Workers' Chains of Struggles: How Labour Protests Spread in Time and Space

Despite structural weakness, labor movements around specific firms in the logistic have stratified in time and spread geographically. Although sporadic, they have managed to leave a somewhat positive legacy and, at certain times, have spread to different nodes within the same firm. In this sense, social movement research could contribute some knowledge on the dynamics of diffusion of labour protests, as characterized by an assessment of similarities and the learning from positive cases.

This paper analyzes the evolution of the struggles of workers at Mondo Convenienza, a large Italian company involved in the sale of furniture, by examining their diffusion processes across space and time from a relational perspective.

We identify three rings as belonging to a long chain of mobilization, looking at their different characteristics in terms of main actors and their strategies, but also at their connections. In this sense, we conceptualize chain of struggles pointing at how, while not directly connected to each other, different moments of contestation, are chained to each other in a process of resource accumulation and cognitive learning. In particular, we analyze how different, loosely connected actors use various repertoires of action to target the company within evolving collective frames, and how they interact with the company's counter-strategies.

The results show that despite frequent defeats, there is nevertheless a gradual accumulation of a range of resources for workers. The learning from each other's experiences, but also their reinterpretation, passes through practices of remembering and comparing present and past protest contexts on the side of activists. Indeed, it is in action that contacts are developed, and knowledge is exchanged.

The research is based on a qualitative approach, through the analysis of press releases and statements (mainly published on Facebook) combined with semi-structured interviews gathered from the main actors involved in the events.