Labor Protests As Political Responses

The paper aims to explore the impact of political reforms on labor protests, and on the unions and organizations supporting them. In doing so, we complement theories centered on economic factors and workplace organizations as key dimensions influencing labor action. Drawing on insights from contentious politics, we argue that political reforms not only lead to an increase in labor protests but also broaden the spectrum of unions and organizations mobilizing workers, as they pose a threat to a diverse range of actors. We focus on labor protests in post-2008 Italy (2008-2023), a country deeply affected by the 2008 recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to these crises, a series of reforms was implemented, significantly impacting workers’ rights, wages, job precarity, and overall working conditions. Using a dataset built through protest event analysis (PEA), we analyze changes in labor protests and the unions and organizations involved from 2008 to 2023, with particular attention to variations during periods of reform implementation. The results indicate that spikes in labor protests are closely linked to the passage of reforms throughout the period, with the field of actors expanding significantly during these moments. In particular, reforms introduced in the aftermath of the 2008 economic recession led to greater intersectionality, fostering increased collaboration between labor unions and other social movement organizations. During the Covid-19 period, non-working categories and professional groups intensified their involvement as well. The conclusions explore how the changing landscape of worker mobilization, driven by the involvement of diverse actors, both revitalizes labor movements and simultaneously challenges their internal unity, as differing actors’ agendas can strain the unity and cohesion of labor movements.