Italian glass-blowers' strike of 1901

From Notes from the Margins

The Italian glass-blowers' strike of 1901 was a strike launched by the Federation of Italian Glass Blowers in response to the refusal of one of the major glass-making companies, "The Glass," to negotiate with the newly-formed union. The glass-blowers won the strike after three years, and the union's activity during the strike led not only to success of the union in contract negotiations, but the establishment of several worker-owned co-operative bottle factories in Italy. During the 1910s and 1920s the strike was frequently cited as one of the best examples of real-world success for Syndicalist labor organizing.

From Mother Earth

From Emma Goldman, "Syndicalism: Its Theory and Practice", in Mother Earth VII.12 (February, 1913), 421-422.

Their ability to carry on production has been strikingly proved by the Syndicalists, in connection with the glass blowers’ strike in Italy. There the strikers, instead of remaining idle during the progress of the strike, decided themselves to carry on the production of glass. The wonderful spirit of solidarity resulting from the Syndicalist propaganda enabled them to build a glass factory within an incredibly short time. An old building, rented for the purpose and which would have ordinarily required months to be put into proper condition, was turned into a glass factory within a few weeks, by the solidaric efforts of the strikers aided by their comrades who toiled with them after working hours. Then the strikers began operating the glass-blowing factory, and their cooperative plan of work and distribution during the strike has proved so satisfactory in every way that the experimental factory has been made permanent and a part of the glass-blowing industry in Italy is now in the hands of the cooperative organization of the workers.

From Wilshire's

From Odon Por, "Syndicalism in Action: How the Italian Glassblowers became their own Employers", in Wilshire's XVI.11 (December, 1912). 6-8.

The vigorous activity agitating the Italian proletariat in 1900 stirred also the bottle-blowers. The same year they organized many local unions and called into existence the Federation of the Italian Bottle-Blowers. About 1,000, or 90 per cent, of the Italian bottle-makers joined the Federation at once, and the funds of the Mutual Aid Society were transferred to its treasury.

The first convention of this Federation, in 1901, resolved to submit a collective contract to the employers. The chief demands were a universal wage scale involving sensibly higher wages than hitherto paid, the eight hours day, and the closed shop. The contract was to be between the Federation, representing the organised workers collectively, and the directors of the bottle works. The Federation was to become also a sort of employment agency for the federated workers.

The secretary of the Federation at once opened negotiations with the employers. Four factories united in the GlassTrust, with its home factory in Milan, and three independent factories accepted the collective tariff for the year 1901-1902. Another corporation "The Glass", with two factories, however, would not negotiate with the Federation, denying its rights to represent the bottle-workers. Its true reason for refusing to sign the collective contract was the fact that it was the only concern in Italy holding an option on the Boucher bottle-blowing machine, which promised a revolution in the bottle industry.

The Federation at once called a strike on The Glass, and the bottle-blowers were out of work, or more than a third of the members of the young organisation. The strike lasted three years. During this time the bottle-workers not only paid more than 500,000 lire over their regular strike assessments into the treasury of the Federation, but furthermore, by a special arrangement, they made places for a number of strikers at the furnaces of the Trust by reducing the normal and contract work day from eight hours to six, and decreasing by this their own wages by 25 per cent.

[...] The strike was waged with great steadfastness. In many places the strikers pushed their heroism so far that, faint with hunger, some even fell unconscious on the streets. The Trust, being materially interested in the strike, renewed its contract with the Federation for the years 1902-1903.

About the end of 1902 the Federation fell foul of the Trust by launching the idea of a co-operative bottle factory. The Federation figured that with a final and definite effort to raise money it could establish a co-operative factory that would give work to the strikers. The Trust laughed at this proposed experiment, but as soon as it became a reality they began to feel uneasy about it, and with the view of destroying the Federation they tried to provoke a strike in their own factories. [...] The Federation wisely refused to be provoked to strike, having all its financial and moral resources engaged in giving birth to the co-operative, and knowing that it could not sustain another big strike. The Federation therefore signed a new contract with The Trust for the year 1903-1904, to the great disappointment of the latter, even though this contract secured less advantages to the federated workers than the agreements of the previous years.

All this time the strike against The Glass was still on. That corporation lost about half a million lire during the strike, because on the one hand, with the few Italian and foreign strike-breakers it could secure, it produced only inferior goods, and in small quantity, and on the other hand, the Boucher machine proved to be impractical. Finally, The Glass gave up the fight and merged its two plants with the Trust in the spring of 1904.

The Trust discharged the scabs in one factory and employed federated workers there, while it kept the scabs in the other factory, excusing itself to the Federation with the statement that The Glass had signed a contract with the scabs previous to its surrender to the Trust. The federated workers were victorious and the strike was called off.

Meanwhile, the first co-operative factory was opened, employing 150 strikers, and working at full blast. The young Federation came out of the struggle of three years tempered, reinforced, compact and ruling practically all bottle factories in Italy. Conscious of its strength, it imposed upon the Trust a new contract for the year 1904-1905, reaffirming its rights and demands.

Its aim was to provide work for the strikers. The money needed for the first plant was put up by the federated workers. Some sold their last belongings, some raised a loan on their little house or small patch of land, some took their last pennies out of the savings banks — all contributed in some way to the erection of the federal factory. The Co-operative bought an old bottle factory in Leghorn, rebuilt and modernised it, and in October 1903, the fire in the first furnace was lit. Soon the need of a second furnace was felt. The strikers and the bottle-blowers, after their regular daily work, transformed themselves into masons, mechanics and helpers, and set to work on the construction of the second furnace. They worked day and night, hardly drawing any pay for their enthusiastic efforts, and finished the construction of the furnace in 47 days, which under normal circumstances takes at least six months of uninterrupted work, and all this was done by the sentiment of solidarity, without the urging of a capitalist employer and without professional technical aid.

The first business year of the Co-operative showed a net profit of 15,000 lire, surprising when we consider the difficulties which every new enterprise has to meet.

Mentions and Discussions

• July 1912: Odon Por and F. M. Atkinson, in "Syndicalism", The English Review, reprinted in The Living Age (July, August, September 1912), 79-88.
• December 1912: Odon Por, in Odon Por, "Syndicalism in Action: How the Italian Glassblowers became their own Employers", Wilshire's XVI.11 (December, 1912). 6-8.
• February 1913: Emma Goldman, in Emma Goldman, "Syndicalism: Its Theory and Practice", Mother Earth VII.12 (February, 1913), 421-422.
• March 1913: Samuel W. Ball, in "Industiral Socialism in Italy", International Socialist Review XIII.9 (March 1913) and The Glass Worker X.114 (March 1913), 1-2.