The article goes over union history in the textile sector and the pecu-liar aspects of bargaining on working time in this sector in the last thirty years. Looking back over the 105 years since the foundation of th union from the perspective of two actors in the front line - enterprise delegates and in the leadership of the national textile union of the Cgil - the paper analyses the restructuring and reorganisation processes involving the textile industry: from the first collective negotiations on working time and the greater use of plants and flexibility, in the search for a more advanced synthesis between the competitive interests of the enterprises and the workers’ individual and collective requirements, until more recent years characterised by the globalisation process and the national contract signed in 2000.only subscribers can see the full article