The La Tondeña strike was a protest action that happened in October 1975, notable for being the first major strike to be held after

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

' 1972 declaration of martial law in the Philippines. It is also considered as one of the first major open acts of resistance against the Marcos dictatorship and an important turning point for the period.

Strike

The strike began on October 24 when 500 workers, organizing themselves as the Kaisahan ng Malayang Manggagawa ng La Tondeña Inc. (Union of Free Workers of La Tondeña), Hess, Steve (Mar 2, 2013) Authoritarian Landscapes: Popular Mobilization and the Institutional Sources of Resilience in Nondemocracies. Springer Science & Business Media. stopped work and barricaded themselves in the facilities of La Tondeña, then the largest distillery in Asia. Their demands included the elevation of casual workers to permanent status, maternity leave for female workers, and an end to illegal firings. The strike was originally possible under the rules of Martial Law because La Tondeña was not considered a critical industry, so Marcos eventually responded by proclaiming a decree that outlawed all strikes across all industries.

Crackdown

The strike ended 44 hours later when Marcos' forces cracked down on the protesters, including various Catholic religious workers who had decided to support the protester's cause.

Media coverage

Journalism was heavily stifled under the Marcos dictatorship. Only news organizations owned or taken over by

relatives Relatives can refer to: * Kinship * ''Relatives'' (1985 film), a 1985 Australian movie * ''Relatives'' (2006 film), a 2006 Hungarian movie * "Relatives", a song by Irving Berlin See also * Relative (disambiguation) Relative may refer to: Gene ...

or cronies of Ferdinand Marcos were allowed to reopen after the declaration of martial law. However, a few independent publications were later able to operate. ''Signs of the Times'', a small mimeographed publication by the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines, ran stories on the La Tondeña strike in October 1975, the first big strike to defy martial law.

Aftermath

As stories of the La Tondeña strike spread, the event became a symbol of resistance. Despite the arrest of the strikers, the strike was a considered a victory by La Tondeña workers, as well as the entire labor movement. La Tondeña agreed to immediately hire as regular employees more than 300 workers and promised to regularize 300 more. The workers issued a statement that said, "We achieved in our two-day strike what we were unable to obtain in almost five years of appeals and negotiations with the

Department of Labor A ministry of labour (''British English, UK''), or labor (''American English, US''), also known as a department of labour, or labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workfor ...

Leaders and supporters

Labor rights activist

Edgar Jopson Edgardo Gil Mirasol Jopson, more popularly known as Edgar Jopson or Edjop (September 1, 1948 – September 21, 1982), was a Filipino activist and active member of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) during the reign of former President ...

played a key role in organizing the protest, among other things coining the protest phrase "Sobra na! Tama na! Welga na!" (lit. It's too much already! Enough! Time to strike!). The slogan would become a popular catchphrase used by the labor protest movement until the ousting of Ferdinand Marcos during the

1986 People Power revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of ...

more than a decade later.Pimentel, Benjamin (1991) Rebolusyon!: A Generation of Struggle in the Philippines. NYU Press. Another organizer of the strike was labor leader Eliseo "Elsie" Estares, who was later recognized by

Kilusang Mayo Uno Kilusang Mayo Uno (), also known by its initials KMU is an independent labor center in the Philippines. It promotes "genuine, militant and patriotic trade unionism". The KMU was established on May 1, 1980 to fill a clear need for a workers' or ...

with a Gawad Lingkod Obrero for his heroism and contributions to the labor movement. The strike received support from the religious sector, and was backed by such leaders as Father Joe Dizon, Sister Mary John Mananzan, and former priest Luis Jalandoni. One of the first "outsiders" to learn about the plan for the strike was Sister Ason Martinez of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (ICM), who was ministering with the

Rural Missionaries of the Philippines The Rural Missionaries of the Philippines is a national organization in the Philippines composed of female and male religious clergy and laypeople. The organization engages in missionary and advocacy work among rural communities of farmers, fisherfo ...

at the time, working in the urban poor communities of Tondo including La Tondeña. She joined the picket line to support the workers, and when Marcos' forces cracked down on the protesters, she confronted the soldiers and dared them to arrest her too, although the protesters later managed to convince her that it would be best for the cause that she not to insist on being jailed. She later cited the La Tondeña strike as a turning point which inspired her later contributions to the resistance against the Martial Law regime.https://bantayogngmgabayani.org/bayani/sister-asuncion-martinez/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tondeña 1975 in the Philippines Manila during the Marcos dictatorship Presidency of Ferdinand Marcos 1975 labor disputes and strikes Labor disputes in the Philippines