Unión de Impresores de Filipinas
The Unión de Impresores de Filipinas (UIF, English: Printers' Union of the Philippines) was one of the first national trade union centers in the Philippines, along with the Unión Obrera Democrática Filipina. Established in 1906, it was a national union of all workers in the printing trade intended to consolidate them into a single confederation.[1]
Unión de Impresores de Filipinas | |
Predecessor | Unión Obrera Democrática |
---|---|
Successor | Congreso Obrero de Filipinas |
Founded | 1901/1902(as the Unión Democrática de Litografos, Impresores, Encuadernadores y Otros Obreros) 1906 (as UIF confederation) Santa Cruz, Manila, Philippine Islands |
Location | |
Key people | Hermenegildo Cruz Felipe Mendoza Crisanto Evangelista Ciriaco Cruz |

History
The first labor union in the Philippines, called Unión Democrática de Litógrafos, Impresores, Encuadernadores y Otros Obreros[2] (in Spanish, lit. '"Democratic Union of Lithographers, Printers, Bookbinders and Other Workers"'), was established in either December 1901[3] or in January 1902 by Isabelo de los Reyes.[4] Not long after its founding, the members reorganized themselves into Unión Obrera Democrática (later Unión Obrera Democrática Filipina) as a trade union federation.[2]
Hermenegildo Cruz is credited with conceiving the idea for a national trade union center as an ultimate solution to the problems labor leaders were encountering in the consolidation of its members. Following the disintegration of the Unión Obrera Democrática Filipina, in 1906, such a union for the printing trade, called Unión de Impresores de Filipinas, was re-established during a meeting held in Santa Cruz, Manila, this time as a confederation. Felipe Mendoza, a lithographer and Cruz's right-hand man, was elected president. Crisanto Evangelista, a typesetter, was Secretary-General; this was the first occasion Evagelista was associated with the labor movement as a leader. Ciriaco Cruz was indicated as an official, however his position is not mentioned in the records. In 1918, the UIF had an election and reshuffling of officers.[1]
References
- Guevarra, Dante G. (1995). History of the Philippine Labor Movement. Rex Bookstore. p. 28. ISBN 971-23-1755-2.
- Halili, M.C. (2004). Philippine History. Rex Bookstore. p. 196. ISBN 978-971-23-3934-9.
- "The First Labor Day and other pre-World War II milestones in the workers' movement in the Philippines". National Historical Commission of the Philippines. September 6, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- Enriquez, Virgilio G. (1986). Philippine World-view. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 104. ISBN 9971-988-19-4.