Latest news with #JoséMartí
Miami Herald
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
May Day, May Day, May Day: A universal distress call for workers
This May Day we are sounding the alarm. May 1, International Labor Day, is more than a date; it's a movement for justice, equality and dignity for working people. We honor the enduring power of solidarity and the fight for justice in the farm fields, streets and our classrooms, all of which are currently under attack. The struggles of workers and civil rights have always been intertwined. From Cuban patriot José Martí, who fought for the dignity and freedom of workers across the Americas in the 19th century, to Mexican-Amercan Cesar Chavez, who led the United Farm Workers' movement in California in the 1960s to fight for better wages and conditions, history has shown that the fight for labor rights is inseparable from the fight for human rights. In Latin America, Martí championed the rights of the oppressed and believed that true liberty could only be achieved when workers were treated with dignity and respect. In the United States, from labor strikes of the late 1800s to the Memphis sanitation workers' strike of 1968, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, workers have always stood at the center of the fight for civil rights. Workers have endured many injustices while leading the charge for a better future for all. Today, that fight continues. The Trump administration has aggressively targeted union rights, especially for federal workers. In March, Trump issued an executive order nullifying contracts for thousands of federal employees. The administration also eliminated collective bargaining rights for all Transportation Security Administration workers, affecting over 40,000 employees. It has also gutted worker protection agencies by firing staff at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and cutting the Department of Education, making our workplaces less safe and our ability to provide resources for students with disabilities and vulnerable children in rural and urban communities less attainable. From Washington, D.C., to Tallahassee, extremist politicians are working overtime to silence our collective voice. Here in Florida, state leaders have pushed dangerous legislation like 2023's Senate Bill 256 to weaken worker rights, silence educators and block workers from organizing for better pay, safe workplaces and basic dignity. These attacks hurt our children, families, futures and communities. But we are not backing down. May Day is a celebration of the power of solidarity among all workers. It is a reminder that across race, background and job title, we are standing together for a Florida and a nation where workers are respected, voices are heard and no one is left behind. While immigrant workers are harvesting our produce under the hot sun, SEIU nurses are saving lives, AFSCME workers are cleaning up our streets, TWU drivers are taking people to and from work and UTD educators are giving students access to opportunities through education, we demand that Congress do their job. We need Congress to take back their power and enact the checks and balances that exist in the U.S. Constitution. All of us have a job and we expect Congress to protect our democracy from fascism. That is why, on this International Labor Day, I ask you to stand with workers everywhere by speaking out, organizing and resisting authoritarianism attempting to take away our rights. Join the thousands of people who are taking up public spaces and demanding justice for education, workers, healthcare and opportunities for all. The movements across our nation are growing and will be more impactful when we all stand in solidarity of our collective rights. As the chant goes, 'When workers' rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!' Because when we fight together, we win. And when we rise in solidarity, we rise for all. Karla Hernandez-Mats is the outgoing president of the United Teachers of Dade.
Miami Herald
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Radio Martí resumes broadcasting to Cuba, but its future remains uncertain
With its familiar theme, a century-old song honoring Cuban independence hero José Martí, playing once again, Radio Martí resumed broadcasting to Cuba on Wednesday, reversing a controversial decision following President Donald Trump's order to reduce its parent agency to the minimum. The U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Radio and TV Martí and the Martí Noticias website through its Office for Cuba Broadcasting, notified federal employees who had been placed on leave on March 15 that they could return to work at its Doral location, sources with knowledge of the decision told the Miami Herald. Radio Martí announced Wednesday it was returning to the air in a publication on X. The Martí Noticias website also resumed publishing stories on Wednesday. In an executive order signed on March 14, Trump ordered the U.S. Agency for Global Media to reduce its functions and personnel to the minimum required by law. The order also affected Voice of America and other outlets it funded, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. Radio Martí first aired in 1985, and its temporary shutdown sent shockwaves throughout the Cuban-American community. The founder of the Cuban American National Foundation, Jorge Mas Canosa, spearheaded the effort to create Radio Martí under President Ronald Reagan to facilitate the flow of uncensored information to Cubans on the island. The foundation called on Trump to 'reconsider his decision' to dismantle it, saying shutting the station down is 'a long-cherished desire of the Castro dictatorship.' 'Radio Martí has been a beacon of hope, allowing both the United States and the entire world to understand the reality of Cuba, while also serving as a vital source of information for Cubans on the island,' the foundation said in a statement. 'This cut comes at a critical time for the Cuban people, who are facing total internet disconnections, power outages lasting longer than 48 hours, food and medicine shortages, and constant repression. In this context, Radio Martí not only informs but also represents a lifeline for an unarmed and dying population.' Several Cuban dissidents and recently released political prisoners also criticized efforts to dismantle the station, calling it a 'bulwark' against government abuses. The U.S. Agency for Global Media did not immediately answer questions about the decision to resume Radio Martí´s operations. Previously, Kari Lake, appointed by Trump as the agency's senior advisor, had said it would 'shed everything that is not statutorily required.' She also said that 'waste, fraud, and abuse run rampant in this agency' and that it was not 'salvageable.' Radio Martí returned to the air after Cuban American Republican members of the Florida congressional delegation made terse statements — without overtly criticizing the administration — that they wanted to see the iconic radio station back on the air. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, the vice chair of the powerful House Appropriation Committee and a staunch supporter of the Martí stations, had said he was working with the administration 'to see how we can reverse it, or at least find a way to provide radio and communication services for the Cuban people, which is essential.' Still, much of the Martí stations' future is up in the air. Contractors fired due to Trump's executive order have not been rehired. They make up almost half of the about 75 workers at the Office for Cuba Broadcasting and mainly produce content for the radio station, the website, and an audiovisual production unit that substituted for television programming. Under new leadership, the Office for Cuba Broadcasting has been devoting more resources to the station's digital operations in recent years and has revamped its social media strategy. The Office also rebuilt a network of collaborators inside the island who, at the risk of being arrested by Cuban authorities, could report on issues and send videos for Martí Noticias and its social media accounts. Some of those leading efforts to focus on the digital side were recently hired employees who were also fired under a separate executive order targeting probationary employees.
