The Cuban television program "Cuadrando la Caja" aired a special episode on May Day featuring an American activist who claimed that only 5% of Americans are unionized. She blamed this decline on Ronald Reagan and called for leaders "like Malcolm X or Fidel" to revive the labor movement in the United States.
Brenda López, co-founder of the "Hands Off Cuba" committee and a resident of Oakland, made these statements as a guest on the show. She was joined by Sebastián Viscuso, a member of the General Confederation of Labor of France.
The episode, hosted by Marxenin Pérez, was part of the May Day 2026 events in Cuba, held under the slogan "The Homeland is Defended" and dedicated to the centenary of Fidel Castro's birth.
Allegations Against Reagan's Policies
López stated on Cuban state TV, "Right now, only 5% of Americans are in unions, and 3% of those are government unions. So, it's very, very little." She attributed this downturn directly to Reagan's presidency: "If you look at U.S. history, governments decimated unions when Reagan came, and since then, it has been very hard to overcome, to organize again."
Her argument has some historical basis: In August 1981, Reagan fired about 11,000 air traffic controllers from the PATCO union after an illegal strike, an event that hastened the decline of the labor movement.
Discrepancies in Union Statistics
The union participation rate fell from 20.1% in 1983 to the current 10%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the figures López cited on Cuban TV are not entirely accurate. The 5% figure approximates the rate for the private sector—officially 5.9% in 2025—not for "the American population" as a whole.
The overall union membership rate in the United States stands at 10%, with about 16.5 million workers represented by a union in 2025, the highest number in 16 years.
Call for Strong Leadership
Beyond the numbers, López went further with her political diagnosis: "Right now, we're in a leadership crisis. People lack direction, and until we can forge leaders like Malcolm X or Fidel, people are lost, waiting for someone to save them, and that's not going to happen."
The "Hands Off Cuba" committee, co-founded by López, is a pro-regime activist organization based in the United States. In March 2026, it participated in the Our America Convoy, which brought between 500 and 650 activists from 33 countries to the island while it experienced blackouts lasting up to 20 hours a day.
Ideological Platform of Cuban TV
"Cuadrando la Caja" is produced by the Cuban Television Information System in collaboration with Cubadebate and La Pupila Insomne, serving as an ideological showcase for the regime. In July 2025, a University of Havana economist admitted on the same program that "Cuba is not a socialist country."
The May Day episode aired amid a deep internal crisis: For the first time, the main event was not held in the Plaza de la Revolución but at the Anti-Imperialist Platform in front of the U.S. Embassy, with sparse attendance according to independent reports, under the official justification of "austerity."
The program concluded with a call to action from its host: "It's not enough to interpret, to describe, but together we must participate to transform our reality. Workers of all countries, unite."
Understanding the Labor Movement Decline in the U.S.
What is the current union membership rate in the United States?
As of 2025, the overall union membership rate in the United States is 10%, with around 16.5 million workers being represented by a union.
How did Reagan's presidency impact U.S. unions?
During Reagan's presidency, a significant event was the firing of about 11,000 air traffic controllers from the PATCO union after an illegal strike in 1981, which accelerated the decline of the labor movement.
Why does Brenda López call for leaders like Malcolm X or Fidel?
López believes that the U.S. is experiencing a leadership crisis and that strong leaders like Malcolm X or Fidel Castro are needed to guide and revitalize the labor movement.