Since late September, union activity in Italy has focused on agitating for the address of unity of action by workers and grassroots unionism. This was done with an initial letter-appeal, dated Oct. 7, addressed to the members and leadership of all grassroots unions, calling for a united response from all grassroots unions to oppose the government’s so-called "Security Bill".

This bill provides for the introduction of the "crime of road blocking", in a form that is pejorative even compared to the law introduced in 1948, in that it considers road blocking even with the mere use of one’s own bodies a crime, while the law of the infamous Minister Scelba considered road blocking a crime, only if done with objects (pallets, cars, etc., suitable for forming barricades).

If there could have been any doubts about the government’s intentions, these were dispelled by the Interior Minister’s speech in Parliament in early October, in which he explained how the aim of the Bill is to prevent pickets organized by grassroots unions in front of logistics warehouses, to block the entry and exit of trucks loaded with goods, as a key weapon for winning strikes.

The letter garnered some 30 endorsements from delegates and militants of grassroots unionism-of the Usb and SI Cobas-and the CGIL. In fact, it called for the expansion of unity of action beyond the boundaries of grassroots unionism, involving the conflictual minorities in Cgil.

The adhesions to these appeals, which we have reiterated over the years, are still very small, and the aim is not to succeed in changing the decisions of opportunistic union leaderships, or even to oust them, but to weave a network of relations among union militants.

Such work, as long as workers’ struggle remains at low levels, as it has in recent decades in Italy, can only advance in very small steps, or remain stationary. However, between steps backward and steps forward, its correctness is confirmed, and it strengthens the party in this practical experience.

The contents of the letter were set out in two speeches:

- in an assembly promoted on October 9 by the Usb dockworkers in Genoa against the Security Bill, with about 60 participants, half workers half students;

- at the Usb Confederal Coordination in Genoa on October 12, with about 30 union delegates. At both assemblies the letter was distributed, which found as new adhesions, compared to similar past initiatives, those of USB delegates from the airport and environmental hygiene (garbage collectors) in Genoa. In addition, the association with a small minority of SI Cobas militants was confirmed, strengthened by sharing the party’s position on the merits of the Israel-Palestine-Lebanon war, which was for this reason isolated and attacked within their union by the leadership fanatically siding with the so-called "Palestinian resistance", that is, with Hamas, Hezbollah and the imperialist powers that back them. Two days before the SI Cobas’ Oct. 18 "general" strike, the Cub and Sgb grassroots unions on Oct. 16 called a general strike for Nov. 29. This decision was due to the announced intention of the CGIL to also proclaim a general strike.

Due to the anti-strike laws introduced in Italy since 1990, which were wanted by the Cgil itself as well as the Cisl and Uil, the choice of the day to proclaim a general strike is very difficult, and is subject to various limitations that are not very easy to evaluate.

The leaders of Cub and Sgb estimated that under the limitations due to the anti-strike laws the date of a possible Cgil and Uil general strike would be November 29, and decided not to conduct a strike by grassroots unionism alone, which would have been yet another minority and demoralizing action, but rather to join the strike promoted by Cgil and Uil, but hiding this choice by proclaiming it earlier! The calculation turned out to be correct and on October 30 Cgil and Uil proclaimed a general strike, for November 29.

Beyond these maneuvers and tactics, the important element is a change in the conduct held for decades by the leaderships of grassroots unionism, of organizing strikes separate from and in competition with those proclaimed by the regime unions. What our party has always stood for within the grassroots unions has been the direction to strike united, regardless of which union proclaims the strike. Because only on the material basis of strong strikes can class unionism grow, not on that of weak, minority strikes.

This reversal of the conduct held for decades has not only affected Cub and the Sgb, which have practiced it without yet explicitly declaring it. A few days after Cgil and Uil also called a general strike on October 30 for November 29, other grassroots unions joined in, a group of which (Adl Cobas, Confederazione Cobas, Sial Cobas) explained in a joint communiqué that there was a need to unite action to strengthen strikes, following the example of what has been done in recent years in France.

Over the next few days all the other grassroots unions joined hand in hand, except for the Usb. This one, on October 17, had proclaimed a general strike for December 13. And despite the convergence of all the grassroots unions on the Nov. 29 strike, Usb’s leadership seems to have no intention of changing its decision, showing itself the most obtuse in defending a conduct that divides and weakens workers’ fighting action.

So that, this time addressed only to Usb members, we wrote a second letter-appeal, dated Nov. 13, asking the Usb leadership to converge on the Nov. 29 strike and possibly, if it is felt there is the strength and will among the workers, to propagate in it the need to have a second general strike, on Dec. 13.

This second letter, although still very small in numbers, had larger adhesions of Usb members and delegates than the previous one. For the November 29 strike, we have prepared a Party leaflet (https:// www.international-communist-party.org/Partito/ Parti430.htm#Mobilitazione) distribuited at the demonstrations in Genoa and Naples.

In addition to what has been said so far, we have also drafted a text about an assault suffered by some workers and union militants during a strike in a small company in the textile district of Prato ()https://www.international-communist-party.org/Partito/ Parti430.htm#Prato). The strike was led by the Sudd Cobas grassroots union, which was formed by the detachment of the local structure from the SI Cobas.

Sudd Cobas then participated in the picket line for the Nov. 8 strike at the GLS company’s logistics warehouse in Campi Bisenzio, Florence, as part of a nationwide strike affecting four logistics hubs-and in smaller warehouses-of the U.K. Postal Service-owned company, organized by the grassroots unions Adl Cobas and Cobas Private Labor.

The absence of SI Cobas from this strike is surprising, given that this was the strongest grassroots union in this company and in the entire logistics sector. This perhaps confirms its weakening. But the important fact to note is that the difficulties of what used to be the largest grassroots union in logistics are not matched by either a halt in strikes or a halt in the workers’ tendency to organize outside and against the regime unions, which finds satisfaction in other grassroots unions.

We then followed up on the national strike of tramway workers on November 8. This had been proclaimed since the end of September by the regime unions, which had resorted to the possibility granted by the anti-strike law to be able to proclaim it without respect for the so-called "guarantee time slots". This is basically a strike closer to being total than what is normally granted by law. This possibility is given: only for a single strike, only within the framework of the dispute over the renewal of the national contract, only after 3 previous strikes occurred within the "guarantee bands", and only for unions that are signatories to the national contract. This gives an idea of the incredible loopholes and limits placed by the laws against striking. That said, since this law has been in existence, that is, since 1990, the regime unions have resorted to this possibility only 3 times in 34 years. Moreover, for November 8, they organized a national demonstration in Rome.

This decision predicted strong worker participation in a strike that was finally felt to be "real". This coupled with the growing malaise in the category, with numerous cases of resignations in Rome and Milan and difficulties for companies to find new hires. In fact, the previous strike by the regimented unions, on September 8, had gone very well, and so had the one 12 days later-September 20-by the grassroots unions, despite being only a few days apart.

The one on September 20, had seen the united participation of all the grassroots unions, including Usb, with the sole exclusion of AL Cobas, which has a good presence only in Milan, where, however, there is the second largest Local Public Transport company in Italy.

For the November 8 strike, in addition to the very high adherence, the element to be noted is the adherence of the majority of the grassroots unions, which as with their confederal structures also in this case decided to abandon the practice of deserting strikes promoted by the regime unions. Again, however, the Usb was an exception, here accompanied by the AL Cobas.

We continue to follow the mobilizations of the railway workers, that of the maintenance workers organized in the National Assembly of Maintenance Workers (ANLM), formed last summer into a union, and that of the train crews (drivers and train chiefs) organized in the Pdm-Pdb Assembly (Engine and Train Personnel) and with the support of the grassroots unions (Cub, Sgb, Usb).

The eighth ANLM strike, last Nov. 13, went badly, and it is the third one that fails, The first 4 had had adhesions of over 70%. The last 3 around 40%. The demonstration in Florence also had poor participation. The struggle movement seems hopelessly refluxed but has sedimented a new organization. We will see if it has the strength and right direction to walk and organize future struggles. Finally, the seventh strike of the traveling personnel, for the renewal of the contract, is being prepared for November 23-24. The previous six went very well.

In the maintenance workers’ movement and the train crew movement, we are able to intervene indirectly, through our participation in the Self-Convoked Workers’ Coordination, to which some of the most committed railway workers are linked in union work in support of these strikes.