Difficulties in the glass sector came to a head during the first decade of the
Twentieth century.
In December 1903, controversy between Alfonso Nardi and several master glassmakers
regarding wages turned into a long strike whose effects were felt at national
level, creating tension throughout the town.
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The case of Colle Val d'Elsa was not isolated because conflict was rife in almost
all the glassmaking towns of the peninsula.
Cries for wage increases hid a fear of change, such as the diffusion in
Italy of mechanised production processes. In other countries, where it was
already commonplace, mechanised production had caused serious unemployment
problems and had upset the traditional organisation of the glass world,
eliminating the privileges enjoyed by the master glassblower.
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In 1906 Nardi handed the business over to a trust called the United Crystal and
Glassworks Society, the cartel formed by almost all the Italian white glass
firms thanks to the investment of capital by Banca Commerciale Italiana.
As with the other Italian factories that belonged to the trust, the dispute in
the two Colle factories started up again and continued amidst bitter contrasts
and reduced production until 1911 when they closed down.
The following year the grinding department, the only one to have remained partially
active, also closed.
