Today is Labor Day.

Perhaps one of great ways to mark this day is to remember some of the greatest leaders of Labor in the Philippines, those who inspired and were themselves inspired by laborers and workers. They who lived and died as paupers, but gained the respect and admiration of the common Pinoy.

Today, let’s remember Felixberto Olalia and Crispin Beltran.

Olalia, who did not have economic and political power, sent shockwaves to the Marcos dictatorship as leader of workers. He led workers in forming the Kilusang Mayo Uno. His contribution to the pro-democracy struggle is appreciated even by the New York Times. Unfortunately, in a terrible display of ideological anti-worker bias, the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation thinks otherwise.

Workers still remember Olalia despite the lack of a public monument honoring him.

Olalia’s son Rolando, a lawyer, also chose to become an activist and later became chair of the Partido ng Bayan and KMU. He was killed in a most brutal way in 1986.

Crispin Beltran, the icon of Anakpawis and the worthy successor to Ka Bert as the Grand Old Man of Philippine Labor, died in May last year.

When he died, the former taxi driver was already a Member of Congress but still lived in a small house which he himself had to repair with his bare hands. People mourned his passing last year.

As Member of Congress, Beltran used the House podium to drive home the workers’ demand for wage increases, for improvements on the living and working conditions, for respect of their rights in and out of workplaces, and for anti-imperialist ends. He was an indefatigable champion of the workingclass.

It is a matter of personal honor to have worked with Ka Bel in Congress and in the mass movement. He was never boastful, ever humble, knowledgeable about issues, sensitive about our people’s concerns, and never tired of serving workers and the people. He was among a few who brought pride and honor to Congress as an institution.

Workers will have Ka Bert and Ka Bel in their minds today, Labor Day. They are their heroes.

(First photo courtesy of Pinoy Weekly. I took the photo of a smiling Ka Bel at the Department of Justice in 2006.)