Cold, casual imperialism

DURING THE post-World War Two era, the USA closely monitored labour and politics in the region. In 1954, the American consul general was aware of the political nuances, and noted the impact of Albert Gomes, a local politician, being readmitted to the Party of Political Progress Groups (POPPG), “He has thus made enemies of other pretending political groups in Trinidad, each of which strives to be more ‘socialistic’ than the others; at the same time, some POPPG-ites, remember that Gomes got into office in 1950 with their support and then went “independent.”

The US Embassy also noted that the POPPG “is being increasingly torn by internal wrangles and dissension.”

While Eric Gairy, a trade unionist of Grenada, seemed supportive of Gomes, the POPPG had another focus. It wanted an alliance with Alexander Bustamante, a Jamaican trade unionist, who visited Trinidad in December 1956 to consider the formation of a federal liberal party.

The US Embassy secretly noted, “The success or failure of the POPPG to rebuild itself and again to become a force in politics, local or federal, is dependent primarily on how the PNM government carries out its mandate. The POPPG has little hope of drawing any real measure of support from the predominantly East Indian agricultural districts and must look for adherents primarily to the urban areas where it previously found strength and which are now solidly PNM.”

The divisions among trade unions was addressed in correspondence from the American consul general in 1956, “Currently, there is a determined struggle for power going on among the labor leaders who are entering the political arena in greater numbers than ever before…” And the consul general also noted the problems of the Caribbean National Labour Party (CNLP) and the People’s National Movement (PNM), “John Rojas of the CNLP and Dr Williams of the PNM are at swords’ points.”

In December 1984, George Lamming, a novelist, attended a seminar held by the People’s National Party in Kingston, Jamaica. He spoke of the role of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), based in the US, “Caribbean trade unions are being brought increasingly under the influence of the AFL-CIO training programmes. The intention is to Americanise these unions into the soft underbelly of the political directorate, since United States imperialism understands the relation of union to party in our political culture.”

Yes, a cold, casual imperialism was occurring.

The US was neither interested in reducing labour protests nor unemployment in TT. In 1971, there were 70 work stoppages involving 18,566 workers with a loss of 138,362 man-days. In 1971, in a workforce of an estimated 350,000 people, 97,733 workers were unionised and 82 per cent of these workers were in unions affiliated to the TT Labour Congress (TTLC). The unemployment rate was 12.5 per cent.

Passage of labour legislation seemed useless. This was because workers in essential services were unable to strike. In 1975, the TTLC had approximately 85,000 members. Among the 13 affiliates of the TTLC were the Public Services Association (PSA) and the National Union of Government and Federated Workers (NUGFW).

Interestingly, the US Embassy, in confidential correspondence, noted the powers of the Industrial Court “have been expanded to provide for compulsory arbitration in many situations and for the award of compensation.” The embassy added that “despite high unemployment, local attitudes and perhaps climatic factors do not generally result in high worker productivity.”

The US fostered relations with union leaders. In 1970, Selwyn John (general secretary of NUGFW) requested a “labour leader” grant allowing members to travel and study union operations in the US for one month. The embassy agreed and justified its decision, “In view of the growing strength of labor unions in this country and their increasing interest, they are showing such activities as worker education and the establishment of cooperatives.”

Similarly, in 1972, the US Embassy offered a grant to Ursula Gittens (president of the PSA, third vice president of the TTLC and employee of WASA) to visit the US for one month to consult with US union officials and meet important people who dealt with consumer and women’s affairs.

In 1975, Peter Budd, trustee and dockworker of the SWWTU, planned to visit New York and Washington. He asked the US Embassy for assistance to receive a briefing on the activities of the Department of Labour and the AFL-CIO. I wonder if the infiltration and casual monitoring conducted by the US, in the 20th century, is still continuing in 2025?