With a militant spirit and the outstanding participation of young workers, USB-Italy organized two successful presentations of George Mavrikos’s book “Critical Notes on the History of the World Trade Union Movement – Issues of Tactics and Strategy.”
Rome – May 29
The Italian capital was the setting for the first event, organized by the USB. Pierpaolo Leonardi, Head of the European Office of the WFTU, opened the session with remarks on the book and its author. George Mavrikos then took the floor, and the event turned into an open dialogue with the audience. The most remarkable feature was the enthusiastic presence of young people, who infused the encounter with a militant energy through their questions and proposals.
Turin – May 30
A second presentation followed the next day in Turin. P. Leonardi alongside Cinzia Dellaporta, both leading cadres of USB and WFTU, delivered the keynote speech. The historical path of the World Federation of Trade Unions and its uninterrupted 80 years of action were thoroughly reviewed.
George Mavrikos stressed in his address:
“The current CGIL leadership bureaucracy dishonors the glorious history of struggles of the Italian working class. Today’s CGIL collaborates with and is an accomplice of the ruling class. It shares seats and dialogue with the state-sponsored trade union institutions of Israel. It is a bureaucratic mechanism of class collaboration.
Today, the true heir of the militant traditions of Italy’s class-oriented trade union movement is USB. We call on all workers of the country, on the entire working class, to strengthen the ranks of USB, which honors the 80 years of the WFTU, and which continues and pays tribute to global Italian workers’ leaders such as the giant Giuseppe Di Vittorio, fighter in the Spanish Civil War and President of the WFTU.”
At the end, young participants fired up the room with a now-iconic chant:
La la la la CGIL
La la la tells lies and you pay the price
La la la la CGILWe are USB!
We block the weapons, we drive out the bosses
We are USB!
See photos below:
