Luigi Borrelli | Grassroots Union (USB)/Workers from the civil airport in Brescia (Italy)
Good morning, everyone. I’m Luigi Borrelli, a union delegate for the “Unione Sindacale di Base”(USB, Grassroots Union), and a member of the Union Delegates’ Council at the Montichiari Civil Airport in the Province of Brescia. I sincerely thank you for inviting me to this conference, even though I’m not here in person. You see, I start from a simple belief: workers play a decisive role in stopping or slowing down the transport of military equipment.
We have concrete tools at our disposal, such as strikes, picket lines, and conscientious objection; and above all, we have a moral and civic responsibility. We must not be accomplice in a system that fuels wars and drives civilian populations to despair. At Montichiari Airport, whenever we learn of a flight scheduled to load military equipment, the USB together with the workers, calls for a strike and organizes picket lines in front of the airport.
We do this to inform the public that, at a civilian airport staffed by civilian workers, explosives and weapons are being handled-putting at risk the safety of those who work there and the residents living near the airport. These actions have caused significant disruption. At times, the landings of military aircrafts have been delayed and, at other times, flights carrying military equipment have even been canceled. Whenever we speak publicly about these activities, we face disciplinary actions.
First, warnings, then increasingly severe penalties—from four days to six or eight days of suspension. But let me make this clear: they do not intimidate me in the least, because this battle is not just about me; it concerns the dignity of labor and the future of our communities. You see, we are living in a historic moment in which a war economy is being built.
From the United States to the European Union, people talk about rearmament as if it were inevitable, but we know that every euro spent on weapons is a euro taken away from public healthcare, schools, pensions, and local communities. History teaches us that as poverty grows, so do social tensions, and we risk reaching a point where workers will be asked to root for wars, because without wars, they’ll tell us, the economy grinds to a halt and jobs disappear. An absurd choice: either wars or hunger.
That is why the time for division among unions—especially grassroots unions—is over. We must join forces, involve workers, and build a broad—based mobilization against rearmament, against all wars, and against all genocides—from Gaza to Africa. On the other side, the arms lobbies, economic powers, and reactionary forces have already united. We must respond with strength, solidarity, and participation. I thank you once again for this opportunity and for listening. Let’s move forward!