Kilusang Mayo Uno

KMU
May First Movement Labor Center[1]
Kilusang Mayo Uno
FoundedMay 1, 1980; 44 years ago (1980-05-01)
FounderFelixberto Olalia Sr. (founding Chairperson)
TypeTrade union center
HeadquartersQuezon City, Metro Manila
Location
Membership (2018)
125,000[2]
Chairperson
Elmer Labog
Secretary-General
Jerome Adonis
SecessionsBukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino
AffiliationsBAYAN
ITUC
WFTU
IMF
ILPS

Kilusang Mayo Uno (English: May First Movement), also known by its initials KMU is an independent labor center in the Philippines. It promotes "genuine, militant and patriotic trade unionism". The KMU was established on May 1, 1980 to fill a clear need for a workers' organization that would stand for workers' rights and against foreign domination.[3]

The KMU is one of the two primary labor centers alongside the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines.[4] It is a social movement union closely linked with the broader national democratic movement in the Philippines. The organization brands its unionism as "genuine, militant, and nationalist."[3]

The federation started out with seven founding union federations and 50,000 members. By 1990, the KMU reported having as many as 750,000 members affiliated under its unions.[3] In the 1990s the movement separated into several smaller organizations over ideological, political, and organizational differences.[5]

Today, the KMU is organized into eleven[6] national federations and one regional federation with approximately 125,000 affiliate members.[2] KMU also has three affiliate mass organizations, the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON, Solidarity of Drivers' and Operators' Organizations Nationwide), Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (KADAMAY, Federation of Mutual Aid for the Poor), and Migrante Philippines.[7]

  1. ^ "About - Kilusang Mayo Uno". December 12, 2018. Archived from the original on December 12, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Scipes, Kim (September 2018). "Another type of trade unionism IS possible: The KMU Labor Center of the Philippines and social movement unionism". Journal of Labor and Society. 21 (3): 349–367. doi:10.1111/wusa.12348. S2CID 158950249.
  3. ^ a b c Scipes, Kim (July 1992). "Understanding the New Labor Movements in the "Third World": The Emergence of Social Movement Unionism". Critical Sociology. 19 (2): 81–101. doi:10.1177/089692059201900204. S2CID 145169257.
  4. ^ Kuruvilla, Sarosh; Das, Subesh; Kwon, Hyunji; Kwon, Soonwon (September 2002). "Trade Union Growth and Decline in Asia". British Journal of Industrial Relations. 40 (3): 431–461. doi:10.1111/1467-8543.00242. hdl:1813/75130. S2CID 55896275.
  5. ^ West, Lois A. (1997). Militant Labor in the Philippines. Temple University Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-56639-491-8. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  6. ^ Scipes, Kim (June 30, 2014). "Building Global Labor Solidarity Today: Learning from the KMU of the Philippines". Class, Race, and Corporate Power. 2 (2). doi:10.25148/CRCP.2.2.16092115.
  7. ^ "ABOUT - Kilusang Mayo Uno". February 1, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.