Strike!

Sciopero! One of the very first words I learned in Italian. I was a student in Florence at the time and it seemed like there was a bus strike – every darn week. When my parents came to visit, their flight back on Alitalia was cancelled because of a strike. The ticket agent consoled them: “Don’t worry, this happens all the time. Its good news for you because it means you get to enjoy our beautiful country for a few days more and you get to postpone your return to work!” This was 1994. You’d think in the 15 years since, the various unions would have ironed out their contractual issues, but no. Things in Italy seem to only have gotten worse (especially with Alitalia). The strange thing is that since then, they keep on re-electing the same tired ineffectual politicians and they keep on striking. Its almost as if they…well, they enjoy the sciopero. And is it a coincidence they almost always happen on Friday?

One of the reasons for Italy’s sciopero obsession is a longtime tradition of protecting workers (even at the expense of consumers) that gives people the strange idea that they’ve the right to campaign for better conditions. Not really such a crazy idea in itself, and there is also a strong tradition of communism here (albeit the Italian variety). But like everything else, some good ideas have been taken to extremes. Everyone but everyone goes on strike, including white-collar workers like lawyers and pharmacists, and traditionally capitalistic workers like gas station owners and taxi drivers and even people you’d never even imagine like the guys who dress up like Roman centurions outside the coliseum. A former colleague of mine once showed up for a court hearing in (in Italy, being involved in a lawsuit means you’ll probably be dead before its over) only to find that the judges had gone on strike! Clearly there is a social problem here…or is it just a socially acceptable way of getting the day off with your buddies? 

While transit strikes, often unannounced, can freeze Italian city centers, residents have long gotten used to this inconvenience and have learned to expect the unexpected. Of course taxis go on strike too, but who really notices when there is a shortage of cabs to begin with? But yesterday I saw something that I’ve never seen before – the highway into Rome was completely blocked by Mercedez-Benzs and BMWs: livery car drivers upset about the recent drop in tourism and wanting government benefits for compensation. All commuters stranded. This Benz-Beemer roadblock repeated itself every kilometer. And in the midst of it all, there was a single police car – cop’s head yelling out the window at one of the cabbies. Cabbie yelling back. That was the only official response to this un-scheduled, illegal, highly disruptive strike, but then I’ve heard that the police have staged their own scioperi. Ok, so maybe tax evasion isn’t Italy’s only national past time. 

Are all these strikes actually accomplishing anything? They don’t seem to, but then the point of most is to prevent change – like decreasing benefits or increasing business competition. In Italy, no change is usually good news. But in the new climate of financial crisis, we can expect more strikes and disruptions like the livery drivers’ – calls for greater government support in the face of a faltering economy. The irony is that these indignant strikers have just re-elected yet again a government that is not only free-market but denies a financial crisis even exists. At least they got to stop traffic for awhile.   

Check out Rome : Alive! often for updated information on strikes.