Intersectionality and trade unions: A tale of class and identity?

Abstract

Referring to the Italian context, this article aims to map two examples of class-based trade unions – one mainstream and one grassroots – through an intersectional lens. It explores how class-based unionism responds to the increasing class heterogeneity, shaped by intersecting social relations such as gender, race, age, gender identity and disability. Here, intersectionality is understood as a structural approach to trade union activity that, by focusing on power-shaped social relations rather than individual identities, enables an analysis of how unions recognize the needs of marginalized workers, translate these into collective bargaining, and integrate these workers into their internal structures and decision-making processes, to foster their voice within the union.

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