CNOC union fighter celebrates 98th birthday.

Paradoxes of history: only three months after the rise to power of Gerardo Machado, who had promised the Yankee tycoons during his visit to the United States that under his government «no strike in Cuba would last more than 24 hours», the workers created their first national trade union confederation.

It was the National Workers Confederation of Cuba (CNOC), constituted at the Third Workers Congress held in Camagüey from August 2nd to 7th, 1925, 98 years ago today, according to journalist Alina Martínez Triay, deputy editorial director of the newspaper Trabajadores.

«A singular fact of the opening was the election as president of the session of the only woman participant in the conclave, Juana María Acosta, representative, together with the outstanding proletarian fighter Alejandro Barreiro, of the delegation of the Union of Workers of the Cigar Industry in General».

In her opinion, an outstanding role in the creation of the CNOC was played by graphic leader Alfredo Lopez, with his intense unitary work since the early 1920s at the head of the Havana Workers Federation.

«Practically the only item on the agenda of the III Congress was the creation of the trade union organization, in addition to discussing doctrinal issues, tactics and modalities of struggle. Nevertheless, agreements were adopted, such as the demand for an eight-hour workday, insurance against work accidents and measures for the protection of women and children.

«Solidarity with the imprisoned comrades, condemnation of the expulsion by the government of foreign union fighters, the fight against the infamous trafficking of West Indian immigrants by the big sugar companies and the need to organize the sugar proletariat, the most numerous and exploited in the nation, were made clear».

Martínez Triay tells that the executive committee of the CNOC was integrated by leaders representative of the diverse ideological currents prevailing in the union movement and David Ante, from the broom makers union, a labor fighter very close to Alfredo López, was elected as general secretary.

Due to his formidable organizational skills, López became the soul of the Confederation, until his assassination in July 1926.

«The first Cuban trade union center contributed decisively to the forging of unity, the elevation of combativity and class consciousness of the workers. In its beginnings it was subjected to the most brutal repression and managed to recover under the leadership of Rubén Martínez Villena, who as a lawyer served as legal advisor, soon recognized as its maximum leader».

He recalls that under Martínez Villena’s leadership and that of the Communist Party, the first great mass action against the dictatorship took place, the successful 24-hour general strike of March 1930, which involved more than 200 thousand workers and employees.

«Threatened with death, Villena had to leave the country, but the struggle did not stop. In his absence the constitution of the National Union of Sugar Industry Workers was achieved.

«When in 1933 a strike initiated by economic demands took on a political character, Villena, who had returned to the homeland to give to his people the last energies of his organism broken by the disease, led together with the Party the powerful popular movement that on August 12th overthrew the machadato».

With a sadness difficult to hide, Martinez Triay laments that «Ruben barely had enough strength to organize the IV Congress of Trade Union Unity, held in January of the following year, an event that coincided with his death».

She said that the Congress was attended by Lázaro Peña, who was already emerging as the future leader of the Cuban workers, and who became the Confederation’s general secretary in 1935.

«Lázaro had the arduous task of leading the reconstruction of the trade union movement, disarticulated after the bloody crushing of the March strike of that year. That process culminated in January 1939 with the creation of the Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC). At that moment its worthy predecessor, the CNOC, concluded its historical mission».

Written by Eva Luna Acosta Armiñán.