Towards an ecological transition from below

Insights from a workers' mobilization in the automotive sector

Datos Bibliográficos

ID9537465
AutoresMassimiliano Andretta (0000-0003-0985-366X, University of Pisa, autor de correspondencia), Paola Imperatore (0000-0001-8634-8910)
Año2026
Volumen61
Número1
Páginas66-85
Fecha de publicación2026-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaActa Politica (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0001-6810 • E-ISSN: 1741-1416
EditorialSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1057/s41269-024-00352-8
OpenAlexW4402013513
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias 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