On this day, 19 April 1968, while 6,000 textile workers were on strike against redundancies in Valdagno, northern Italy, scabs were sneaked into the factory under police protection. The workers were brutally charged by police leading to them fighting with the 1,000-strong police force, occupying the factory and toppling the bronze statue of the factory’s founder, Count Gaetano Marzotto (an iconic moment, as Count Marzotto had until then had been widely depicted as an enlightened benefactor). 47 workers were arrested.
More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9064/valdagno-textile-strike
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