CWA condemns the brutal murder of BIEN union organizer Alex Dolorosa in Philippines

CWA condemned the brutal murder of BIEN union organizer Alex Dolorosa in the Philippines. Alex Dolorosa was a union organizer and a paralegal with the BPO Industry Employees Network (BIEN) in Bacolod, Philippines. Alex Dolorosa’s tragic murder follows years of him and his organization being surveilled and “red tagged” by the government of the Philippines. It has become common in the Philippines for the military and the government to target unions, union leaders and workers attempting to organize with red tagging - falsely labeling innocent activists and organizers as communist insurgents and enemies of the state, which allows for aggressive surveillance, mistreatment, torture, imprisonment and even killings of workers.

“Unfortunately, his tragic murder only reinforces the reason that the Philippines repeatedly is ranked annually as one of the world’s deadliest countries for worker organizers. Our hearts go out to his family, friends, and colleagues at BIEN at this horrible time,” said CWA in a statement. 

Alex Dolorosa had lived with this persecution just for standing up for his rights. In addition to being an organizer, he was a social justice and LGBTQ+ rights activist who has been a victim of repeated unlawful surveillance and harassment over the past several years. His brutal murder happened in the context of these larger attacks on workers and human rights activists fighting for change.

“CWA has worked with international unions like BIEN to build solidarity and improve the standards for all workers in our industries and beyond. Through the Eduardo Diaz Union-To-Union International Solidarity Fund, we provide financial support for BIEN and its organizers like Alex Dolorosa, which is why we consider this an attack on a member of our broad CWA family,” said CWA.

In recent years, BIEN, CWA, and other allies have worked closely to raise awareness about these ongoing violations of human rights including advocating for the passage of the Philippines Human Rights Act by the US Congress. CWA demanded that President Marcos and his Administration take immediate action to address these injustices, call out and demand an end to the “red tagging” of legitimate labor organizations and worker organizers, and to instead lift up and celebrate the brave organizers like Alex who devoted their lives to bringing some justice for him and his coworkers.

Links: 

CWA’s statement on the brutal murder of BIEN union organizer Alex Dolorosa (CWA, Apr. 25, 2023)