The mobilisation was organised by a workers committee, constituted independently from union membership. 99% of workers adhered to the strike, which was loosened on Monday 14th April when workers decided to only block gates for goods in an attempt to force the factory to a halt.

No serious injuries were reported in the scuffles on Tuesday that took place as Alitalia negotiators met with unions to seek backing for the takeover. The deal, announced Sunday, requires the approval of parliament and all nine airline labor unions.

Rising from a period of centre-left coalition that had been marked by a constant failure to bring promised reforms to Italian society, the struggles of the 1960s acted as a pressure gauge for many sections of the Italian working class, one which was to reach its climax during the mass strikes of 1968-1970.

Link to PDF of pamphlet.

Published by Red Notes, London, UK, late 1970s

The call for a strike which could paralyse the country comes as Italy debates workplace safety following a fire last month at a ThyssenKrupp steel plant in Turin which killed seven workers.

Labor federations CGIL, CISL and UIL said in a statement they "strongly protest following incidents which reached unbearable levels in 2007 and, unfortunately, continue".

"The unions were born, historically speaking, in the workplace as a result of precise material needs of the working masses who made up its membership and under whose control they operated."
- Anarchist Communists and the Mass Organization (UCAT, 1984)

Cattivi Maestri: Reflections on the Legacy of Guido Bianchini, Luciano Ferrari Bravo and Primo

Steve Wright

You were like one who, traveling by night,

Carries the torch behind - no help to him -

But he makes those who follow him the wiser.(1)

There have been three major types of protests: filtered barrages on motorways; blockades of motorways and rolling barrages. The strike action is planned to last five days and is likely to seriously affect the 70% of Italian freight that is moved by road. According to La Stampa the strike will cost up to €5bn although the FAI union estimate is €2bn.

Aero-news.net reported that Italian carrier Alitalia canceled 217 domestic and international flights before a four-hour walkout by pilots, flight crew and ground staff beginning at 11 am. Air One, Italy's number two carrier, only guaranteed nine flights there.

Hundreds of white cabs blocked traffic at Rom'es central Piazza Venezia while drivers protested in front of the nearby City Hall. The strike was called by the taxi drivers' union after it abandoned talks with the mayor.

Cab drivers have staged several strikes in recent months in opposition to government plans to liberalize the service and grant more licenses, and for rates increases.

Pietro Ferrero was born at Grugliasco in Turin on 12th May 1892.

Maurizio Garino was born in November 1892, the son of Michele and Nicoletta Chiglioni in Ploaghe, Sardinia.

In 1895 the family moved to Turin and in 1900 to Cassine. After elementary school and a short stay in a religious school Maurizio became an apprentice carpenter and then a pattern-maker mechanic.

Ugo Del Papa was, with Alberto Meschi, one of the founders of anarchism in the marble town of Carrara in Italy. He was born on 18th September 1875, the son of Romualdo and Lucia Pracchia. He became close to the anarchist movement from an early age. According to the police he was an enthusiastic “propagator of those criminal theories”.

Born in Trani into a family of wealthy aristocrats on 5th August 1846 Emilio was a classmate of Carlo Cafiero in Molfetta.

He studied for a law degree at the University of Naples in 1868 and then continued to study in Germany at the Universities of Heidelberg and Berlin. Here, according to Cafiero, he “tore off his bourgeois hide” and moved towards socialism.

Alfonso Failla was born in Siracusa, Sicily on 30th July 1906. He was drawn to the anarchist movement and was heavily involved in the activity of the movement.

Giovanni Domaschi was born on 30th December 1891 at Verona, the son of poor peasants.

They were never able to feed their eight children adequately, and three of them died young.

His hard life alerted him at an early age to social injustice and he began to see that the world was divided into two camps, the rich and the poor, those who rule and those who produce wealth.

Giovannina Caleffi aka Giovanna Berneri
Born Gualtieri, Italy 4 May 1897, Died Genova Nervi, Italy 14 March 1962

Born at Carrara on 5th May 1913, Belgrado’s mother died when he was nine. His father was a sculptor and had the opportunity to travel to many cities, and he named his son after the Yugoslav city which was still fresh in his memory.

Ernesto Bonomini was born on 18 March 1903 at Pozzolengo in Italy. From a very young age he became interested in socialist ideas and became an active antimilitarist. He trained as a tailor, in which trade he was expert.

With the fascist repression against the workers’, socialist and anarchist movements, Ernesto was forced to emigrate to France in 1922.

Born in Vasto near Chieti in the Abruzzi in 1898, Antonio Cieri served as an officer in the Italian Army during World War I and was decorated.

After the war he became active in the anarchist movement in Ancona. He got a job as a technical designer for the Italian railways.