu
cing
. O
n th
at
occa
sion
, the
bos
ses
wan
ted
to s
how
they
w
ere
stron
ger,
so th
ey d
idn‘
t car
e if
they
de
legi
timis
ed a
ll th
eir
talk
abo
ut th
e ne
ed
for h
uman
labo
ur. I
n th
e M
onte
diso
n ni
tra-
te p
lant
they
are
usi
ng a
n el
ectro
nic
com
-pu
ter
whi
ch a
utom
atic
ally
run
s th
e am
mo-
nia
prod
uc tio
n fa
cilit
ies:
ther
e to
o th
ey a
re
tryin
g to
rai
se p
rodu
ctiv
ity w
ithou
t an
y th
ough
t of
red
ucin
g th
e w
orki
ng d
ay.
In
plan
ts lik
e th
ese
it is
muc
h ea
sier
to s
how
th
at t
he i
nter
est
of t
he s
yste
m i
s in
usi
ng
wor
k as
a f
orm
of
polit
ical
con
trol
over
th
e w
orke
rs. A
s a
mat
ter o
f fac
t, th
ere
are
very
few
man
ual o
pera
tions
and
ver
y lit
tle
psyc
holo
gica
l str
ess
invo
lved
; al
l th
at i
s le
ft is
the
phys
ical
pre
senc
e of
the
wor
ker
next
to th
e m
achi
ne, t
he c
apita
list v
iole
nce
whi
ch w
ants
hum
ans
to b
e co
nditi
oned
to
and
ensla
ved
by th
e m
achi
ne.
But w
hich
are
the
mea
ns to
abo
lish
all
this
? Th
e go
al is
to b
reak
the
cont
rol m
e-ch
anis
m w
hich
cap
ital
has
subo
rdin
ated
w
orke
rs t
o. W
orke
rs a
re a
gain
st so
ciet
y in
its
entir
ety,
the
y ar
e di
ffere
nt f
rom
all
the
othe
rs b
ecau
se s
ocie
ty i
n its
ent
irety
is
stru
ctur
ed a
gain
st th
em a
nd h
as e
ven
perfe
cted
itse
lf as
an
answ
er to
the
mov
e-m
ents
of t
he w
orki
ng c
lass
. A
s w
e ha
ve
seen
, th
e str
uggl
e of
the
wor
king
cla
ss is
ac
tual
ly t
he m
ost
impo
rtant
driv
ing
forc
e fo
r th
e de
velo
pmen
t of
cap
italis
m.
Thin
k of
the
Fre
nch
May
whe
re t
he s
mal
l fa
c-to
ries
fell
into
cris
is:
this
cris
is c
ontri
but-
ed to
the
conc
entra
tion
of c
apita
l and
to
the
deve
lopm
ent o
f m
onop
olie
s. T
hink
of
the
USS
R w
here
the
1917
rev
olut
ion
has
acce
lera
ted
capi
talis
t de
velo
pmen
t so
m
uch
that
a b
ackw
ard
coun
try li
ke c
zaris
t Ru
ssia
cou
ld b
e com
e on
e of
the
stron
gest
capi
talis
t cou
ntrie
s in
the
wor
ld. T
hus,
ca-
67
pita
l is
a p
ower
whi
ch r
epro
duce
s its
elf
inde
pend
ently
of t
he v
oliti
on o
f sin
gle
indi
-vi
dual
s; th
eref
ore,
abo
lishi
ng c
apita
l doe
s no
t mea
n ab
olis
hing
priv
ate
prop
erty
but
de
stroy
ing
the
rela
tion
of p
rodu
ctio
n its
elf,
it m
eans
to d
estro
y th
e ne
ed to
wor
k.N
obod
y ca
n sa
y w
hat c
oncr
ete
effe
cts
this
revo
lutio
n w
ill e
ntai
l. Ev
en le
ss c
an w
e an
swer
the
ques
tion
of th
ose
who
ask
us
with
wha
t we
wan
t to
repl
ace
that
whi
ch
we
wan
t to
destr
oy. T
his i
s not
the
prob
lem
. In
non
e of
the
grea
t rev
olut
ions
in h
isto
ry
did
peop
le k
now
bef
oreh
and
with
wha
t th
ey w
ere
goin
g to
rep
lace
tha
t w
hich
th
ey w
ere
abou
t to
tear
dow
n, b
ecau
se in
re
volu
tiona
ry ti
mes
the
char
acte
rs o
f peo
-pl
e, th
e re
latio
nshi
ps b
etw
een
the
clas
ses
chan
ge s
o ra
dica
lly th
at it
is im
poss
ible
to
esta
blis
h an
y hi
storic
al h
ypot
hesi
s.
In o
rder
to a
bolis
h ca
pita
lism
, th
e w
or-
kers
will
hav
e to
cha
nge
hum
an h
isto
ry
muc
h m
ore
pro f
ound
ly a
nd ra
dica
lly th
an
the
Fren
ch r
evol
utio
n, t
here
fore
it
is i
m-
poss
ible
to p
redi
ct w
hat w
ill h
ap pe
n af
ter-
war
ds. R
athe
r, w
hat i
s im
porta
nt n
ow is
to
see
how
we
can
destr
oy th
e ex
istin
g. "
68Part
icip
ants
in th
e ev
ents
August
o F
inzi
Bor
n 19
41 i
n V
enic
e to
Jew
ish
pare
nts
who
too
k hi
m t
o sa
fety
in a
ref
ugee
cam
p in
Sw
itze
rlan
d af
ter
the
arm
isti
ce o
n th
e 8t
h of
Sep
tem
ber
1943
, w
hen
the
Naz
is
expa
nded
Jew
ish
depo
rtat
ion
polic
ies
to
Ital
y. A
fter
the
lib
erat
ion
he r
etur
ned
to
Ven
ice.
He
grad
uate
d as
a t
echn
icia
n in
19
60 fr
om th
e In
stitu
te P
acin
otti
in M
est-
re.
He
then
wor
ked
for
18 y
ears
as
tech
-ni
cian
at
the
Petr
ol ch
imic
o, a
lso
at t
he
depa
rtm
ent
for
PVC
pro
duct
ion
CV
6.
Init
ially
he
sym
path
ised
wit
h th
e PS
IUP
and
was
a m
embe
r of
the
CG
IL.
In 1
967
he d
isco
vere
d at
the
com
pany
’s lib
rary
an
arti
cle
publ
ishe
d in
Che
mic
al
Abs
trac
ts, w
hich
con
fi rm
ed t
hat
the
pro-
duct
ion
of M
VC
had
bee
n cl
assi
fi ed
as
canc
er-c
ausi
ng i
n R
ussi
a in
194
6. T
hus
bega
n hi
s lif
elon
g ca
mpa
ign
agai
nst d
eath
ca
used
by
the
chem
ical
s in
dust
ry a
nd t
he
sens
eles
s nes
s of
cap
ital
ism
. D
urin
g th
e co
nfl ic
t ab
out
the
“har
mon
ized
“ la
bour
ag
reem
ent
afte
r Ed
ison’
s ta
keov
er o
f Mon
-te
catin
i, Fi
nzi w
ent f
rom
bei
ng a
lone
cri
t-ic
al lo
ne t
hink
er t
o be
ing
a w
orke
rs’ l
ead-
er a
nd o
rgan
iser
. Aft
er h
is e
xpul
sion
from
th
e tr
ade
unio
n he
hel
ped
build
Pot
ere
Ope
raio
in
Mar
gher
a. I
n 19
72 h
e pl
ayed
a
deci
sive
rol
e in
the
tem
pora
ry f
usio
n of
Po
tere
Ope
raio
and
Il
Man
ifesto
in
Polit
i-ca
l com
mite
es. L
ater
aga
in h
e w
as in
volv
ed
in t
he f
usio
n of
Lot
ta C
ontin
ua a
nd t
he
wor
kers
’ co-
ordi
nati
on in
the
Aut
onom
ous
Asse
mbl
y of
Por
to M
argh
era.
He
was
aim
-in
g fo
r a
new
for
m o
f w
orke
rs’
orga
nisa
-ti
on w
itho
ut s
epar
ate
polit
ical
lead
ersh
ip.
Finz
i w
as c
o-pu
blis
her
of t
he w
orke
rs’
new
spap
ers L
avor
o Z
ero
and
Con
troL
avor
o.H
e le
ft t
he P
etro
lchi
mic
o in
197
8 w
ith
no o
ther
wor
k lin
ed u
p. O
n th
e 21
st o
f D
ecem
ber
1979
he
was
arr
este
d in
the
co
urse
of
the
7th
of A
pril
inve
stig
atio
ns.
He
was
hel
d on
rem
and
for
two
year
s an
d ei
ght
mon
ths.
He
was
eve
ntua
lly c
onvi
c-te
d, a
nd a
day
-rel
ease
pri
sone
r fo
r a
few
m
onth
s af
ter
the
tria
l.
69
From
the
80s
onw
ards
, Fi
nzi
had
been
in
crea
sing
ly
inte
rest
ed
in
herb
al
med
i-ci
ne a
nd h
ealth
y fo
od.
He
foun
ded
the
club
Am
ina
– fr
iend
s of
nat
ure
– in
199
7.
He
gave
tal
ks a
nd h
eld
cour
ses
on h
erba
l m
edic
ine.
Finz
i too
k pa
rt in
the
cour
t cas
es a
gain
st
the
Petr
olch
imic
o. A
fter
10
year
s of
cou
rt
proc
eedi
ngs,
it w
as e
stab
lishe
d on
the
7th
of A
pril
2004
that
he
had
been
mad
e ill
by
asbe
stos
, bu
t th
e co
mpa
ny w
as n
ot h
eld
resp
onsi
ble
for
the
dead
ly t
umou
r w
hich
ki
lled
Finz
i in
June
200
4. H
e le
ft b
ehin
d nu
mer
ous
pam
phle
ts f
rom
bac
k th
en a
s w
ell a
s hi
s ow
n no
tes
on t
he w
orke
rs‘ o
r-ga
nisa
tion
in P
orto
Mar
gher
a, w
hich
now
fo
rm t
he b
asis
for
the
‘wor
kers
’-arc
hive
’ w
hich
has
bee
n na
med
aft
er h
im.
Italo
Sbro
giò
Bor
n 19
34 i
n Fa
varo
on
the
Ven
etia
n ‘m
ainl
and’
. H
e st
arte
d to
wor
k in
the
Po
rto
Mar
gher
a in
dus t
rial
zon
e in
the
50
s an
d la
ter
wor
ked
for
Petr
olch
imic
o.
Mem
ber
of t
he P
CI.
He
was
vot
ed i
nto
the
Com
miss
ione
Int
erna
in
1960
via
the
C
GIL
. Lat
er h
e to
ok a
PC
I sea
t on
the
city
co
unci
l of
Ven
ice,
whe
re h
e w
as t
he o
nly
wor
ker.
The
par
ty e
ven
talk
ed o
f sen
ding
hi
m in
to p
arlia
men
t in
Rom
e.
In 1
964
he fi
rst c
ame
into
con
tact
wit
h in
telle
ctua
ls i
n V
enet
o (N
egri
, C
acci
ari,
Bia
nchi
ni),
who
in t
rodu
ced
a ne
w k
ind
of d
ebat
e, d
iam
etri
cally
opp
osed
to
the
PCI’s
, w
here
th
e ap
para
tus
pass
ed
the
polit
ical
lin
e do
wnw
ards
, ex
pect
ing
obe-
dien
ce.
Sbro
giò
left
the
PC
I in
196
7 an
d st
arte
d bu
ildin
g th
e gr
oup
Pote
re O
pera
io
at P
etro
lchi
mic
o, t
oget
her
wit
h Fi
nzi
and
Mas
sa.
In 1
967
they
pub
lishe
d th
eir
fi rst
fl y
er a
nd th
eir
fi rst
new
spap
er. H
e w
as e
x-pe
lled
from
the
unio
n in
June
196
9.W
ithi
n Po
tere
Ope
raio
he
was
a s
tric
t ex
pone
nt o
f th
e w
orke
rs’
line.
In
1995
he
pub
lishe
d a
book
abo
ut h
is h
isto
ry
and
Port
o M
argh
era.
As
part
of t
he 7
th o
f A
pril
he w
as in
vest
igat
ed fo
r se
vera
l yea
rs,
but
fi nal
ly a
cqui
tted
dur
ing
the
tria
l. H
e is
one
of th
e fo
unde
rs o
f the
Aug
usto
Fin
zi‘
wor
kers
‘ arc
hive
.
70Ger
mano M
ari
tiB
orn
1936
in
Ven
ice.
His
fat
her
ran
a gr
ocer
y st
ore,
whe
re h
e he
lped
out
. H
e “e
scap
ed“
from
a c
ar pe
nter
‘s ap
pren
tice
-sh
ip in
to th
e zi
nc fa
ctor
y at
the
age
of 1
9;
init
ially
thi
s w
as l
iber
atin
g co
mpa
red
to
his
prev
ious
per
sona
l de
pend
enci
es.
He
wor
ked
in
the
elec
trop
lati
ng
shop
. In
19
69 G
iann
i Sb
ro gi
ò st
arte
d w
orki
ng a
s an
acc
ount
ant
at t
he s
ame
com
pany
; he
w
as a
lrea
dy a
mem
ber o
f the
pol
itica
l com
-m
ittee
of
Pote
re O
pera
io a
t th
is t
ime.
As
a no
n-un
ion
mem
ber,
Mar
iti w
as e
lect
ed to
th
e fi r
st fa
ctor
y co
unci
l at A
mm
i in
1970
. A
ctiv
ist
at t
he A
uton
omou
s A
ssem
bly
of
Port
o M
argh
era.
Whe
n hi
s co
mra
des
wer
e al
read
y in
pri
son
he c
onti
nued
to
publ
ish
Con
troL
avor
o un
til 1
981.
In
the
cour
se o
f th
e 7t
h of
Apr
il he
was
bei
ng in
vest
igat
ed
for
man
y ye
ars,
and
it
was
onl
y in
199
3
that
he
was
fi n
ally
ful
ly a
cqui
tted
. Tod
ay
he is
act
ive
in th
e re
nt st
rugg
le a
nd in
Sol
o l‘i
nizi
o, a
n as
soci
atio
n th
at ru
ns a
food
co-
op a
nd o
rgan
ises
pol
itic
al e
vent
s. H
e is
a
co-f
ound
er o
f th
e ‘A
ugus
to F
inzi
‘ wor
kers
‘ ar
chiv
e.
Gia
nni S
bro
giò
Bor
n 19
46 in
Fav
aro
in th
e V
enet
ian
hin-
terl
and.
Hig
her e
duca
tion
was
out
of r
each
an
d he
enr
olle
d in
the
bus
ines
s sc
hool
, so
as a
t le
ast
to b
e ab
le t
o be
com
e a
whi
te
colla
r em
ploy
ee r
athe
r th
an a
blu
e co
l-la
r w
orke
r. In
196
2 he
was
em
ploy
ed b
y th
e C
OIN
dep
artm
ent
stor
e gr
oup
chai
n.
In 1
964,
whe
n he
was
19,
he
was
mad
e m
anag
er o
f a
sew
ing
depa
rtm
ent
wit
h w
omen
– a
rol
e w
hich
soo
n m
ade
him
fe
el u
ncom
fort
able
. H
e st
arte
d at
tend
-in
g ev
enin
g sc
hool
in
1966
and
gai
ned
an a
ccou
ntan
cy d
e gre
e in
196
7. H
e w
as
a m
embe
r of
the
PC
I in
his
hom
etow
n,
whe
re h
is b
roth
er L
ino
led
the
divi
sion
. H
e ex
peri
ence
d th
e st
uden
t m
ovem
ent
of
1968
mos
tly th
roug
h re
adin
g L’
Uni
tà a
nd
thro
ugh
the
deba
tes
in t
he lo
cal P
CI
sec-
tion
, w
here
slo
gans
suc
h as
“be
war
y of
pr
ovoc
atio
ns“
wer
e sp
read
. He
join
ed h
is
brot
her
Ital
o’s
grou
p in
Por
to M
argh
era
late
. H
e fe
lt cl
ose
to t
he s
trug
glin
g w
or-
71
kers
and
no
long
er w
ante
d to
sta
nd “
on
the
outs
ide“
. T
here
was
als
o a
stri
ke a
t C
OIN
in
1969
– h
e w
as t
he o
nly
whi
te
colla
r em
ploy
ee t
o ta
ke p
art
and
the
wor
-ke
rs c
alle
d hi
m “t
he fo
rem
an w
ho w
as a
lso
on s
trik
e“ f
rom
the
n on
. He
left
the
PC
I af
ter
its
nati
onal
con
gres
s in
196
9. A
t th
e en
d of
the
sam
e ye
ar h
e w
as e
mpl
oyed
by
Am
mi (
form
erly
Mon
tepo
ni M
onte
vecc
hio)
. To
geth
er w
ith
Ger
man
o M
ar iti
the
y bu
ilt
thei
r ow
n fa
ctor
y co
mm
itte
e. P
rodu
ced
fl yer
s ag
ains
t hea
lth-d
amag
ing
wor
k.In
the
cour
se o
f the
inve
stig
atio
ns o
f the
7t
h of
Apr
il he
was
arr
este
d on
the
24th
of
Janu
ary
1980
, ch
arge
d w
ith
“for
min
g an
ar
med
gan
g“ a
nd “
atte
mpt
ed r
obbe
ry“
at
Am
mi.
In th
e ni
ck h
e m
et lo
ts o
f old
com
rade
s.
Toge
ther
wit
h no
n-po
litic
al p
riso
ners
they
fo
ught
for b
ette
r con
diti
ons i
n th
e pr
ison
.
In 1
983
he t
ook
part
in t
he in
itia
tive
for
di
ssoc
iati
on f
rom
the
arm
ed s
trug
gle
and
was
rel
ocat
ed t
o R
ebib
bia
(Rom
e).
He
was
sen
tenc
ed t
o a
long
per
iod
of i
mpr
i-so
nmen
t in
1984
, but
bec
ause
of t
he lo
ng
tim
e he
’d a
lrea
dy b
een
on re
man
d th
e se
n-te
nce
was
fi n
ally
hal
ved.
Onl
y by
mea
ns
of a
hun
ger
stri
ke w
as h
e fi n
ally
abl
e to
br
ing
abou
t hi
s re
leas
e on
bai
l af
ter
four
an
d a
half
year
s of
impr
ison
men
t. Bru
no M
ass
aTe
chni
cian
at P
etro
lchim
ico,
mem
ber o
f the
W
orke
rs’ c
omm
ittee
of
Pote
re O
pera
io.
Af-
ter
the
stru
ggle
s of
196
8 he
was
pun
ishe
d w
ith
tran
sfer
ral
to a
fac
tory
in
Abr
uzzo
. H
e re
sign
ed a
nd w
orke
d as
libr
aria
n at
the
univ
ersit
y of
Ven
ice.
He
join
ed th
e PS
IUP,
an
org
anis
atio
n cl
ose
to i
l m
anife
sto,
and
late
r th
e PC
I. D
ied
2003
.
Guid
o B
ianch
ini
Bor
n 19
26 in
Ver
ona,
he
was
one
of I
taly
’s yo
unge
st p
arti
sans
. H
e liv
ed i
n Fe
rrar
a an
d Pa
dua.
At
the
end
of t
he 5
0s h
e w
as
a m
embe
r of
the
PSI
, whe
re h
e m
et N
eg-
ri a
nd Q
uade
rni
Rossi
. Co-
foun
der
of t
he
Pote
re O
pera
io V
enet
o C
lasse
Ope
raia
edi
-to
rial
gro
up. H
e w
as in
volv
ed in
ope
ra ism
o fr
om t
he e
arlie
st b
egin
ning
s an
d ea
rned
72his
mon
ey a
s ph
arm
aceu
tica
ls s
ales
man
fo
r a
long
tim
e, u
ntil
he f
ound
a jo
b as
a
tech
nici
an a
t th
e un
iver
sity
of
Padu
a; s
i-m
ulta
neou
sly,
he
did
wor
kers
’ inq
uiri
es in
V
enet
o an
d E
mili
a-R
omag
na. H
e w
as o
ne
of t
he p
eopl
e al
read
y di
stri
buti
ng fl
yer
s ou
t sid
e th
e Pe
trol
chim
ico
in 1
964.
In
the
earl
y 19
70s,
in
Qua
dern
i de
l Pr
oget
to,
he
intr
oduc
ed t
hing
s lik
e th
e di
ffuse
fac
tory
an
d th
e so
cial
ized
wor
ker
(ope
raio
soci
ale)
in
to th
e di
scus
sion
. He
was
ar r
este
d in
the
cour
se o
f the
7th
of A
pril
1979
and
198
0.
Whi
le in
pri
son
he g
radu
ated
in c
hem
ist-
ry. H
e w
as a
cqui
tted
in th
e tr
ial.
Bian
chin
i di
ed in
199
8 in
Pad
ua.
Anto
nio
Neg
riB
orn
1933
. Bec
ame
a m
embe
r of t
he P
SI-
left
in
Padu
a, e
dite
d it
s w
eekl
y pa
per
Il
Prog
resso
Ven
eto.
In
the
edit
oria
l gro
ups
of
Qua
dern
i Ros
si, C
lasse
Ope
raia
, and
Pot
ere
Ope
raio
. Tem
pora
ry c
hair
man
of t
he n
ati-
onal
org
anis
atio
n of
Pot
ere
Ope
raio
.In
196
7 he
bec
ame
prof
esso
r at
the
In
stit
ute
of P
olit
ical
Sci
ence
in
Padu
a.
Arr
este
d on
the
7th
of
Apr
il 19
79 a
nd
char
ged
wit
h fo
rmin
g an
arm
ed g
ang
and
high
tre
ason
. Rel
ease
d af
ter
bein
g el
ecte
d to
par
liam
ent
on t
he R
adic
al P
arty
lis
t. E
scap
ed t
o Pa
ris,
whe
re h
e w
as t
oler
ated
by t
he S
ocia
list
gove
rnm
ent,
alon
g w
ith
man
y ot
her
exile
s fr
om I
taly
, and
wor
ked
as l
ectu
rer
at t
he u
nive
rsit
y. I
n 19
97 h
e re
turn
ed t
o It
aly
and
was
arr
este
d ag
ain.
Sp
ent
som
e ti
me
in p
riso
n an
d th
en li
ved
free
ly in
Rom
e. T
oday
he
lives
in V
enic
e.N
umer
ous
publ
icat
ions
, in
clud
ing
man
y av
aila
ble i
n En
glish
. Tod
ay h
e is w
ell-k
now
n m
ostly
be c
ause
of t
he b
ook
Empi
re, w
hich
he
wro
te w
ith
Mic
hael
Har
dt.
Mass
imo C
acc
iari
Bor
n 19
44 i
n V
enic
e. P
hilo
soph
er a
nd
curr
ently
may
or o
f Ven
ice.
He
was
a m
em-
ber
of P
oter
e O
p era
io a
nd t
hen
join
ed t
he
PCI.
In th
e 70
s he
was
in c
harg
e of
the
in-
dust
ry c
omm
issi
on o
f th
e PC
I in
Ven
ice.
B
etw
een
1976
and
198
3 a
mem
ber
of
parl
iam
ent
in R
ome,
and
als
o m
embe
r of
th
e in
dust
ry c
omm
itte
e. A
fter
the
dea
th
of P
CI
lead
er B
erlin
guer
, Cac
ciar
i lef
t th
e pa
rty
and
join
ed m
ore
mod
er at
e cu
rren
ts
of t
he c
entr
e-le
ft-c
oalit
ion.
Pol
itic
ally
he
now
bel
ongs
to
the
Mar
gher
ita (
‚Dai
sy‘)
alli a
nce
of p
arti
es. M
ayor
of
Ven
ice
from
19
93 u
ntil
2000
and
aga
in s
ince
200
5.In
th
e 19
70s
he
beca
me
know
n in
th
e G
erm
an-s
peak
ing
wor
ld f
or h
is e
ssay
Q
ualifi
kat
ion
und
Kla
ssenb
ewus
stsei
n,
pub l
ishe
d in
197
0 by
Ver
lag
Neu
e K
ritik
73
in F
rank
furt
, an
d fo
r B
olog
na/C
acci
ari
Zus
amm
ense
tzun
g de
r A
rbei
terk
lasse
und
O
rgan
isatio
nsfr
age,
pub
lishe
d by
Mer
ve in
19
73.
Ner
one
Pic
colo
Wor
ker
at B
reda
, m
embe
r of
CG
IL a
nd
PCI.
Gio
rgio
Bra
zzolo
tto
Wor
ker
at t
he S
AVA
alu
min
ium
fac
tory
. M
embe
r of
the
CG
IL.
Ferr
ucc
io B
rugnaro
Bor
n in
193
6 in
Mes
tre,
wor
ked
in P
orto
M
argh
era
sinc
e th
e 19
50s.
Act
ive
in t
he
fact
ory
coun
cil.
In 1
965
star
ted
dist
ribu
-ti
ng p
oem
s as
leafl
ets
to th
e w
orke
rs. B
er-
telli
mad
e so
ngs
out o
f som
e of
them
.
Gabri
ele
Bort
olo
zzo
Bor
n 19
34. E
mpl
oyed
at t
he P
etro
lchi
mic
o fo
r 32
year
s. A
n ac
tivi
st a
gain
st th
e de
adly
w
ork
in t
he f
acto
ry s
ince
the
197
0s.
He
set
in m
otio
n th
e le
gal
case
aga
inst
the
m
anag
emen
t of
th
e Pe
trol
chim
ico.
H
e di
ed in
a c
ar a
ccid
ent
in 1
995.
The
cou
rt
open
ed th
e ca
se in
199
8.Th
e young w
ork
ers
disc
ussi
ng o
ver
the
kitc
hen
tabl
e, fo
ught
(in
vai
n) a
gain
st
the
clos
ure
of t
heir
dep
artm
ent,
CA
PRO
-LA
TT
AM
E in
Pet
rolc
him
ico.
The
y ar
e un
i-on
ists
and
mem
bers
of l
eft p
arti
es.
74Glo
ssar
yD
C –
Dem
ocra
zia
Cris
tiana
. Chr
istia
n D
e-m
ocra
tic P
arty
.
PCI
– Pa
rtito
Com
unis
ta I
talia
no.
Italia
n C
omm
unis
t Par
ty. T
oday
DS
– D
emoc
ratic
i di
Sin
istra
(Lef
t Dem
ocra
ts).
PSI
– Pa
rtito
Soc
ialis
ta I
talia
no,
Soci
alis
t Pa
rty.
PSIU
P –
Parti
to S
ocia
lista
Ital
iano
d‘U
nità
Pr
olet
aria
, Ita
lian
Soci
alis
t Pa
rty o
f Pr
ole-
taria
n U
nity
, le
ft sp
linte
r gr
oup
of th
e PS
I. Ex
iste
d fro
m 1
964
until
197
2 an
d pl
ayed
an
impo
rtant
rol
e in
the
wor
kers
stru
ggle
s 19
68/6
9 in
Val
dagn
o an
d at
Fia
t.
CG
IL –
Con
fede
razi
one
Gen
eral
e Ita
lia-
na d
el L
avor
o. F
orm
erly
com
mun
ist u
nion
co
nfed
erat
ion.
CIS
L –
Con
fede
razi
one
Italia
na S
inda
cati
Lavo
rato
ri. C
hris
tian
unio
n co
nfed
erat
ion.
UIL
– U
nion
e Ita
liana
del
Lav
oro.
Rig
ht
win
g, s
ocia
l de
moc
ratic
uni
on c
onfe
de-
ratio
n.
FIO
M –
Fed
eraz
ione
Ital
iani
a O
pera
i Me-
talm
ecca
nici
. M
etal
wor
kers
uni
on o
f th
e C
GIL.
CIS
NA
L –
Con
fede
razi
one
Italia
na S
inda
-ca
ti N
azio
nali
dei L
avor
ator
i. U
nion
con
-fe
dera
tion
clos
e to
the
fas
cist
MSI
par
ty.
Toda
y re
nam
ed to
UG
L.
Com
mis
sion
e In
tern
a –
Inte
rnal
Com
mis
si-
on. U
nion
sho
p ste
war
ds in
the
com
pany
, el
ecte
d by
all
empl
oyee
s. R
e-in
trodu
ced
in
1943
with
the
leg
al r
ight
to
sign
col
lec-
tive
cont
ract
s w
ith i
ndiv
idua
l co
mpa
nies
; w
hich
they
then
lost
in 1
947.
At t
he e
nd
of t
he 1
960s
the
y w
ere
repl
aced
by
the
depa
rt men
t rep
rese
ntat
ives
and
the
fact
o-ry
cou
ncils
.
Con
sigl
io d
i Fa
bbric
a –
Fact
ory
Cou
ncil.
Th
e el
ectio
n (a
nd r
etra
ctio
n) o
f de
part-
men
t rep
rese
ntat
ives
whi
ch w
as p
ract
iced
du
ring
the
1969
/69
strug
gles
was
the
n ta
ken
up b
y th
e un
ions
to
crea
te a
new
75
repr
esen
tatio
n str
uctu
re i
n th
e co
mpa
ny,
whi
ch r
epla
ced
the
Com
mis
sion
e In
tern
a.
The
wor
k ers
sta
tute
of 1
970
gave
the
right
to
uni
on r
epre
sent
atio
n in
the
wor
kpla
ce
(RSA
), bu
t do
es n
ot d
ic ta
te a
par
ticul
ar
form
: th
is i
s le
ft up
to th
e un
ion
itsel
f. In
19
93 th
e th
ree
unio
n co
nfed
erat
ions
uni
-te
d ov
er t
he e
lect
ion
of `
unifi
ed u
nion
re
pres
enta
tion‘
(RS
U).
Two
third
s of
the
m
embe
rs w
ere
vote
d di
rect
ly f
rom
a l
ist,
one
third
of
the
plac
es w
ere
allo
cate
d to
th
e un
ions
, who
had
sig
ned
the
colle
ctiv
e co
ntra
ct.
Il M
anife
sto –
The
Man
ifesto
. O
ppos
itio-
nal g
roup
insi
de th
e PC
I aro
und
Ross
ana
Ross
anda
and
Lu c
io M
agri,
who
wer
e al
so m
embe
rs o
f par
liam
ent.
In Ju
ne 1
969
the
fi rst
editi
on o
f th
eir
new
spap
er Il
Ma-
nife
sto a
ppea
red,
in D
ecem
ber 1
969
they
wer
e th
row
n ou
t of t
he p
arty
. Sin
ce 1
971
Il M
ani fe
sto h
as b
een
publ
ishe
d as
a d
aily
pa
per.
In 1
974
they
mer
ged
with
the
Par-
ty o
f Pro
leta
rian
Uni
ty P
dUP.
Il M
anife
sto‘s
19
70 `
Thes
es o
n co
mm
unis
m‘
wer
e al
so
disc
usse
d w
idel
y in
Wes
t Ger
man
y.
Lotta
C
ontin
ua
– Pe
rman
ent
Stru
ggle
. Bi
gges
t ex
tra-p
arlia
men
tary
gro
up o
f th
e ra
dica
l lef
t, fo
un de
d in
196
9 fro
m a
spl
it in
the
wor
ker-s
tude
nt m
ovem
ent
in T
urin
, w
hich
had
mas
sive
ly s
uppo
rted
the
strik
e at
Fia
t. LC
did
nei
ghbo
urho
od w
ork
unde
r th
e slo
gan
‚Let
‘s ta
ke th
e ci
ty‘.
Dis
solv
ed
in 1
976.
Pub
lishe
d a
daily
new
spap
er o
f th
e sa
me
nam
e th
at ra
n un
til 1
982.
Cla
sse
Ope
raia
– W
orki
ng c
lass
. Pol
itica
l ne
wsp
aper
, for
med
by
the
`inte
rven
tioni
st‘
win
g of
the
Qua
dern
i Ro
ssi.
Publ
ishe
d fro
m 1
964
to 1
967.
Qua
dern
i Ros
si –
Red
Not
eboo
ks. A
new
s-pa
per s
tate
d in
Tur
in in
196
1 by
Pan
z ier
i, w
ho h
ad ta
ken
part
in th
e w
orke
rs in
quiry
. Th
e op
erai
sm t
ende
ncy
cam
e ou
t of
thi
s pa
per.
Com
itato
O
pera
io
di
Porto
M
argh
era
– Po
rto M
argh
era
Wor
kers
‘ C
omm
ittee
. Fo
rmed
by
the
Pote
re O
pera
io g
roup
in
Veni
ce, i
.e. t
hose
wor
kers
who
had
take
n up
con
tact
with
the
inte
llect
uals
from
Pot
ere
76Ope
raio
, in
ord
er to
brin
g Po
top‘
s po
liti-
cal l
ine
into
the
fact
orie
s. T
here
wer
e al
so
oth e
r w
orke
rs i
n th
e C
omm
ittee
, so
me
of
them
bel
onge
d to
the
wor
kers
gro
ups
in
the
Petro
lchi
mic
o or
at
Am
mi.
They
ne-
ver
wen
t to
Pot
op‘s
nat
iona
l m
eetin
gs,
but t
hey
knew
that
ther
e w
as th
is c
onne
c-tio
n. T
he C
omm
ittee
had
its
own
mee
ting
plac
e, w
hich
was
ope
n to
the
pub
lic a
f-te
r th
e sh
ift.
The
disc
ussi
ons
wer
e ab
out
conc
rete
stru
ggle
s an
d de
man
ds.
In t
he
begi
nnin
g th
e di
scus
sion
s w
ere
open
to
‚ext
erna
ls‘:
thos
e w
ho w
ere
not
dire
ctly
in
volv
ed i
n th
e str
uggl
es,
but
rath
er s
ym-
path
ized
with
Pot
op a
nd h
ad o
ther
job
s.
In th
ose
times
ther
e w
as a
mor
e m
ovem
ent
like
atm
osph
ere.
The
ac t
ual
resp
onsi
ble
wor
k ho
wev
er r
emai
ned
on th
e sh
ould
ers
of a
bout
15
peop
le. W
ith P
otop
‘s c
risis
in
1972
the
wor
kers
wan
ted
to li
mit
parti
ci-
patio
n to
wor
kers
and
exc
lude
ext
erna
ls,
who
wer
e se
en t
o on
ly w
ant
to d
ebat
e po
litic
al li
nes
and
arm
ed a
ctio
ns. A
gain
st th
e ba
sic
line
of P
otop
, thi
s ev
en tu
ally
led
to a
spl
it be
twee
n ec
onom
ic a
nd p
oliti
cal
strug
gle,
i.e
. be
twee
n a
unio
n str
uggl
e an
d a
polit
ical
-mili
tary
one
. In
this
situ
ati-
on th
e W
orke
rs C
omm
ittee
sou
ght c
onta
ct
to o
ther
`au
tono
m ou
s‘ w
orke
rs‘ g
roup
s in
ot
her
citie
s at
Alfa
, Pi
relli
, Si
emen
s et
c.
Onl
y co
mra
des
who
wor
ked
in f
acto
ries
them
selv
es w
ere
allo
wed
to
take
par
t at
th
eir
join
t mee
tings
. A
fter
thre
e ye
ars
ho-
wev
er th
e sa
me
prob
lem
s ca
me
up a
gain
, as
som
e pe
ople
bro
ught
up
the
orga
nisa
-tio
nal
ques
tion
and
push
ed t
he C
oord
i-na
tion
tow
ards
the
Aut
onom
ia O
pera
ia
Org
aniz
zata
. The
Wor
kers
Com
mitt
ee d
id
not g
et in
volv
ed w
ith th
at.
Ass
embl
ea A
uton
oma
di P
orto
Mar
gher
a –
Aut
onom
ous
Ass
embl
y of
Por
to M
argh
e-ra
. Fo
rmed
in
1972
in
the
reor
ient
atio
n
77
phas
e w
hen
the
chem
ical
wor
kers
rej
ect-
ed th
e ne
w c
olle
ctiv
e co
ntra
ct.
The
Wor
k-er
s C
omm
ittee
, tog
ethe
r with
wor
kers
from
Lo
tta C
ontin
ua a
nd o
ther
wor
kers
who
ha
d le
ft th
e un
ion,
trie
d to
org
aniz
e th
is
disc
onte
nt.
To b
e an
Aut
onom
ous
Ass
em-
bly
mea
nt to
be
auto
nom
ous
from
pol
itica
l gr
oups
, fro
m th
e un
ions
and
from
pol
itica
l pa
rties
. It
was
sup
pose
d be
bot
h a
mas
s or
gani
zatio
n an
d a
polit
ical
org
aniz
atio
n.
It w
as a
n at
tem
pt to
bui
ld a
noth
er s
truct
ure
base
d on
all
the
expe
rienc
es o
f the
pre
vi-
ous
year
s in
stead
of s
tarti
ng fr
om s
crat
ch
agai
n, a
nd t
o ex
pand
fro
m t
here
. Th
ey
used
the
old
mee
ting
poin
t of t
he W
orke
rs
Com
mitt
ee,
but a
lso th
e So
cial
Cen
tres
in
Mar
gher
a. M
any
wor
kers
who
too
k pa
rt di
d no
t bel
ong
to a
ny p
oliti
cal g
roup
. The
A
uton
omou
s A
ssem
bly
func
tione
d un
til
1975
whe
n th
e ph
ase
of t
he A
uton
omia
O
pera
ia O
r gan
izza
ta.
Aut
onom
ia
Ope
raia
O
rgan
izza
ta
—
Org
anis
ed W
orke
rs A
uton
omy.
A p
arty
pr
ojec
t afte
r 197
5. A
n at
tem
pt b
y va
rious
gr
oups
with
in th
e A
uton
omia
to o
rgan
ize
the
coun
terc
ultu
ral M
ovem
ent o
f 197
7.
Com
itati
Polit
ici
– Po
litic
al C
omm
ittee
s.
Atte
mpt
to
mer
ge P
oter
e O
pera
io w
ith I
l M
anife
sto i
n co
mm
on P
oliti
cal
Com
mit-
tees
, w
hich
onl
y la
sted
a fe
w m
onth
s.
Push
ed a
head
by
Finz
i in
parti
cu la
r.
Pote
re O
pera
io V
enet
o-Em
ilian
o –
New
s-pa
per
publ
ishe
d by
th
e lo
cal
edito
rial
grou
p of
Cla
sse
Op e
raia
, it
ran
for
thre
e ye
ars
and
then
mer
ged
into
the
nat
iona
l Po
tere
Ope
raio
new
spap
er.
Prim
a Lin
ea –
Firs
t Ro
w.
Arm
ed g
roup
fo
rmed
in 1
976
by fo
rmer
Lot
ta C
ontin
ua
and
Pote
re O
p era
io m
embe
rs.
Its m
em-
bers
ref
used
to g
o un
derg
roun
d, in
ord
er
to r
emai
n pr
esen
t w
ithin
the
mov
emen
t. D
isba
nded
in 1
981.
Brig
ate
Ross
e –
Red
Brig
ades
. Fo
rmed
in
1970
. La
rges
t ar
med
gro
up i
n Ita
ly. T
he
fi rst
actio
ns w
ere
dire
cted
aga
inst
fore
-m
en a
nd c
ompa
ny e
xecu
tives
in fa
ctor
ies.
La
ter
they
stra
tegy
aim
ed a
t the
`he
art o
f th
e sta
te‘,
incl
udin
g th
e ki
dnap
ping
of
Ald
o M
oro,
the
head
of t
he D
C.
Aut
orid
uzio
ne –
Sel
f re
duct
ion
of r
ent,
elec
trici
ty
and
gas
bills
, fo
od
pric
es.
Col
lect
ive
form
of
strug
gle
in t
he e
arly
19
70s.
Scal
a m
obile
– li
tera
lly: E
scal
ator
; offi
cial
Ita
lian
nam
e: c
ontin
genz
a. A
utom
atic
cos
t of
livi
ng b
o nus
on
top
of th
e w
age
usin
g a
poin
ts sy
stem
. A
bolis
hed
in 1
977.
Due
to
the
hig
h in
fl atio
n ra
tes
in t
he 1
970s
, th
e bo
nus
part
of t
he w
age
form
ed a
n in
crea
sing
ly l
arge
par
t of
the
wag
e. F
or
78this
reas
on th
e w
ages
of a
ll w
age
wor
kers
in
crea
sing
ly c
onve
rged
.
Stra
tegy
of t
ensi
on –
Fro
m 1
969
to 1
984
mem
bers
of
the
Italia
n m
ilita
ry s
ecre
t ser
-vi
ce S
ISM
I (p
re vi
ously
cal
led
SID
), ne
o-fa
scis
ts an
d pa
rts o
f th
e G
ladi
o ne
twor
k be
gan
a sw
athe
of t
erro
r atta
cks
and
mur
-de
rs in
Ital
y ki
lling
mor
e th
an 2
00 p
eopl
e an
d in
jurin
g ab
out
600.
The
tw
o m
ost
spec
tacu
lar
atta
cks
mar
ked
the
begi
nnin
g an
d th
e en
d of
this
pha
se:
Piaz
za F
onta
-na
in
Mila
n in
196
9 (1
6 de
ad)
and
the
train
sta
tion
in B
olog
na in
198
0. T
hrou
gh
the
diss
emin
atio
n of
false
info
rmat
ion
and
falsi
fi ed
evid
ence
, a
secr
et s
ervi
ce n
et-
wor
k en
sure
d th
at t
he L
eft
wer
e bl
amed
fo
r the
se c
rimes
.
His
toric
al C
ompr
omis
e –
from
the
197
3 m
ilita
ry c
oup
in C
hile
, PC
I hea
d Be
rling
uer
drew
the
con c
lusi
on th
at th
e PC
I cou
ld n
ot
com
e to
pow
er t
hrou
gh e
lect
ions
with
out
riski
ng ri
ght-w
ing
atte
mpt
s of
aut
horit
aria
n in
fi ltra
tion.
His
stra
tegi
c lin
e w
as to
coo
pe-
rate
with
the
dem
ocra
tic p
artie
s, in
ord
er
to r
each
a c
onse
nsus
of r
efor
mis
t pol
itics
. Pa
rts o
f the
PC
I and
the
DC
left
hope
d fo
r a
coal
ition
gov
ernm
ent w
hich
nev
er c
ame
abou
t. In
pra
ctic
e, th
e hi
storic
al c
ompr
o-m
ise
mea
nt t
he t
hree
uni
on c
onfe
dera
ti-on
s‘ `
polit
ics
of s
acrifi
ce‘
sin
ce 1
976
and
supp
ort f
or A
ndre
otti‘
s D
C g
over
nmen
t of
`na t
iona
l so
lidar
ity‘
in 1
978
for
resta
bi-
lisin
g th
e Ita
lian
state
. W
hen
parli
amen
t w
ere
due
to d
iscu
ss t
he g
over
nmen
t pr
o-gr
amm
e on
the
16th
Mar
ch 1
978
(whe
n th
e PC
I had
jus
t won
the
maj
ority
for
the
fi rst
time)
the
Red
Brig
ades
kid
napp
ed D
C
head
Ald
o M
oro,
the
mos
t im
porta
nt m
e-di
atin
g fi g
ure
of th
is a
llian
ce.
In th
e en
su-
ing
repr
essi
on a
gain
st th
e ra
dica
l lef
t, PC
I po
litic
ians
took
the
hard
est s
tanc
e of
all.
7. A
pril
1979
– O
n th
is d
ay th
e w
ave
of
arre
sts a
gain
st th
e m
embe
rs o
f Aut
onom
ia
bega
n.
Mov
emen
t of
1977
– C
ultu
ral a
nd y
outh
m
ovem
ent w
hich
sta
rted
in B
olog
na in
the
sprin
g of
197
7 an
d gr
ew q
uick
ly m
ainl
y in
the
uni
vers
ity t
owns
. I
t di
d no
t re
ally
ha
ve ro
ots
in th
e pr
evio
us m
ove m
ents
and
clea
rly h
ad a
diff
eren
t soc
ial b
ase,
whi
ch
mar
ked
them
apa
rt fro
m t
he m
ovem
ents
of 1
968
and
1973
. Th
ey r
efus
ed t
he
polit
ical
elit
es,
incl
udin
g th
ose
of 1
968,
cr
itici
sed
the
grou
ps s
uch
as L
otta
Con
ti-nu
a an
d A
uton
omia
O
rgan
izza
ta
and
brok
e w
ith th
e un
ions
. Man
y ac
tivis
ts la
ter
ende
d up
in a
rmed
gro
ups,
man
y of
them
w
ere
wre
cked
by
the
syste
mat
ic i
nfl u
x of
H
eroi
n in
to th
e m
ovem
ent.
79
Furt
her
Rea
din
g:
Oper
ais
mo D
oss
ier
http
://w
ww
.wild
cat-
ww
w.d
e/do
ssie
rs/
oper
aism
us/o
pera
ism
us_d
ossi
er.h
tm
A c
olle
ctio
n of
tex
ts a
nd i
nter
view
s ar
ound
op
erai
smo
in
Ger
man
(n
ot
only
) fr
om
Wild
cat.
Thi
s in
clud
es
out-
of-p
rint
text
s by
Alq
uati
, Pan
zier
i, Tr
onti
and
oth
ers.
Boo
ks:
Stev
e Wri
ght:
Stor
min
g H
eave
n.A
theo
reti
cal h
isto
ry o
f Ope
rais
m,
Plut
o Pr
ess,
200
2
Title
pag
e of
the
Ross
o ne
wsp
aper
197
7:Yo
u ha
ve p
aid
dear
ly,
You
have
not
pai
d it
all!