The Italian Federation of Hat Workers ( it, Federazione italiana lavoranti cappellai, FILC) was a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

representing hatters in Italy. The union was founded in 1901, on the initiative of the

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

trades council, which itself had been founded by the local hatters' union. From 1902, the union was led by Ettore Reina, a former compositor. By 1902, the union already had 5,220 members, and that year, it achieved the first in a series of

collective agreement A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...

s. In 1906, it became a founding affiliate of the General Confederation of Labour (CGL). The union focused not just on improving the pay and conditions of its members, but also on solidarity action in the defence of workers more generally. It affiliated to the International Union of Hatters, and from 1921 hosted the international's headquarters. By 1922, its membership had reached 8,470. However, the rise of fascism in Italy led to a decline in membership, and the union was banned in 1926. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the union was revived as the Italian Federation of Hat and Allied Workers (FILCA), and it affiliated to the

Italian General Confederation of Labour The Italian General Confederation of Labour (; CGIL) is a national trade union based in Italy. It was formed by agreement between socialists, communists, and Christian democrats in the "Pact of Rome" of June 1944. In 1950, socialists and Christi ...

. The industry was in decline, and by 1954, the union's membership was only 4,087.{{cite book , last1=Mitchell , first1=James P. , title=Directory of Labor Organizations: Europe , date=1955 , publisher=United States Department of Labor , location=Washington DC , page=17.24 In 1966, the union merged into the new

Italian Federation of Textile and Garment Workers The Italian Federation of Textile and Garment Workers ( it, Federazione Italiana Lavoratori Tessili ed Abbigliamento, FILTEA) was a trade union representing workers in the textile and clothing industries in Italy. The union was founded in March ...

General Secretaries

:1902: Ettore Reina :1927: ''Union banned'' :1945: Ettore Reina :1948: Stefano Ongarelli

References

Hat makers' trade unions Trade unions established in 1901 Trade unions disestablished in 1966 Trade unions in Italy