Filipino community members in Southern California have joined the strike of C&H Sugar Refinery workers in Crockett, Contra Costa County, California. Among them are members of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan SoCal, Migrante San Fernando Valley, Malaya Daly City, Anakbayan LA, Anakbayan Hayward, and the Defend Negros NorCal Coalition.
In addition, allied groups including the International League of Peoples’ Struggle-USA, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines-USA, and Friends of the Filipino People in Struggle-USA joined the action.
On June 15, more than 100 C&H Sugar workers began their strike to condemn the company’s anti-worker plans. These include eliminating healthcare benefits for retirees, reducing sick leave and overtime pay, removing the seniority system for promotions, and unfair scheduling on weekends. Most of the workers have been with the company for decades, have suffered workplace injuries, and receive unfair wages. The company also subjects workers to extremely hazardous working conditions, with many reporting injuries such as lost fingers, feet, or arms, and bone fractures.
The union is under the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 6.
C&H (California & Hawaii) Sugar is owned by the American Sugar Refining Group, the world’s largest cane sugar refiner and seller. It is one of the corporations holding a sugar monopoly in the US. The company earns nearly $1.6 billion from importing cheap raw sugar, including from the island of Negros.
According to Defend Negros NorCal, the events in Crockett and Negros show that the ruling class, using the state, is ready to employ repressive tactics to further exploit workers and peasants.
The union’s picket line in Crockett is being attacked by C&H, bypassing the strike by bringing in replacement workers, moving operations to nonunion warehouses, and employing outright violence. This includes an incident last week where a vehicle plowed into a crowd gathered in Crockett.
In the Philippines, state violence against workers is overt and intense. In recent years, state agents have killed labor leaders such as Jude Fernandez and Dandy Miguel. This year, the reactionary military massacred farmworkers, peasants, and civilians in Toboso, Negros.
According to Anakbayan LA, C&H directly benefits from the violence against peasants in Negros.
“There is a direct link between the violent conditions and suffering of Filipinos and the conditions in the refineries in the Bay Area,” the group said. “It is important that we continue to learn where our food and other basic needs come from, and whose lives are being sacrificed to silence the truth.”
