Workers and the World: Fighting Ecological Crisis from Within

CONNECTING WORKPLACE STRUGGLES WITH COMMUNITY MOVEMENTS TO CONFRONT TODAY’S ECOLOGICAL CRISIS

Workers are not doomed to be merely the victims of environmental devastation. As Lorenzo Feltrin shows, they can be key actors in preventing it. Because labour supports an unsustainable system of endless growth, it holds a central place in any strategy for our long-term survival.

Bringing Italian workerist theory into dialogue with a range of traditions from dependency theory to ecofeminism, Feltrin examines the intersection of labour and nature across the globe. By addressing several urgent dimensions of the ecological crisis, such as automation, precarious employment, imperialism and social reproduction, he offers a new framework for understanding how labour struggles and environmental justice are intertwined. 

Lorenzo Feltrin is a researcher at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. He grew up in Treviso, close to Venice and its industrial hub, Porto Marghera. In Treviso, he took part in the occupations that established the Django Social Centre. He is active in international social movement networks mobilising on labour and environmental issues, such as the Ex GKN Florence’s autoworkers struggle for a just transition.