Born in Venice in 1949. After the diploma in accountancy, in 1970 he started working in the Manufacturing of Light Alloys in the Port of Marghera and he enrolled as a student-worker in the Faculty of Sociology in Trento.
In 1971, he began to work in trade unions, firstly as a union steward in the factory board, and then, full time, in FLM.
From 1973 to 1982, he was provincial secretary and then regional secretary for FIM of the Veneto region.
In 1984, he was elected national secretary of FIM in which he was in charge of the iron and steel industry, then of the organisation and finally of the motor industry. With this last charge started the long period of the reconstruction of FIAT and of the agreement for the new FIAT site in Melfi.
In 1997, he was elected Secretary General of the FIM.
In 1998, he was elected union secretary for CISL with responsibilities of the contractual department of the services sector.
From January 2001, he is responsible for the department of Democratic Economics, Social Economics, Inland Revenue and Social Security.