By Mark Friedman on October 18, 2024 from Sacramento CA.
Solidarity among workers, Bill Camp speaking at a CTC meeting in Cuba 2018.
They came from the labor unions, Cuba solidarity committees, human rights, Palestinian and Arab-American struggles, and the Democratic Party to celebrate the life of Bill Camp. Camp was the Executive Secretary of the Sacramento Central Labor Council from 1999 to 2014, and an icon of the labor movement here.
In his early years as an activist, he was involved in the Deep South Civil Rights Movement then organizing California Farm Workers, pressing for workers’ rights at the state capitol, and for the past decades organizing for an end to the US blockade of Cuba and Building Relations with Cuban Labor (BRWCL), the name of the organization which he founded that has taken delegations to Cuba for 9 years.
The Sacramento Central Labor Council of the AFL CIO honored him in their union newspaper with a banner headline “Sacramento Labor Mourns Loss of an Icon, Bill Camp.” Their newspaper remembered Camp “as a warrior for social justice, a powerful force not just for union workers but for all who faced oppression and hardship.”
The celebration incorporated a wide range of speakers including US Congressional Representative John Garamendi who told the audience that “Bill was an extraordinary individual who made an impact on the union movement, who dedicated his life to improving the well-being of people with whomever he interacted, whether negotiating a contract, a political campaign or standing side by side with an individual, he knew what was right.”
Chris Bender, a leader of BRWCL, explained the proud history of the organization Bill and others founded “We have organized numerous labor delegations to Cuba and then followed up with dozens of local unions and major central labor councils statewide, with resolutions against the blockade and to remove Cuba from Washington’s State Sponsors of Terrorism list (SSOT) during Bills decades-long activism with Cuba….Now we have 13 Labor Councils, 11 Local unions, 8 regional labor groups and 2 democratic clubs. – totaling 33 organizations that have passed resolutions.”
BRWCL leader Nancy Yamada pointed out that “Bill would always start with “Do you want to go to Cuba?” And that waswhen I first became actively involved in the Cuba solidarity movement.” She added, ‘Bill and the committee organized its first trip with the Cuban Workers Central (CTC), the equivalent of the U.S. AFL-CIO, to bring union members, officials as well as politicians to Cuba to see the truth and to come back and assist in the campaign for Cuban sovereignty. We the board of BRWCL intend to carry on Bill’s vision and work.”
Speaking for the organization Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Basim Elkarra explained how “Bill came to the aid of the Arab community after 9/11 when we were under siege, he came to every rally and every press conference to advocate for our countries, he brought the Muslim Community closer to the labor movement… The struggles of all of our peoples are the same and now the labor movement must not lose democracy in this country.”
A message from Lianys Torres, Cuban Ambassador to the US further developed this theme… ”Bill was an exceptional human being, a fighter for social justice whose solidarity and commitment to workers in Cuba made him a true example to follow. His inexhaustible generosity and dedication to helping others resonated deeply in all of us who had the privilege of knowing him… In Cuba, he will be remembered for his dedication, his unwavering courage for being a defender of international solidarity among unions, and for the ties that he helped build between our people. Bill will live forever in the hearts of Cubans and his spirit of solidarity will continue to inspire us in our commitment to making the world a better place.”
International Committee for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) North American director, based in Havana wrote: “It is with deep sorrow that we have received news of the death of our dear friend, Bill Camp, executive director of the Building Relations with Cuban Labor dedicated to strengthening the ties between Cuban and US workers and labor organizations.”
Mark Friedman, an activist in the California Machinists Union and a leader of the Los Angeles Hands off Cuba committee (LAHOC) told the audience “I have had the unique opportunity to work and learn from Bill, our last joint effort along with California machinist union leader, Tom Brandon, and others got a historic resolution passed by the 2.3-million-member California AFL-CIO to demand Washington remove Cuba from the SSOT reflecting major changes in the US Labor movement.”
He read an email statement by Kevin Kucera, area director of Machinists TradesDistrict Lodge 190. “I have known Bill for over 35 years; he was a personal friend and also a personal mentor. He was a fearless warrior and an advocate for all working people for our labor and the Civil Rights Movement. Bill’s leadership, passion, energy, and unwavering commitment were unmatched. Bill understood the class struggle and the fight for social justice and dignity for all his leadership, his activism his life’s body of work, and legacy has left an indelible mark on our labor movement.”
Among significant unions that have worked with BRWCL and the LAHOC and won resolutions against the blockade and to remove Cuba from the SSOT, are the International Longshore and Warehouseman’s Union (ILWU). In a message to the celebrants Mike Vera, representing the Inland Boatman’s Union, the Marine Division of the ILWU said “Bill worked tirelessly to educate and advocate for all human rights issues but was a lion fighting against the horrible US policies that harm the Cuban people. I’m very proud to have worked with him and spent time with him in Havana for MayDay 2023. Together with Bob Schwartz of Global Health Partners a recent campaign called Pacemakers 4Cuba in which the ILWU contributed $10,000 at its recent convention, has raised over $350,000 for critical health care the Cuban people are in desperate need of. This is an example of concrete action that Bill Camp is so known for.”
Mark Grossman represented the United Farm Workers (UFW) spoke for Dolores Huerta and discussed how Bill was “part of the campaign to unionize Farm Workers throughout California when we marched a thousand miles or when we stood down armed goons sent by the growers; Bill helped us with the Agricultural Labor Relations Board and pickets organized in front of their offices when they would not recognize the UFW.”
Fabrizio Sasso, Executive Director of the Sacramento Central Labor Council, closed the meeting by emphasizing that “Bill was defined by the impact that he had on every one of us; as an organizer and a leader. With his unshakable moral compass, Bill explained that solidarity is not a passive idea, it is action… it is showing up to support your sisters and brothers to fight for them. He has left behind a blueprint on how to lead.”
Event participants included many active and retired trade unionists, Camp’s family and friends, and Cuba solidarity activists including Cheryl Labash, a co-chair of the National Network on Cuba (NNOC)
The meeting ended with a resounding chorus of singing Solidarity Forever, the labor song of the US Labor movement and now sung on many new picket lines and strikes nationwide as workers and youth take up organizing efforts not seen sincethe labor upsurge following World War 2.
Mark Friedman is a member of the International Association of Machinists Local 1484, and a leader of the LA Hands-Off Cuba Committee
photo: Bill Hackwell