Filipino Activists Respond To Crackdowns On Labor Organizing

By Steve Bynum
A supporter of opposition senatorial candidates lights candles at the foot of the People Power Monument to pray and urge people to vote on May 13 midterm elections Thursday, May 9, 2019 in Mandaluyong city northeast of Manila, Philippines. Monday’s midterm elections which will elect twelve senators, congressmen and local leaders, is largely seen as a test of President Rodrigo Duterte’s hold on his leadership.
A supporter of opposition senatorial candidates lights candles at the foot of the People Power Monument to pray and urge people to vote on May 13 midterm elections Thursday, May 9, 2019 in Mandaluyong city northeast of Manila, Philippines. Monday's midterm elections which will elect twelve senators, congressmen and local leaders, is largely seen as a test of President Rodrigo Duterte's hold on his leadership. Bullit Marquez / AP Photo
A supporter of opposition senatorial candidates lights candles at the foot of the People Power Monument to pray and urge people to vote on May 13 midterm elections Thursday, May 9, 2019 in Mandaluyong city northeast of Manila, Philippines. Monday’s midterm elections which will elect twelve senators, congressmen and local leaders, is largely seen as a test of President Rodrigo Duterte’s hold on his leadership.
A supporter of opposition senatorial candidates lights candles at the foot of the People Power Monument to pray and urge people to vote on May 13 midterm elections Thursday, May 9, 2019 in Mandaluyong city northeast of Manila, Philippines. Monday's midterm elections which will elect twelve senators, congressmen and local leaders, is largely seen as a test of President Rodrigo Duterte's hold on his leadership. Bullit Marquez / AP Photo

Filipino Activists Respond To Crackdowns On Labor Organizing

By Steve Bynum
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International Labor Day, or “May Day”, was on Wednesday, May 1. It’s the day that workers and labor organizers have observed since a general workers strike in Chicago’s Haymarket Square on the same day in 1886 to demand an eight-hour workday. The demonstrations turned violent and a number of protesters were killed. To commemorate, union representatives from around the globe joined demonstrations in Chicago. Two labor organizers from the Philippines visited Chicago: Ed Cubelo, chairman of Metro Manila’s May First Movement chapter; and Mong Palatino, a blogger, activist and former congressman. As next week’s local elections approach, they join today’s show to talk about President Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdowns on labor organizing, their movement to increase the national minimum wage, and the extrajudicial killings of farmers, organizers and President Duterte’s political opponents.