Officine Zero, former RSI (Rail Service Italia) was dedicated to the maintenance and repair of sleeping cars. When in Dec. 2011 Italian train services decided to stop the night train service and invest in fast track trains, RSI closed. Some 20 workers out of the almost 60 employees strong work force did not accept the closing and took up the struggle. They found support among the activists from the nearby social center, ?Strike.? In February 2012 they occupied their work place. Together they started a laboratory on reconversion, organizing public assemblies attended by hundreds of people. Precarious workers, independent workers, craftsmen, professionals and students joined the occupation. The mixture between old and new work forms, bringing together different precarious work situations, trying to overcome isolation and individualization is an important core idea of the project.On 2 June 2013, Officine Zero was officially founded as an eco-social factory. Officine Zero means ?workshops zero?: ?zero bosses, zero exploitation, zero pollution?, as their new slogan says. The name also points out that they had to find a new starting point. ?That was the idea of putting together a workplace without bosses,? Miriam Freschi explains. In half a dozen workshops as carpentry, padding, metal works and general repairs the workers at Officine Zero dedicate themselves mainly to recycling domestic appliances, computers and furniture. The common project is to turn the former sleeping car repair facility into an industrial reuse and recycle center. OZ is administrated horizontally by all workers, from the workshops together with the precarious workers sharing an office floor in the former administration building. ?Occupy, Resist, Produce ? Officine Zero? follows the workers? activities, discussions and initiatives to gain back work, income and dignity by building a democratic and self-determined work place.
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