Towards an ecological transition from below

Insights from a workers' mobilization in the automotive sector

Dados Bibliográficos

ID9537465
AutoresMassimiliano Andretta (0000-0003-0985-366X, University of Pisa, autor correspondente), Paola Imperatore (0000-0001-8634-8910)
Ano2026
Volume61
Fascículo1
Páginas66-85
Data de publicação2026-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoActa Politica (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0001-6810 • E-ISSN: 1741-1416
EditoraSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1057/s41269-024-00352-8
OpenAlexW4402013513
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas9
Referências citadas23

This article aims to shed light on the processes and conditions that enable workers to maintain employment stability and wage security while reorganizing production to effectively address the ongoing climate crisis. By thoroughly analysing a case of workers' mobilization within the automotive sector at the GKN plant in Campi Bisenzio (Florence—Italy), we underline the conditions under which workers may support a transformative ecological transition. Their campaign has rapidly become emblematic of a national movement that integrates social and environmental concerns. Through qualitative analysis of social media content, self-produced documents, and in-depth interviews, we illustrate how these workers, by stepping into a gap left by both the state and the market, have advocated for a credible and radical bottom-up transition plan. This plan challenges the power imbalances within the production system and positions workers and the local community as key stakeholders in plant management, as well as guardians of the local territory and its environment. Their organizational model and identity, strategic alliances, and the specific territorial context in which they operate are conducive to this endeavour

Automotive industry · Business · Context (archaeology · Geography · Identity (music · Mobilization · Political economy · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Transformative learning · Engineering · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact · Mining and Resource Management · Regional resilience and development