Goals
Time period
Country
Location City/State/Province
Methods in 1st segment
Methods in 2nd segment
Methods in 3rd segment
Methods in 4th segment
Methods in 5th segment
Methods in 6th segment
Additional methods (Timing Unknown)
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Leaders
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External allies
Involvement of social elites
Opponents
Nonviolent responses of opponent
Campaigner violence
Repressive Violence
Cluster
Classification
Group characterization
Groups in 1st Segment
Segment Length
Success in achieving specific demands/goals
Survival
Growth
Total points
Notes on outcomes
The workers did not lose their jobs and stayed strong throughout and after the campaign, keeping the strike committees and organizing groups together.
By day 2 of the campaign, the participants grew from 420 workers to 8000 supporters, also garnering support from allies like the politicians of Ticino.
Database Narrative
The cargo division of Swiss Federal Railways (SFR) had repeatedly been suffering financial deficits for a few years and even changed top management. On March 6, 2008, SFR announced a major restructuring plan that involved shutting down its maintenance workshops; more than 400 jobs were to be cut as a consequence. 126 jobs were to be cut in the town of Bellinzona, Switzerland. These workers represented SEV (Transport Workers’ Union), UNIA (an active trade union in service industries), and Transfair (a Christian trade union).
The workers demanded detailed information on the plan. In the morning of March 7, 2008, an assembly of workers demanded that SFR clarify the rumor of job cuts. They forced Nicolas Perrin, the managing director, to provide an answer and he said that the rumor was true; there would be job cuts. Immediately, 420 workers of Bellinzona depot rose up and threw Perrin out of the assembly hall. The workers then decided to go on strike indefinitely. They demanded the withdrawal of all plans for the job cuts. The workers elected a strike committee, with Gianni Frizzo as the chairman. The committee organized the campaign and managed the negotiations. They also formed a solidarity committee in every town and factory of the region in order to keep the strike running.
On March 8, more than 8,000 people marched along the streets of Bellinzona, waving flags and balloons that said “Hands off the job,” and yelling the same phrase. On March 12, the SFR suspended the restructuring plans while the two sides held round-table talks for negotiation. The company offered a two-month suspension of job cuts if the strike ended. On the following day, the workers rejected the offer. On March 15, the workers made it clear that they demanded the withdrawal of all job cuts.
A group of politicians from Ticino (the region of which Bellinzona is a part) launched a solidarity fund. The strike workers collected more than one million francs (more than 600,000 Euros). The strikers also received political support from the Ticino canton government and the bishop of Ticino, who also coordinated financial aid.
During the strike, the strikers occupied the maintenance workshops and welded the rail tracks together to prevent trains and wagons from going in and out. Over Easter weekend, they also threatened to block the Gotthard Tunnel, blocking all traffic between the Ticino district and Italy. The workshops in Bellinzona were the only ones capable of producing special brakes for cargo trains, so their bargaining power proved to be a crucial factor. The strikers hung red flags from windows and balconies that said “Hands off the Workshops.” They collected funds and signatures on street corners.
Realizing the economic constraints of the company, the strikers proposed a future management plan for the workshops that were intended to be closed.
On Saturday, April 5, 2008, Moritz Leuenberger, the head of the Federal Department of Transport, withdrew the plan for job cuts. The future of the cargo workshops remained undecided, but the jobs would not be cut for the time being.
Influences
This strike was soon followed by a demonstration in Bern, organized by the industrial workers who were also to be affected by the restructure plan (2).
Sources
Wallace, Ellen. "Bellinzona train cargo workers settle in for long strike." Translated from 20min.ch article. GenevaLunch. Mar 10, 2008. Web. Oct 24, 2010. <http://genevalunch.com/blog/2008/03/10/bellinzona-train-cargo-workers-settle-in-for-long-strike/>
Sarti, Roberto. "Major strike shakes Switzerland - the Bellinzona railway workers." In Defense of Marxism. Apr 18, 2008. Web. Oct 24, 2010. <http://www.marxist.com/major-strike-shakes-switzerland-bellinzona-railway-workers.htm>
Landon, Vincent. "Railway workers end strike." World Radio Switzerland. Apr 8, 2008. Web. Oct 24, 2010. <http://www.worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/railway-workers-end-four-week-strike.shtml?10588>
Videos:
"1°maggio2008 - MANIFESTAZIONE SINDACALE A BELLINZONA." Youtube. Posted by alessioarigoni. May 4, 2008. Web. Oct 24, 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?index=14&playnext=1&v=2dM9dt0T3H0&list=PL020218B0EC30F46D>