Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Havana, August 7.- On this day, the National Confederation of Cuban Workers (CNOC, for its acronym in Spanish), a benchmark for the trade union movement of the island, was founded in this capital.
On August 7, 1925, under the leadership of Alfredo López, the CNOC emerged, becoming the voice of the working class in a time of intense class struggle and labor exploitation.
When it materialized, it brought together trade unionists, reformists, and socialists, and had one of its most unconditional allies in the first Communist Party, founded by revolutionaries Julio Antonio Mella and Carlos Baliño several days later.
The organization was focused on improving the economic and social conditions of the working class and confronting the tyrannical regime of Gerardo Machado. It also was the protagonist in notable popular mobilizations, among which stands out the historic strike that, in August 1933, ended the Machado regime.
Despite the challenges, it continued to operate clandestinely and held its IV plenary session in July 1935.
The island's first proletarian union was dissolved between January 23 and 28, 1939, when the Confederation of Cuban Workers was established in its place, the precursor to the current Cuban Workers' Union, which includes all the country's unions. (Text and photo: PL)
