Unione Sindacale Italiana
The Unione Sindacale Italiana ( USI - Union of Italian Syndicalists ) is the umbrella organization of Italian syndicalists . He played an important role in the course of the " Biennio rosso ", the attempt at socialist revolution from 1919 to 1920.
Early history
The USI was founded in 1912 when a group of union activists who had previously belonged to the Confederazione Generale del Lavoro (CGI) met in Modena . You renounced reformism and decided to found an organization based on the radical principles of the First International .
Most of the syndicalist associations joined the USI, which was subsequently involved in many significant disputes. After the outbreak of the First World War , a dispute arose within the USI about the continuation of the anti-war course that had been held up until then. It ended when the interventionist national syndicalists around Alceste de Ambris , Filippo Corridoni and Giuseppe Di Vittorio left . The USI then remained on an anti-intervention course, chaired by Armando Borghi and Alberto Meschi .
Syndicalism and Fascism
After the end of the war, the USI achieved the highest number of members to date in the Biennio rosso. In the two "red" years 1919 and 1920, around 1,000,000 people had joined it. The USI took part in the founding congress of the International Workers' Association (IAA) in Berlin in December 1922 . She used the Spanish name “Asociación Internacional de los Trabajadores” (AIT) for the IAA.
As USI-AIT, it became the main opponent of the Italian fascists in the street battles of the Biennio nero , especially in the battles for Parma , where its members faced the Arditi of Italo Balbo in August 1922 . It was banned by the fascists in 1926 , but continued to operate underground and in exile. She fought against the putschists under General Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War alongside the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) and the Federación Anarquista Ibérica (FAI).
post war period
After the end of the Second World War and the proclamation of the republic, the remaining members followed the call of the Federazione Anarchica Italiana (FAI), which called for participation in a unified union. They joined the Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (CGIL). When the CGIL split in 1950, some activists re-established the USI-AIT. However, they could no longer build on their previous effectiveness.
today
The USI is mainly represented in northern Italy with local associations and is particularly anchored in the education and health sectors. She publishes the newspaper “Lotta di Classe” ( Class Battle ).
In December 2016, the USI, together with the CNT and the Free Workers' Union (FAU), was expelled from the IAA after these three member sections had spoken out in favor of a "reform of anarcho-syndicalism on an international level".
It is one of the founding members, which was founded in 2018 the International Confederation of Workers * inside (IKA, English: International Labor Confederation , ICL ).
literature
- Hans Manfred Bock : Syndicalism and Left Communism from 1918-1923 . Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft (Abtl. Verlag), Darmstadt 1993. Updated edition from 1969. ISBN 3-534-12005-1
Web links
Individual evidence
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^ Statement of the XXVI Congress. International Workers' Association (IWA-IAT), December 5, 2016, archived from the original on December 7, 2016 ; accessed on December 7, 2016 . Declaration of the FAU Congress 2016. FAU, May 17, 2016, accessed on December 31, 2016 .
- ^ Founding of the International Workers' Confederation (IAC) in Parma. FAU Berlin, May 14, 2018, accessed on November 24, 2018 .