The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-09-17
The Labor Movement in the
Philippines

against anownng bourgeois clique who
captulate betrayed rebellion
Subsequently, the Americans defeated the Spnards or the revou
the Philippines directed primarily Spanish DONNA
n and commenced the mancpao movement of the
people It only after three of bitter struggle that the
The small labor unions that Manila the capital of the
knowledge
the labor And find the Spanish labor
render mutual aid emanatng spirit of cooperation between
ter and thus taken model for the labor movement of
the Philippines The predomnance of macae and handcraft in
dusty greatly facilitated the growth of these forms of the
and to this day have a strong hold on the islands.
nt thanks to the ntoerabe position of the woershe reu
the high of living that followed the protracd and the
oc policy of the Americans with the Americans in control the trade
from 100000 1895 100000
1903 growth that only possible by enhancing the exploitation
repessons by against
labor since the labor organza
lions proetaran character there being small
bitter struggle leaders he majority
whom we mot at D to use the Labor n s @ as
ton 90 when the parliament of the Philippines first
weakened labor organizations universally recognized
that time that the labor would have gather its forces
gether tsefa task that undertaken by the
e new unions catering for the tobacco workers carpenters
ta boot and shoe operatives and others organized
basis which made it impossible for of the employing
class become members By the first of May 1913 all these
izaons had and formed the Philippine Labor Coneshe largest
National Labor Federation in the Islands.
The bitter struggle that again between the pocansh
retarded the of the
group subsequently
Right the labor zeaously
the capitalists in the labor movement of the Philippines.
Philippines very high indeed In 1927 of about workers en-
pyed in industry transport and trade Gncudg umberers and
fishermen working hre) organized
637 belong the Labor Congress mot counting the agricultural
workers. 268 belong the Federation of Labor while 286
up Independent Agricultural
Workers Confederation affiliated the Labor Congress- likewise
became strong factor in the labor However, the
percentage organized among agricultural altogether
negligible The Confederation has less than $4,000 workers lined
aSes are P fhaa 100000 employed the as
The growth of the numerical strength of the workers organ
tons especially during the beginning with
1917 hand hand with the rapid growth of industry At that
many enterprises arose. equipped
engineering employing
also marked increase the number of workers the
railways transport
Despite the fact that large number of the workers
lied the trade unions the mutual aid societies other
tion the whole labor of the Philippines
still characterized by its marked division, the
m Some Of the organizations could not boast of anv members ont
given factory seamen
ON The idea of class still had strong hold the workers
unonis 1t the organaa structure of the Labor
which loose federation of various organizations the fact that
published and dues fixed that prevented the
Congress from becoming real organ uniting and leading the labor
labor movement in the Philippines its complete isolation from the
International labor
weakened the unit weight of the labor organizations in the political
M hs s the % @ nnen rs5G Party I
of their leaders who usually belonged of the b
SUD- vital question for the working of the Philippine
workers followed the lead of the bourgeoisie
But the last marks the labor
of the Philippines 1t ushed by the
the revolutionary China and the that the Philippines
the orbit the International revolutionary labor
when the Labor affiliated
Civilization middle Immediately
after the PanPacc Trade Union
to the fine work carried out by the revolutionary
section of the labor in the Philippines strengthen
unions to reconstruct them the industrial principle trade
union activities going at the factories plants strengthen unity
and propagate the idea of international working class solidarity urging
mpacabe class lead and the strengthened strike of the
last period the already achieved in the trade field have
certainly been remarkable Philippine workers Chi
workers together Chinese Philippine
operatives struck than months the woodwore
strike should also be
united in the socaed Philippine Laboers Association which
close contact with the Labor efforts
the native bougeoi foster spirit national antagonism
eral strikes that the end of 1928 beginning
remarkable for the solidarity the
workers especially during the strike of last December
10000 workers to protest the
tobacco workers leaders (who had struck a scab).
The conservative elements however, fuouy resisting
the continued rehabilitation of the labor Philippines
the right of the labor
the left wingthe radicals the
the internal struggle the Council the Congress
the the organizations controlled by
aged the policy
Subsequently, the ntensaon Of
tendencies led split the Labor
of