A chain of workers’ struggles: How labour protests spread in time and space

Abstract

The article examines labour struggles under conditions of extreme exploitation, looking at the accumulation of resources and the learning processes in the evolution of the workers’ protests within the Italian logistics sector. Focusing on worker mobilizations at Mondo Convenienza, a leading furniture distribution company, using protest event analysis and qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews, the research traces a decade-long chain of protests characterized by fragmented yet progressively interconnected actions. Bridging social movements and labour studies approaches, the article is a novel examination of the spreading of protests in time and space, analysing how workers navigate structural power disparities, leveraging grassroots and traditional union strategies to resist outsourcing, precarious employment and anti-union practices. Despite significant repression, the protests underscore the potential for resource accumulation and learning across time, contributing to a nuanced understanding of labour activism.