Workers in Italy are ready to launch another general strike if Israel attacks or obstructs the Global Sumud Flotilla, ramping up pressure after September’s nationwide stoppage.

After a general strike that reverberated across the region, workers in Italy are continuing their struggle in solidarity with Palestine and the Global Sumud Flotilla. Roughly 100 daily actions are now taking place across the country, a vivid reminder to the Meloni government that the people of Italy – unlike their administration – stand firmly with the Palestinians.

One of the most manifest epicenters of this movement is Genoa, home of the dockworkers’ collective CALP, which has, in many ways, helped spark the current wave of mobilizations. On September 22, tens of thousands of people joined the city’s demonstrations in support of the general strike, pouring into the port, explains Valerio Villanova from Potere al Popolo’s chapter in Genoa. This included more than 5,000 students from both universities and high schools. “On that day, the marches alone brought the city to a halt,” Villanova told Peoples Dispatch. “These events have proven, once again, that the only force capable of responding to the dominant logic of our times are organized workers.”

Blocked cargo, occupied schools

In the days following the strike, dockworkers and citizens in Genoa and other ports blocked ships suspected of carrying cargo to Israel. “In Genoa, Livorno, Ravenna, Taranto, and Trieste, we have blocked Israeli ships, making sure our labor is not used to load arms and death,” wrote the grassroots trade union Unione Sindacale di Base (USB). “We have chosen our side: resistance, justice, and freedom for the people of Palestine.”

Mobilizations continue outside the ports as well. Villanova emphasizes the activities of students from collectives such as OSA and Cambiare Rotta, who occupied school and university buildings even ahead of the September strike, facing repression but refusing to back down. Their actions, together with the workers’ efforts, have reinforced the pressure on Giorgia Meloni’s government to end complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza and break ties with the occupation authorities.

This cycle of action has shaped what Villanova terms a “permanent mobilization.” Thousands are now participating in the public assemblies while staying alert to an urgent call for another general strike. USB has pledged to launch such an action if the Global Sumud Flotilla – currently en route to break the sea blockade of Gaza – is attacked or prevented from reaching its destination. The stakes for the authorities grew even higher as one of Italy’s largest trade union confederations, CGIL, recently joined USB’s initiative.

“If someone thought we were tired or had given up, if they thought they could wear us down, they made an enormous mistake,” said Paolo Rimassa from USB Liguria region. “Workers have chosen – clearly and without hesitation – to say no to what is happening in Palestine and to support our comrades on board the flotilla.”

The strike has also given a boost to international alliances. On September 26-27, CALP hosted an assembly in Genoa with port workers from Greece, France, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and the United States, among others. The participants tentatively agreed on a draft declaration envisioning “ports of peace,” pledging to resist complicity in genocide, the arms trade, and Europe’s rearmament.

The inspiration of September 22 was frequently evoked at the Genoa assembly. Jamal Jaffreh of the Palestine New Federation of Trade Unions (PNFTU) noted that news of the strike had reached Palestine itself as an image of true solidarity: “solidarity that is effective and impactful.”

Now, the momentum grows through permanent assemblies monitoring the flotilla’s voyage and preparations for a national Palestine solidarity demonstration in Rome on October 4. USB has already issued a guide for striking in both public and private sectors, and is, together with CALP, collecting solidarity funds to support striking workers. Anticipating both Israeli attacks on the flotilla and government repression at home, the unions emphasize they are ready for another shutdown. “No security decrees, no oversight commissions, and no anti-strike laws will stop us,” Rimassa said.

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