Los Angeles trade unionists launch solidarity organization with Filipino labor movement

Los Angeles, CA – On Sunday, July 26, over 100 activists from different organizations came together to celebrate the launch of Bulosan – a network fighting for the labor movement in the United States and international solidarity with unions and workers in the Philippines.

“The core of our organization is made up of union organizers and workers who understand the importance of building genuine trade unions, building solidarity between workers in the Philippines and workers in southern California, and organizing overseas Filipino workers to contribute to the struggle back home. Before launching our organization, we grew to include several more organizers and workers and we are now growing every week,” said one of the Bulosan organizers.

The program started with report-backs from U.S. union members who recently went on a labor solidarity trip to the Philippines and saw firsthand the militancy and discipline of the KMU trade unionists. They noticed that workers in the Filipino labor movement are connected and involved across different industries and unions. “When there is a labor action in the Philippines, everybody comes out for it,” said Ryan Calbreath of the United Electrical Workers.

Then a panel of workers who traveled to Crockwell, California shared their experiences on the picket lines of the C&H refinery strike. C&H ILWU Local 6 workers have been on strike since June 15 over proposed cuts to health care, overtime and sick days. The workers have refused to unload the sugar from the ports where it arrives from sugar plantations of Negros Island in the Philippines.

The panel summated that workers in the Philippines and workers in the United States have more in common with each other than with their bosses. And sometimes, like with C&H sugar, they even have the same bosses.

The program ended with solidarity statements from other organizations including Migrante USA, International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, International Women’s Alliance, and Centro CSO.

Leilani Gonzalez, executive co-chair of Centro CSO, shared a solidarity statement supporting the labor movement in the Philippines. “It’s important to continue to organize and raise the political consciousness of workers, to question the systems of oppression and connect it back to imperialism and join organizations like Bulosan. We look forward to working together more against our shared enemy.”

To learn about how you can support Bulosan, follow them on Instagram: @BulosanLA

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