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The ‘Insorgiamo!’ Movement In Italy

May 16, 2022 La Izquierda Diario Argentina, Left Voice. , , ,
An interesting process of organization and struggle is taking place in Italy. Emerging from the fight to keep jobs in a closing factory and driven by debates in a democratic factory council structure, the “Insorgiamo!” (Let’s rise up!) movement was born. However, it went far beyond its own struggle and picked up the demands of the most neglected sectors of Florence, where the factory is located. This allowed it to carry out mobilizations of 30,000 people in September 2021 and last March 26 and to call for a National Public Assembly to discuss the problems, needs, and demands of the workers and the people on Sunday, May 15. To learn more about this process, Juan Andrés Gallardo spoke with Giacomo Turci, editor of La Voce delle Lotte — part of the La Izquierda Diario International Network — and leader of the Revolutionary Internationalist Fraction (FIR).

Anti-US And Anti-NATO Protests In Verona, Italy

May 9, 2022 Andrei Coman, National Newspaper. , , ,
Verona, Italy - "NATO send the Ukrainian people to the massacre. Vasal governments also obey, "the supporters of the protest chanted. "NATO send the Ukrainian people to the massacre. Vasal governments also obey," the supporters of the protest chanted. At the level of reasons for going out into the street in such a protest gesture, the organizers explained: “I haven't taken a clear position on it for weeks the war in Ukraine. First I researched, then I listened to direct sources. And we realized that the official narrative, as for Covid, is totally insecure." In this context, the organizers of the march argued that “this war is organized, desired and maintained by Western forces, led by NATO.

Italian Students Are Rising Up Against Exploitation

April 3, 2022 Andreas Petrossiants And Giulia Sbaffi, ROAR Magazine. , , ,
On January 21, 18-year-old Italian high school student Lorenzo Parelli died after being hit by a heavy metal beam while working at a factory in Lauzacco, a small town in northern Italy. The accident happened on the last day of Lorenzo’s alternanza scuola-lavoro (“school-work alternation”) internship as part of a mandatory work-placement program for high school students. In an attempt to individualize the responsibility for this tragedy, investigators are now wasting time and resources to determine who is to blame for Lorenzo’s death. Meanwhile, they are letting the neoliberal capitalist death machine that legitimized a program that forces young students into dangerous factory work off the hook. However, for the students who have been organizing throughout the country since his death, the real culprit of this tragedy is clear: “Lorenzo did not die. He was killed by the state through the alternanza scuola-lavoro,” as Niccolò De Luca, a member of the recently formed student movement La Lupa (“The Wolf”) put it.

Dock Workers In Genoa Protest Transit Of Arms Through Their Port

April 2, 2022 People's Dispatch. , , , , , ,
On March 31, dock workers of the Italian port of Genoa observed a 24-hour strike protesting the usage of the port for the transit of arms which are likely to be used in deadly imperialist wars going across the world. The call of the strike was given by USB Italia trade union. Activists from various left, anti-war groups including Potere al Popolo participated in the blockade held at the Ethiopia crossing at the Genoa port and an assembly of workers at Cap in via Albertazzi. During the protest, workers raised a banner which read “Not a penny, a rifle or a soldier for war“ and also stated that Italian ports and airstrips must not be used to make arms deliveries for imperialist war. The protesting workers also resolved for a greater participation in national mobilization of Italian workers on April 22 in Rome against the anti-worker policies of the Mario Draghi government.

Italians Protest Against NATO Warmongering Policies

March 21, 2022 Iran Press. , , ,
Thousands of Italian people came into the streets of the capital Rome while carrying placards against the NATO's warmongering policies. The people held the demonstration on Saturday, holding the US and NATO accountable for the crisis going on in Ukraine. People were chanting "Italy must not engage in war" and "Italy must exit NATO," among other slogans. For the third time during the past three weeks, thousands of Italian people in Rome held rallies in support of peace in Ukraine and against the NATO and the US' double standards. Meanwhile, the Italian Ministry of Interior announced that the number of Ukrainian asylum seekers entering Italy since the beginning of the war on Ukraine has increased to over 57,000.

Italian Co-Ops Hire Inmates To Make Food And Fashion

February 12, 2022 Rozanna Travis, Open Democracy. , , ,
Hand-made jewellery, bottles of locally produced wine and other artisanal products line the shelves of a small shop in the centre of Turin, northern Italy. Two fashionably dressed women are browsing the selection of handbags. ‘Made in Italy’ is a popular label that attracts both tourists and locals. But here the products are more specifically, and proudly, ‘made in carcere’ (the Italian word for prison). Forty co-operatives supply the shop – called Freedhome – with goods produced by around 2,000 prisoners. About half of them work on day-release outside prison: on farms, wineries or different workshops in nearby towns.

Italian Dockers Refuse To Load Arms Shipment To Israel

May 15, 2021 Left Voice. , , ,
This Friday the Asiatic Island arrived in the port of Livorno, Italy. Thanks to the report of the Autonomous Collective of Port Workers of Genoa and the WeaponWatch association, the port workers, organized in L’Unione Sindacale di Base, learned that the ship was filled with weapons and explosives bound for the Israeli dock of Ashdod. These weapons and explosives would be used to kill Palestinians, who have already been hit by a brutal Israeli military offensive that has murdered hundreds of victims, including many children. The union announced shortly after that it would not allow this or any other maritime shipments of armaments to set sail for Israel.  The dockworkers’ unions in Italy are trying to gather more information about the shipments coming to their ports in order to prevent military supplies from arriving in Israel.

Amazon General Strike In Italy

April 2, 2021 Peter Olney, Stansbury Forum. , , ,
It can be said with certainty that the strike was successful, especially among the drivers where participation was around 75%, with peaks of up to 90%. This probably delayed a substantial chunk of deliveries on March 22, but of course it is impossible to know how many customers were unable to receive packages from Amazon. There are around 19,000 Amazon drivers in all of Italy. For the 9000 direct employees in the warehouses (fulfillment centers) and the delivery stations   participation was around 70-75% on average nationally, with peaks in the northern sites, and a little lower in the south of Italy. Among the 9000 temporary agency warehouse workers, participation in the strike was 25-30%, but that level was considered a positive by the trade unions given the total blackmail of these workers...

Amazon Workers In Italy To Go On First Strike

March 12, 2021 Rory Sullivan, Independent. , , ,
Amazon’s workforce in Italy will go on its first collective strike later this month, trade unions have confirmed. All 8,500 employees in the country are expected to hold a 24-hour walkout on 22 March after negotiations between their representatives and the online retailer broke down. The three national unions supporting them accused Amazon of showing an “unwillingness to positively address” issues including working hours and results-based bonuses. They also claimed that the online giant was “chronically unavailable” for meetings and was opposed to “a system of fairness”. A spokesperson for the company called the allegations “false”, adding that Amazon had met unions twice in January. The trade unions’ announcement of industrial action comes two months after the US retailer said it would open two more logistics centres in Italy at the cost of 230 million euros (£197m).

Black Women In Italy Weren’t Being Heard, That’s Changed

July 7, 2020 Stefania Dignoti, The Lilly. , , ,
Ariam Tekle had just begun co-hosting a podcast about black identities in Italy when, in late May, George Floyd was killed in police custody and a series of Black Lives Matter protests erupted across the United States. That outcry for social change resonated across the Atlantic, hitting many cities in Europe with unprecedented force, including her hometown of Milan. And for local black communities, the protests became an opportunity to speak out about issues of endemic racism beyond the U.S. experience. “We stand in solidarity with what is happening in the U.S., but we also want this to be a starting point to openly confront racism at home that is no less alarming than police brutality in America,” Tekle, a 31-year-old documentary filmmaker, says.

Italian Town Prints Own ‘Currency’ To Help Locals And Businesses

May 12, 2020 Alessio Dellanna, Euro News. , , ,
Castellino del Biferno is a small town in south Italy's Molise region with only 550 residents. Minting money is something town mayor Enrico Fratangelo has been studying for over twelve years. The Covid-19 pandemic gave him the opportunity to test his skills. "We decided to mint money to make sure the local economy could withstand the impact of the situation. However small this economy may be, there are three or four businesses still open, without considering bars or pubs," Fratangelo explained. "Ducati" Banknotes are distributed to the residents in accordance with their economic needs. They have already spent thousands of "Ducati" at their local shops. Every two weeks, the shops return the "Ducati" to the town council and get the corresponding amount in euros.

Hard-Hit Italian City Is Trailblazing The Way Towards A Better Post-Coronavirus World

April 25, 2020 Tracy Keeling, The Canary. , , ,
Italy has been particularly badly hit by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Although the country has recently seen declines in new cases, it remains one of the top for infections and deaths worldwide. And the northern region of Lombardy has, by far, had the largest number of confirmed infections in the country. Now, as the cases wane, Milan – the region’s capital city – is looking to rebuild. It’s not, however, planning to get back to business as usual. It’s re-imagining the city and trailblazing its way towards a better post-coronavirus world. Like most other countries, Italy has been in lockdown. As the Guardian reported, during that cessation of the daily grind, Milan experienced a reduction in motor traffic congestion of between 30% and 75%. In turn, that drop in congestion brought a big dip in pollution levels.

Cuban Medical Aid In Italy Shows Positive Results

April 10, 2020 Telesur English. , , ,
According to Dr. Carlos Pérez Díaz, head of the Cuban medical brigade in Italian territory, 12 of the 36 affected by the virus in Lombardy have already recovered. Perez Diaz explained that the Cuban medical team received 16 cases on the first day of work. These patients came from the Intensive Care Unit of the Crema Hospital in the Lombardy region. According to his statement to the Cuban press, the medical brigade, as of April 3, had served 428 people. Of those infected with COVID-19, 5 were transferred to intensive care at the hospital. Only one of those infected died. Among other information, Perez Diaz explained the order of work of the doctors and the establishment of shifts that the team carries out. Rendering to his statements, the Cuban medical mission intends to fulfill the task of saving lives, a mission that the Cuban doctors demonstrated to "the high degree of morale, firm, and willing." 

Italy Calls General Strike: ‘Our Lives Are Worth More Than Your Profits’

March 31, 2020  La Izquierda Diario Argentina, Leftvoice.org , , , ,
Italy is the global epicenter of the pandemic, with more than 64,000 cases of infection and almost 7,000 deaths, half of which occurred in the last week. This is the result of both neoliberal austerity measures that defunded healthcare in Italy and the criminal negligence of the EU.  In the context of the pandemic, a quarantine was imposed throughout the country. Not only have nearly all shops been closed, but people are not allowed to stray too far from their homes. Just this week, videos of mayors yelling at their constituents to go home went viral.  Yet, non-essential production has still not been shut down in Italy. Millions of workers continue to go to work every day, exposing themselves to infection in public transport, in factories, workshops, and offices.  At the same time, the workers’ rebellion is growing.

Dispatch From Italy: Class Struggle In The Time Of Coronavirus

March 24, 2020 Leopoldo Tartaglia, Labornotes.org , ,
Italy is the Western European country where the coronavirus pandemic spread first and where its tragic effects are being felt the most. As of March 17, the official data say 26,062 have tested positive in Italy for COVID-19, 12,894 have been hospitalized—including 2,060 in intensive care—and 2,503 have died.
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