Last modified: 2005-04-09 by dov gutterman
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Today's NY Times reports a demonstration of Italian Unions.
Accompanying the article is a photo of a crowd in Rome,
brandishing a zebra-striped flag whose significance is unknown to
me.
Albert S Kirsch, 29 March 2002
I found a better photograph of the same demonstration in The
Economist (20 April, page 47). The detail makes clear that the
"zebra-striped" flag is in fact green and white, with a
logo providing a red stripe as well; one version seems to have a
flower on it.
Albert S Kirsch, 23 April 2002
I found <www.cisl.it>
, the site of the Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori,
which I take to mean "Confederation of Italian Workers'
Syndicates." The home page has the flag shown on it, apparently
13 stripes as follows: V-W-R-W-V-W-V-W-V-W-V-W-V and a white
canton extending over the first four stripes, and the letters
CISL in red on the canton, the L extending to form the red
stripe. There also seems to be some kind of red device next
between the hoist and the C.
Joe McMillan, 23 April 2002
I think the correct translation of italian
"sindacato" (or perhaps "sindicato"?) is
rather "trade union". The english cognate
"syndicate" usually meaning "criminal
association".
Anto'nio Martins, 6 May 2002
Actually, the English word syndicate does not primarily mean a
criminal association, although that is a secondary meaning.
The primary meaning is a group of people combining for a common
purpose. Probably the most common use in American English
is in referring to the groupings of newspapers that share the
distribution of certain features such as cartoons, opinion
columns, horoscopes, advice columns, and so on. Since
today's the Monday after the Kentucky Derby, it comes to mind
that thoroughbreds are also often owned by syndicates.
Many scholars writing in English translate
sindacato/sindicato/syndicat and cognate forms with
"syndicate" while others, referring to the same
organizations, use "union." Provided that there
is no difference in Italian practice between a
"sindacato" and a "unione," I would have no
quarrel with rendering CISL as Confederation of Italian Labor
Unions, "labor" obviously being preferable to
"trade" as a translation of "lavori."
And the CISL website spells the word "sindacati," so I
assume that is correct in Italian. When I typed the
original message, it seemed wrong to me, too.
Joe McMillan, 6 May 2002
It's right, according to my Italian dictionary. The word is
derived from "syndicus", a Late Latin word (of Greek
origin!) meaning some kind of city official. It comes to English
from old French. Note also that "syndicalism" is a
political movement advocating control of industry by labor unions
(syndicates).
Al Kirsch, 6 May 2002
It's from Greek "sundikadzoo" = to judge together,
co-judge, hence "sundikaste's" - co-judge; regular
readers of Euripides, Platoon, Lysias and Aristoteles may
recognize it...
Jarig Bakker, 6 May 2002
FIM (Federazione Italiana Metalmeccanici) - Italian Metalworkers' Federation
FILCA - Piedmont
by Jaume Ollé, 27 March 2005
FPS (Federazione dei Lavoratori Pubblici e dei Servizi) - Public and Services Workers Federation
FPS - Lombardy
by Jaume Ollé, 27 March 2005
FNP (Federazione Nazionale Pensionati) - National Pensioners Federation