Blackwell Reference Online

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Giuseppe Di Vittorio was among the most influential union leaders in modern Italian labor history , leading the Confederazione Generate Italiana dei Lavoratori (CGIL) in its refounding after Fascism. Born in Cerignola, a rural town in Apulia on August 11, 1892 to a family of peasant workers, after his father's death Di Vittorio was forced to leave school and work as a day laborer. He joined the May 1904 general strike, an event during which five workers were killed by troops in Cerignola. Di Vittorio was strongly influenced by the growth of peasants' organizations and the spread of socialist ideas, giving rise to his participation in the local young socialist organization in Cerignola. He was radicalized by affiliating with the national Federazione Giovanile Socialista (Federation of Young Socialists), an organization led by syndicalists in opposition to the official Socialist Party Youth Federation. In 1912 Di Vittorio joined the newly founded USI, a nationwide union led by syndicalists, serving on its central committee. He was appointed secretary to the syndicalist Chamber of Labor in Minervino Murge, and was instrumental to the dissemination of radical syndicalist ideas, organizations, and actions throughout Apulia. In 1914 after Red Week, Di Vittorio fled to Lugano in Switzerland, returning to Italy after the amnesty to serve as a soldier in May 1915 after Italy joined World ... log in or subscribe to read full text