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Issue Number 32, October 2009
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Kapatiran Issue
No. 32, October 2009
WILSON BALDONAZA
- Dennis Maga
Wilson Baldonaza, the Secretary General of the KMU
(Kilusang Mayo Uno – May First Movement trade union
confederation) died in July 2009, after a massive stroke.
He was 55. Ed.
Wilson Fronda Baldonaza was born on August 26, 1953 in
Victoria, Tarlac. He was the second of five children by
Mr. Lino Baldonaza and Mrs. Francesca Fronda (both
deceased). He studied at Victoria Elementary School, and
at Victoria High School where he graduated with honours
in 1970. After high school, he went to Manila to pursue
his college studies. He enrolled at the University of the
East (UE) and took up Bachelor of Science in Civil
Engineering (BSCE). But he was not able to finish his
college degree due to poverty.
Awakening
As early as college, he already got involved in activism.
He became a member of the Samahan ng Demokratikong
Kabataan, a student group. It was the height of student
activism and struggle against the dictatorship of Marcos.
When Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972,
all schools in Manila were virtually closed. All
organisations were also banned. Ka Wilson decided to go
back to the province and helped organise the community
youth in their place. When the political situation
regained some signs of “normalcy” in 1975, he
went back to Manila to look for a job so he could pursue
his schooling. He first became a worker when he got a job
as a security guard at the Manila Domestic Airport.
But this job did not last long. He applied in Mabuhay
Textile Mills in Valenzuela, Metro Manila in 1977 and got
a job in quality control. While working, he enrolled
again in UE. However, the pressure of time between
job and school had taken its toll on his health.
So, he had to give up his schooling after a year and
continued with his work. In 1980, the workers in Mabuhay
Textile formed their union and Ka Wilson became a member.
Ka Wilson was active in the union, taking up trade union
courses, engaging in political and economic discourse,
participating in protest actions and strikes.
Union Leader And Labour Educator
At the height of the Marcos dictatorship in the 80s, the
union experienced greater harassments. Their union
president was forced to resign and to go
underground. The vice president took over and Ka
Wilson was elected as vice president in 1985.
However, the new president was recruited for full-time
work in their labour federation. Ka Wilson took over as
the new union president. In 1986, the union, under the
administration and guidance of Ka Wilson, went on strike
over the management’s violations of their collective
bargaining agreement (CBA). The strike went on for six
months. On the picket line Wilson experienced all
sorts of intimidation and harassment from the police and
the management. Almost monthly, the management through
the local police attempted to break the picket. But
the workers stood their ground.
When the strike was settled, Wilson decided to go
full-time in union organising in the area. In 1987,
because of his experiences in the union, he was elected
Secretary General of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan
(BAYAN, New Patriotic Alliance) – Valenzuela
chapter. BAYAN is the umbrella group of national
democratic organisations in the Philippines. He
remained Secretary General up to 1990. Ka Wilson applied
for a job at the Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education
and Research (EILER) in 1991. He became an educator
for Genuine Trade Unionism and other courses and later
became a Project Evaluator of the institution’s
Daop-Palad project until 1997. He stayed in EILER
for nine years.
In 2000, he decided to go full-time trade union organiser
again, this time in the Kilusang Mayo Uno. He worked
as an organiser in ANGLO, a member federation of KMU.
During that time, ANGLO was experiencing corruption
problems committed by some incorrigible elements in the
federation’s leadership. Wilson led a group of
trade unionists and leaders to fight against these labour
aristocrats and corrupt leaders. They succeeded in
ousting them from the federation. Eventually, due to his
sincerity in serving the interest of the workers, he was
elected president of ANGLO-KMU in 2002 and held the post
until his 2009 death.
National And International Proletarian Leadership
Because of his good record in the trade union movement,
he was elected Secretary General of KMU during its 9th
National Congress in April 2007. He led the workers’
fight on a national scope, oversaw different departments
of the national labour centre, and helped in the
expansion and consolidation of KMU unions and
federations. As a labour leader, Ka Wilson was attentive
to the details of his work – in planning and
substantiating data for his speeches, for example. He
vigorously carried out his tasks in the labour movement,
a reason for him to be called a “workaholic” by
his comrades and friends. He did not let his health
problems prevent him from serving the workers and
people’s interests.
Ka Wilson also studied and taught progressive ideas
diligently. Many of his comrades remember him as the
person who was always updated on the latest events around
the globe. He visited Australia and Europe once in an
effort to explain the situation of workers and
workers’ movement in the Philippines, particularly
under the US-Arroyo regime. During his last years, Ka
Wilson was one of those who initiated a comprehensive
analysis of the State-sponsored attacks against the
labour movement in the country. Many comrades admired his
optimism for the workers’ struggle in the future.
Even if the labour movement suffers from serious attacks,
Ka Wilson believed that it will triumph in liberating the
workers and people from oppression.
Dennis Maga is the National Coordinator of Migrante
Aotearoa, an organiser for the National Distribution
Union in Auckland and a PSNA member. In the Philippines
he was a leading activist in the KMU. #
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