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Car parts factory,
Campi Bisenzio, Juni 2022

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For about 11 months we have been here
as an open-ended assembly,

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since 9 July
last year

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we are here to
fight for our jobs,

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and also to rise up together
with the wider working class community,

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and together with all those who have
the consciousness and the will

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to improve things
for everyone.

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The factory has been at a 
standstill since that 9 July at 6am.

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It's a bit like
in one of those horror films

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where suddenly everybody disappears
due to some catastrophe.

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On this Friday morning at 6am
everything was left behind,

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with the conviction that on Monday
work would be resumed.

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GKN has decided

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to interrupt our work.

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They have dismissed 
us without notice.

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And we responded
by coming here.

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These bodyguards that the company 
had hired, were waiting for us.

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Then at some point there were lots 
of us and we smashed the gate.

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We sent these bodyguards away.
Then the mayor came

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and the police and
we went in

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and started an open-ended
assembly.

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We are in the
GKN union hall,

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now ex-GKN.

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Here, we assembled
the collective,

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the trade union delegates,
the works council.

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We have the historic flag
of the Fiom, Fiat Auto Mirafiori

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because the GKN
used to be Fiat.

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So we are very much connected
with this past.

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There is a photo of
Fiat from the 1950s.

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So we have always been 
very attached to Fiat,

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with its struggles
and its defeats,

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and from which we have tried
to learn as much as possible.

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This, on the other hand,

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the flag of Rojava, because we are
very attached to Lorenzo Orsetti,

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a partisan from Florence
who died in Rojava,

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a short time ago, in 2018.

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26 July

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is the flag of the
Cuban Revolution.

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Because many of us are
sympathisers of the 26th of July.

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We generally sympathise
with all impossible struggles

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where the little guy challenges the giant
or the established power.

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And basically Cuba has
always symbolised that.

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Besides, here 
in Campi Bisenzio

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we have a meeting place called
Camillo Cienfuegos

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and many of the
workers of this factory

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grew up visiting 
this meeting place,

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which is inspired by 
the Cuban revolution,

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as far as ideals 
are concerned,

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and as an example of resistance
and struggle, of dignity.

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What killed us

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was not only losing
our jobs,

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but that we lost our
social intimacy.

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On a personal level, I really 
received an emotional blow,

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because if you need work,
you find work.

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But here it is
the sense of community,

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which I also felt 
with my colleagues.

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Because I have a relationship
with every single person.

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As president, and because
I have done trade union work.

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I have been 
here 21 years,

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I have had a good
personal career,

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not a money career, like these people,
who just close up and walk away.

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They are murderers,
not people.

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It's like from
one day to the next

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your whole life
is taken away.

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For we were
and are

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the classic white metal workers
inside Fortress Europe

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and therefore thought
that the dismissal,

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from one day to the next,
suddently losing your salary

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that this would
not affect us.

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Instead on this 9 July

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they treated us like 
they treat everyone else!

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A smile please!

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We are organising
now for our anniversary

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on 9 July.

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We set the team,
who is there, who is not there,

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what is bought, 
where we sell,

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the plan, where to put the benches
where to prepare things...

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We are workers, but we
are also very organised.

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We do not lack strength!

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How did you manage
to organise yourselves so quickly,

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after you
got fired?

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Because we rolled 
up our sleeves.

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We already have an
internal instinct.

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And we are organised
because we are a community.

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It is true that we are divided,
but within the factory

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we also helped each other,
talked to each other.

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Therefore we can
organise ourselves spontaneously.

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From the beginning the
local working class community responded

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with great solidarity.

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Also the normal passer-by,
the associations, the clubs,

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immediately made themselves 
available to help us.

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There was so much solidarity,
we felt a warmth,

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at least personally I felt
an enormous warmth,

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really enormous.

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Right from the start,

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i don't remember
whether it was 11 August?

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- Earlier.
- Earlier? Yes.

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...we organized a 
demonstration in Florence,

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where already a few days
after the start of the assembly

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about 5,000 people
took part!

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In such a short time a lot of
people have started to follow us.

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Then there was

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the 18th of September

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where 40,000 people
participated.

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And that was partly
a surprise,

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because it was really
a sea of people.

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Let us rise up, let's rise 
like the sun in the morning!

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Let us rise up, let's rise 
like the sun in the morning!

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"Let's rise up" is
the motto of the partisans,

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who liberated 
Florence in 1944.

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What kind of man are 
you if you don't fight?

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What kind of man are 
you if you don't fight?

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Let us rise up, let's rise 
like the sun in the morning!

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Let us rise up, let's rise 
like the sun in the morning!

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I am here today as the partner
of a sacked worker,

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as support group
for the struggle of GKN,

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which was created the same day
this email was sent.

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And I am also here as a worker,
this is a demo for all of us.

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We want to fight 
for a society,

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which is organised 
for the workers

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and not for those
who exploit them.

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Let's go, united,
now we rise up!

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We rise up!

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What kind of man are 
you if you don't fight?

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What kind of man are 
you if you don't fight?

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Tears came to my eyes
and in fact, I hid myself,

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to see 18-year-old youth

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who then also 
gave speeches,

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- I saw my
son in them!

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we don't record this!

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My son will be 13 
years old next week.

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And that was really the case:

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What do we 
leave them?

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If we do nothing,
what will they have?

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It is like with
the monuments:

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Monuments of a life
are still standing.

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The houses of today collapse
with a simple earthquake.

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Obviously we are
not doing a good job.

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And when I saw this boy
I saw my son.

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Immediately since 9 July

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we have tried to conduct
our struggle in a different way

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from the way other battles
have taken place.

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We have said,

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that what had 
happened to us

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was the result of an interrelated
series of events,

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which eventually crushed 
all the rights and possibilities

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of the working class
in this country.

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And that therefore,
to solve our problem,

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it was necessary to
to solve it fundamentally!

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And so we did not 
tell the community:

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"Let's save our jobs".

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We said:

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"Let us rise up together
to make sure

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that these processes are solved
thoroughly and collectively.

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How did we manage to bring 
30,000 people to the streets?

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We have always been
a multi-relational factory.

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We knew that the only
defence against the company,

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the financial fund, 
big capital, is solidarity.

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That is why in
all these years

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we were present in 
all the struggles.

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And we always tried
to strengthen all social ties,

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to be active in the eco
and antifascist movements,

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or even just on a basic level,

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many of us were and are
volunteers in Arci clubs,

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in the Civil Defence,
or with the Misericordia.

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Some of us train the
young people at football...

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The fact that we succeeded
to defend our free time,

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against excessive exploitation, 
against overtime,

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has led to the fact
that many of us,

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after the 8-hour work day,
either politically and consciously,

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or not directly
consciously and politically

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had established connections 
with this community.

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So when the 420 workers
were dismissed,

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the whole community
felt torn apart.

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But if we have brought millions 
of people to the streets

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it's because we
made it clear,

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that the problem is not our
individual workplace.

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We, as dismissed 
and unemployed workers,

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were still better off than millions
of freelancers, self-employed,

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precarious and 
agency workers,

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who do not even have the right
to be called "dismissed".

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And so we launched the 
motto, "Let's rise up",

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to say that we have to change
the power relations in the whole country

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to save GKN and
the whole country.

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And so we had 30,000
people on the streets.

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Conversion

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We want a
long-term project.

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Not one that comes,
lasts for a year,

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some smoke in the eyes,

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and then it dies
to silence us.

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We are looking for 
investments for a project

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that is long-term.
Of course, nothing is forever.

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But not something
that lasts a few years!

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Otherwise we are
back to the beginning.

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Create something
where maybe

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our project will lead to 
another project

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and then the circle closes,
that would be even better.

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What we want is that
the production comes back

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along with all
the rights that we had.

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Because we defend a workplace
as a place of production,

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but also as a wealth
of comprehensive rights.

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Because we obtained our rights 
in almost 15 years of struggles.

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We even inherit 
agreements and rights

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from the 1970s
and the 1960s.

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Even some rights that were
taken from us on a national level,

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such as article 18 of the
Italian Workers' Statute.

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We have an agreement here
that this one continues to apply.

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And at the moment
they dismissed us

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saying that the ecological transition
was to blame for our dismissal,

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because the car industry is moving
towards the ecological transition,

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we refused to be held 
socially responsible

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for that ecological transition.

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00:16:27,447 --> 00:16:31,551
Because the ecological transition
must be paid, socially speaking,

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by the big producers,
by big capital

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and certainly not
by the workplaces.

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When I was hired they didn't 
ask me what I would like to produce.

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They hired me
and that was it.

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00:16:41,576 --> 00:16:46,488
At first,
when GKN fled,

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together with the students
of the University of Pisa

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we developed 
two projects:

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One concerned drive shafts
for public transport,

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and the second
to produce hydrogen,

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a gas which is 
completely clean,

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which electric cars
are certainly not.

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So if we could choose, then
we would like to convert

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and be integrated into
Italian bus production,

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an industry which is public,
which produces buses.

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00:17:29,849 --> 00:17:36,955
We believe that this would be the only 
real ecological and sustainable mobility.

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Buses or other
public transport.

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We don't have that choice.

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00:17:42,322 --> 00:17:46,001
The current owner wants to
convert us to electric motors.

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00:17:46,275 --> 00:17:49,378
Pity that for the production
of electric motors

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00:17:49,458 --> 00:17:54,727
the whole plant has to become 
an empty box,

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00:17:54,823 --> 00:17:57,878
in order to then bring 
a different production.

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00:17:57,948 --> 00:17:59,738
So now we have
a factory

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that needs to be turned 
into an empty box

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00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:03,642
before the new
production arrives.

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00:18:03,739 --> 00:18:06,022
As soon as we are 
an empty box

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00:18:06,103 --> 00:18:09,061
they will try
to smash us.

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00:18:09,241 --> 00:18:13,819
So we are trying to bring about 
this re-industrialisation,

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00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:15,881
keeping the 
struggle alive

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00:18:15,968 --> 00:18:18,492
and with guarantees.
Not easy,

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00:18:18,581 --> 00:18:21,914
because the industrialisation of
a factory takes 2, 3 years.

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00:18:22,220 --> 00:18:25,717
And 2, 3 years is a long time.

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00:18:25,905 --> 00:18:29,434
And probably
it is all calculated.

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00:18:29,510 --> 00:18:33,005
They promise us something
that will happen in 3 years.

247
00:18:33,070 --> 00:18:35,506
And  we may 
never get there.

248
00:18:35,717 --> 00:18:39,791
Since these investors
do not budge

249
00:18:39,929 --> 00:18:48,631
because there are allegedly problems
with the stock exchange or whatever,

250
00:18:50,908 --> 00:18:54,809
we are waiting for
something else to develop.

251
00:18:54,910 --> 00:18:58,032
In the meantime we
continue to rise up,

252
00:18:58,110 --> 00:19:02,818
we continue to maintain the level
of internal self-organization

253
00:19:02,881 --> 00:19:04,604
and at the same time

254
00:19:04,855 --> 00:19:08,086
we keep the material.

255
00:19:08,242 --> 00:19:12,413
Which the GKN absolutely
wants back.

256
00:19:12,629 --> 00:19:15,983
All the material must still
stay in here.

257
00:19:18,204 --> 00:19:21,954
The GKN Factory Collective

258
00:19:22,740 --> 00:19:28,256
About ten years ago
we decided

259
00:19:28,432 --> 00:19:32,176
to meet at a club
in the neighbourhood,

260
00:19:32,665 --> 00:19:36,565
and from there we
organised this collective.

261
00:19:37,181 --> 00:19:44,198
We formed the first group,
for which almost everyone had signed up

262
00:19:44,999 --> 00:19:48,576
and every now and then
we met each other

263
00:19:48,715 --> 00:19:56,354
and talked about the 
problems in the factory.

264
00:19:56,501 --> 00:20:00,574
We did that in such a way
that also those

265
00:20:00,670 --> 00:20:06,518
who did not take part in the
union work in the factory,

266
00:20:06,644 --> 00:20:08,919
or who were in another
trade union

267
00:20:09,110 --> 00:20:12,160
were able to participate.

268
00:20:12,263 --> 00:20:14,522
A system to bring 
everyone together.

269
00:20:14,641 --> 00:20:18,331
From the most militant
to the most indifferent.

270
00:20:18,512 --> 00:20:22,953
There was quite a
positive response.

271
00:20:23,094 --> 00:20:25,025
And that helped us.

272
00:20:25,152 --> 00:20:28,556
Firstly, to keep 
us up to date

273
00:20:28,667 --> 00:20:30,270
about everything
that was happening,

274
00:20:30,369 --> 00:20:34,258
also about the problems
of the individual people.

275
00:20:34,371 --> 00:20:40,011
But also to
show to the boss

276
00:20:40,421 --> 00:20:44,184
that he is not completely -

277
00:20:46,003 --> 00:20:47,683
how can I say that? -

278
00:20:47,908 --> 00:20:49,753
that he was not
completely

279
00:20:50,653 --> 00:20:53,007
the boss of everything.

280
00:20:53,510 --> 00:20:58,621
They then reacted
by creating positions

281
00:20:58,807 --> 00:21:02,986
like "the OS operator" or
"the Q operator",

282
00:21:03,064 --> 00:21:07,369
to try and divide us 
a little bit.

283
00:21:09,071 --> 00:21:11,484
- He did not succeed.

284
00:21:11,643 --> 00:21:15,066
Also in this case,
because of course

285
00:21:16,016 --> 00:21:19,725
it was based on
favouritism.

286
00:21:19,811 --> 00:21:24,619
He therefore did nothing other
than to bring many more people to our side.

287
00:21:24,739 --> 00:21:27,819
We have reacted to this 
in a special way,

288
00:21:28,018 --> 00:21:31,317
with merchandising,
with clothing.

289
00:21:31,530 --> 00:21:35,797
We have started
to wear scarves

290
00:21:35,891 --> 00:21:38,804
with the inscription 
"Factory Collective".

291
00:21:38,929 --> 00:21:43,742
The workers who entered the
factory with this scarve,

292
00:21:43,951 --> 00:21:47,314
showed the boss,

293
00:21:48,211 --> 00:21:50,016
that they belonged to us.

294
00:21:51,145 --> 00:21:55,398
It was a very 
positive response.

295
00:21:55,716 --> 00:22:00,988
And then we
slowly made it,

296
00:22:01,106 --> 00:22:07,446
to meet in the union hall
after work, after the shift,

297
00:22:07,905 --> 00:22:11,479
once a week,

298
00:22:11,724 --> 00:22:17,392
to meet with the members of the collective
or in smaller groups.

299
00:22:17,830 --> 00:22:22,468
And in these collectives
we decided what to do.

300
00:22:22,699 --> 00:22:27,692
Both the internal activities
of the union, as well as external,

301
00:22:27,903 --> 00:22:32,189
to go out and bring solidarity 
and support to companies

302
00:22:32,302 --> 00:22:37,040
who were in struggle,
for example Texprint,

303
00:22:37,390 --> 00:22:42,522
which was one of the companies that
brought a lot of solidarity

304
00:22:42,889 --> 00:22:45,024
on the ground with them.

305
00:22:45,210 --> 00:22:48,680
Then also the Bekaert.
We were also at the Bekaert.

306
00:22:49,301 --> 00:22:53,491
- This is how our
activity started.

307
00:22:54,046 --> 00:22:57,583
Probably hundreds
of workers have been here,

308
00:22:57,695 --> 00:23:01,259
who have contributed to the 
organisation of the collective

309
00:23:01,314 --> 00:23:02,922
without knowing it.

310
00:23:03,069 --> 00:23:06,356
Because we 
come from Fiat,

311
00:23:06,435 --> 00:23:09,786
so we know the stories
of the old Fiat workers

312
00:23:09,875 --> 00:23:12,453
about what it was like
in the factory.

313
00:23:12,564 --> 00:23:15,833
They explained
how and why

314
00:23:15,905 --> 00:23:19,159
more or less parts should 
be made with the machine,

315
00:23:19,238 --> 00:23:22,277
how to deal
in everyday life

316
00:23:22,341 --> 00:23:26,071
with the boss and 
the management.

317
00:23:26,135 --> 00:23:29,587
These workers,
which many of us

318
00:23:29,683 --> 00:23:33,555
had got to know
in the 80s and 90s,

319
00:23:33,627 --> 00:23:36,800
had also gradually
been corrupted

320
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:40,080
by a bureaucratic
conception of trade unionism.

321
00:23:40,144 --> 00:23:44,104
We didn't inherit 
this from them.

322
00:23:44,465 --> 00:23:47,656
When in 2007/08 there 
was a fierce conflict

323
00:23:47,767 --> 00:23:50,216
with the classical
trade union organisation,

324
00:23:50,285 --> 00:23:53,960
suddenly workers, 
who until then

325
00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:57,589
had not been 
active in the union

326
00:23:57,669 --> 00:24:01,701
but were interested in football 
or in going out dancing,

327
00:24:01,843 --> 00:24:04,552
were forced to organise
the union themselves.

328
00:24:04,624 --> 00:24:08,280
And they find that
to say no to something,

329
00:24:08,360 --> 00:24:12,920
to have a stomach ache,
to say no to organisation...

330
00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:14,960
I'll stop...

331
00:24:15,095 --> 00:24:16,095
What is this?

332
00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:19,720
This is the shift bell
that's still ringing.

333
00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:22,440
If you want 
to record it...

334
00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:29,120
When in 2007/08 there is a break with
the official trade union organisation,

335
00:24:29,264 --> 00:24:32,145
the internal union
is taken over

336
00:24:32,208 --> 00:24:35,640
by workers,
who up to this point

337
00:24:37,649 --> 00:24:40,929
were not unionised,
who were interested in

338
00:24:41,005 --> 00:24:44,600
in soccer or dancing.
They knew what they didn't want.

339
00:24:44,683 --> 00:24:46,123
They did not want

340
00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:50,840
the old, bureaucratised and
moderate trade union organisation,

341
00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:55,240
and they discovered
that it was difficult,

342
00:24:55,326 --> 00:24:57,540
to realise a trade 
union model

343
00:24:57,640 --> 00:25:00,600
based on the participation and
consciousness of the workers,

344
00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:05,040
which in the end is the only model
that can save us.

345
00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:07,400
In our opinion
the most important thing

346
00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:09,499
is to overcome the concept 
of representation

347
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,412
which makes the worker
passive,

348
00:25:12,541 --> 00:25:16,861
while the worker has to 
be active in the decisions

349
00:25:16,895 --> 00:25:20,154
and must take his fate
in his own hands.

350
00:25:20,361 --> 00:25:23,528
Between 2007/08
and 2018

351
00:25:23,591 --> 00:25:26,583
there were constant
strikes and fights,

352
00:25:26,631 --> 00:25:28,718
many agreements 
were fought for.

353
00:25:28,804 --> 00:25:32,057
But there was always a struggle
that was very hard, very radical.

354
00:25:32,165 --> 00:25:33,900
This was a
factory where

355
00:25:34,023 --> 00:25:35,417
when we
whistled...

356
00:25:35,528 --> 00:25:37,128
This is a factory,

357
00:25:37,218 --> 00:25:38,713
where, when we
whistled,

358
00:25:38,777 --> 00:25:41,817
the workers immediately
went on strike.

359
00:25:41,926 --> 00:25:45,246
Often we went on strike, even without
explaining to the workers why,

360
00:25:45,301 --> 00:25:47,903
maybe because of a
sudden event.

361
00:25:47,946 --> 00:25:51,504
Then we went through the rows, 
whistled, everybody walked out.

362
00:25:51,573 --> 00:25:53,669
There was this
degree of cohesion,

363
00:25:53,748 --> 00:25:56,716
but there was no awareness
and no involvement.

364
00:25:56,797 --> 00:25:58,351
So there was
a great trust

365
00:25:58,414 --> 00:26:00,849
towards 2, 3,
4 elements,

366
00:26:00,949 --> 00:26:04,513
but these elements could
not do everything on their own.

367
00:26:04,576 --> 00:26:07,608
Could not and cannot.

368
00:26:08,402 --> 00:26:09,939
Then, little by little,

369
00:26:10,002 --> 00:26:13,371
we tried to create more and more 
models for participation.

370
00:26:13,502 --> 00:26:17,106
When then the Melrose
Financial Fund came in 2018

371
00:26:17,195 --> 00:26:22,009
we realised that this was probably
our last big challenge.

372
00:26:22,137 --> 00:26:26,676
So we started to stress
the topic of participation.

373
00:26:26,747 --> 00:26:30,000
That is where the factory
collective came into being.

374
00:26:30,322 --> 00:26:34,360
We started to make it clear
that trade union work

375
00:26:34,472 --> 00:26:37,376
does not only mean
being in the works council,

376
00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:40,464
or being a member
a trade union.

377
00:26:40,622 --> 00:26:42,375
But that it is about
participation,

378
00:26:42,463 --> 00:26:45,526
which consists of voluntary work,
militancy, activism.

379
00:26:45,602 --> 00:26:49,336
And all this then, when we
were suddenly closed down

380
00:26:49,486 --> 00:26:50,878
paid off.

381
00:26:50,986 --> 00:26:53,710
Because if we hadn't had this
participatory model,

382
00:26:53,824 --> 00:26:58,495
we would not have been able 
to resist for so many months.

383
00:26:58,591 --> 00:27:01,782
The other element of our
trade union organisation

384
00:27:01,844 --> 00:27:04,519
was openness.
Openness to outsiders,

385
00:27:04,584 --> 00:27:06,901
to those we call 
"the Solidarians".

386
00:27:06,941 --> 00:27:12,380
For example, in 2018 we already 
had an external support group.

387
00:27:12,444 --> 00:27:17,077
So if there were graphic designers, 
workers from other sectors

388
00:27:17,157 --> 00:27:19,668
or comrades from
the social centres,

389
00:27:19,739 --> 00:27:22,533
from left organisations
who wanted to help us,

390
00:27:22,744 --> 00:27:24,533
there was the
support group.

391
00:27:24,601 --> 00:27:27,041
And from the support group
we needed everything:

392
00:27:27,168 --> 00:27:31,290
From social media
to graphics, everything.

393
00:27:31,672 --> 00:27:35,402
Everything that we 
we couldn't do internally.

394
00:27:35,867 --> 00:27:39,449
Looking from abroad:
How can people

395
00:27:39,537 --> 00:27:43,332
support this struggle
or become part of it?

396
00:27:43,553 --> 00:27:46,602
(Because we come
from Germany.)

397
00:27:50,179 --> 00:27:54,516
Unfortunately we had no time
to be internationalists.

398
00:27:54,715 --> 00:27:56,225
Although we are.

399
00:27:56,289 --> 00:27:58,889
We just didn't have
the time.

400
00:27:58,951 --> 00:28:01,046
Because the truth is:

401
00:28:01,165 --> 00:28:06,093
The international trade union 
and inter-union links

402
00:28:06,149 --> 00:28:08,230
are often the most difficult.

403
00:28:08,296 --> 00:28:12,858
Also because they have the 
most bureaucratic constraints.

404
00:28:12,935 --> 00:28:17,310
We tried to set our issue within 
the European Works Council,

405
00:28:17,375 --> 00:28:21,964
the "International Works Council"

406
00:28:22,048 --> 00:28:25,026
but we found ourselves 
up against a brick wall.

407
00:28:25,194 --> 00:28:29,359
There were of course
statements of solidarity

408
00:28:29,442 --> 00:28:33,716
from the international 
trade unions,

409
00:28:33,747 --> 00:28:34,787
absolutely.

410
00:28:34,843 --> 00:28:38,112
But this is never
translated into a practice.

411
00:28:38,193 --> 00:28:42,046
At most a few 
consultations in Brussels.

412
00:28:42,669 --> 00:28:45,638
But it leads to nothing.

413
00:28:46,319 --> 00:28:49,122
So although we had no time
to be internationalists

414
00:28:49,900 --> 00:28:52,237
although we are,

415
00:28:52,309 --> 00:28:57,067
what we can 
start trying,

416
00:28:57,212 --> 00:29:00,248
which, by the way, you
are doing right now,

417
00:29:00,370 --> 00:29:03,333
is to translate
the material that we have,

418
00:29:03,372 --> 00:29:06,972
and to explain this struggle
in other languages.

419
00:29:07,075 --> 00:29:10,932
Which we have not yet
had the time to do.

420
00:29:11,057 --> 00:29:13,257
At the moment
unfortunately

421
00:29:13,321 --> 00:29:17,060
we can't do any other
concrete practical actions.

422
00:29:17,141 --> 00:29:19,427
We are busy

423
00:29:19,543 --> 00:29:25,943
with trying to
rise up in Italy,

424
00:29:26,139 --> 00:29:30,948
not because we think it's possible
to stand up on our own in Italy,

425
00:29:31,090 --> 00:29:34,420
but because we hope
that news will come

426
00:29:34,547 --> 00:29:37,150
of a swelling battle,

427
00:29:37,225 --> 00:29:40,889
- in the future also in the other
countries, Europe and beyond.