ASSOCIAZIONI CRISTIANE LAVORATORI ITALIANI (A.C.L.I.). — These are associations of workers whose purpose is to promote the affirmation of Christian principles in life, institutions, and legislation, supplementing and complementing the work of the trade unions for everything that lies outside the specific tasks reserved to the unions themselves.
The emergence of the A.C.L.I. is connected with the unified trade union of each occupational category agreed upon between the Christian and social-communist currents by the Pact of Rome of 4 June 1944. Before Fascism, the trade-union field in Italy was divided between the whites, who looked to the Italian Confederation of Workers, and the reds, who looked to the General Confederation of Labour. In 1926 Fascism suppressed both confederations and replaced them with the single State trade union. At the moment of the fall of the totalitarian regime, the former trade-union leaders Achille Grandi (Christian), Bruno Buozzi (socialist), and Giovanni Roveda (communist) agreed to establish a unified trade-union organization in which workers could coexist, regardless of their religious or political convictions.
In Catholic circles, trade-union unity was accepted as an experiment and also as a contingent necessity resulting from the scarcity of Catholic trade-union organizers, in contrast with the abundance of specialists on the communist side. The need was nevertheless immediately understood to protect Catholic workers from the religious and moral dangers arising from coexistence in the union with atheistic and materialistic workers. Moreover, since the trade union, by its nature, must limit itself to defending the worker’s economic interests, it leaves other needs of a cultural, recreational, and similar nature unaddressed. Hence the need for an organization that would respond to these pre- and para-trade-union needs. Hon. Achille Grandi was its originator and first president.
The coexistence in the unified trade union with the communists, however, proved increasingly difficult for workers belonging to the Christian current. The rupture of the unity pact, which occurred dramatically with the attempted insurrectionary strike of 14–15 July 1948 by the communists, under the pretext of the attempt on the life of P. Togliatti, led the Christian current to withdraw from the C.G.d.L. Consequently, the A.C.L.I. became the backbone of the new trade-union organization. After the A.C.L.I. Congress of 13 September 1948 decided to establish a free, democratic trade union independent of political parties and the Government, and therefore a non-confessional trade union, rather than a white one, as some had wished, the A.C.L.I. retained its character and function as an organization serving religious, moral, cultural, and recreational purposes for Christian workers, whether or not enrolled in the trade union of their occupational category.
Organization. — The A.C.L.I. consist of two distinct organizational forms:
1) the occupational-category organization;
2) workers’ circles.
The occupational-category organization comprises:
a) the Company Units, which bring together all the male and female workers (manual workers, technicians, office employees) of the same company, factory, office, farm, or other workplace;
b) the Municipal Occupational-Category Groups, which bring together all members of a given category and of the same municipality, whether or not they are assembled in Company Units;
c) the Provincial Occupational-Category Groups;
d) the National Occupational-Category Groups.
The secretaries of the occupational-category groups constitute the pre-trade-union technical council, which may be formed at municipal, provincial, and national level.
The Circles bring together workers from a given area and of any category. As a general rule, they have municipal Houses, but where appropriate they may also have neighborhood Houses. A Women’s Section is established in every circle.
Purposes and activities. — In accordance with the statutory purpose,
ASSOCIAZ. CRISTIANE LAV. ITALIANI - ASSOCIAZ. DIOCESANE
the A.C.L.I. carry out educational and religious, moral, social, and cultural advancement work for the benefit of their members; and they strive to ensure that the open and practical profession of the Catholic faith and morality is safeguarded in working environments. They improve workers’ technical and professional abilities in order to better their living conditions. They promote institutions of an economic nature (cooperatives). They have their own patronage organization (v.) for every form of social assistance. They develop sound recreational, artistic, sporting, and tourist initiatives. The A.C.L.I. conduct their activities through the Circoli.
They also prepare Christian workers for trade-union life. Thus they carry out the extremely important and often decisive action connected with elections for internal committees and for trade-union and political representation. When the matter concerns a problem—whether one falling within the content of a collective agreement, such as wage increases or the unblocking of dismissals; or one involving workers’ interests on a broader scale, such as management councils, social security, insurance, the Marshall Plan, etc.—the problem is generally resolved within the A.C.L.I.; its solution is therefore supported by the representatives of the Christian current within the trade-union organization. The A.C.L.I. conduct their para-trade-union activities chiefly in the Gruppi di categoria.
The central presidency publishes Giornale dei lavoratori in various editions for the different specializations; a bulletin entitled « Le A.C.L.I. » and a journal: Informazioni sindacali.