Cuban ties put powerful US union under microscope over alleged communist influence push
FIRST ON FOX: The chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is investigating reports that a union representing roughly 600,000 members is working to advance the interests of the Cuban regime.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., sent a letter to the International Association of Machinists (IAM) on Thursday night demanding information about its possible links to the Cuban government. His letter follows reports that IAM has travelled to Cuba, taken policy positions aligned with the regime, put out public messaging aligned with the regime’s interests and participated in a meeting at a local IAM union hall where a Cuban diplomat addressed union members.
IAM did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital.
"I am concerned that IAM Union member dues are financing efforts to change U.S. policy related to the Cuban regime, a State Sponsor of Terror, instead of supporting American workers’ priorities," Cassidy wrote. "These examples raise serious concerns that IAM Union officials have used their positions within the union to advocate for policy objectives promoted by the Cuban regime as part of a foreign influence scheme."
"American workers should not be compelled to finance advocacy that advances the foreign policy aims of a hostile foreign power, particularly one responsible for the deaths of at least three U.S. citizens and one U.S. resident in international waters," the senator added.
Cassidy was referencing a 1996 incident where Cuban MiG fighters destroyed two unarmed civilian aircraft operated by the humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue, resulting in the deaths of three American citizens and one permanent resident.
David Ramírez Álvarez, second secretary at the Embassy of Cuba, spoke at a U.S. Hands Off Cuba campaign meeting held at Machinists Hall, a local IAM union hall, Fox News Digital reported in May. Cassidy’s letter says Ramírez Álvarez instructed union members on ways to support Cuba’s policy priorities and oppose U.S. policy toward the island.
Sources told Fox News Digital that Ramírez Álvarez has drawn the attention of American officials for allegedly coordinating an influence network within the United States.
Ramírez Álvarez spoke to union members and leaders on how they could help Cuba by lobbying, following certain pieces of legislation and engaging in national activism.
"The job now is defending Cuba in whatever way we can," an IAM representative told attendees, encouraging them to visit the island if possible, according to previous reporting. He was also involved in an effort that resulted in the California AFL-CIO adopting a resolution calling for Cuba to be removed from the United States’ list of state terror sponsors.
Before Cassidy sent his letter, the State Department released a report in July laying out the ties between organized labor and the communist regime in Cuba. The report alleges that Havana leverages a sizable network of labor union contacts in the United States to push for policies advantageous to its regime, such as lifting embargoes or removing Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list.
Cassidy said that the Cuban government has used IAM members for "propagandistic purposes." To support this claim, he pointed to a video posted by the Cuban Embassy where an IAM leader said "we must and will continue to defend the sovereignty of Cuba and Cuban self determination."
"We must continue to protest, we must continue to make our voices heard in the streets, through social media and beyond," he continued. In a separate video, the same leader gave a welcome message to two Cuban officials on behalf of his union.
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Cassidy is hitting the IAM with a bevy of questions, notably whether union employees are working with Cuban officials while on the clock, if the union has ever taken payments from Cuba, if the union has ever made payments to individuals linked to the Cuban regime, if the union had lobbied on Cuba policy and whether the union has any concerns that its members could be wrapped up in Cuban influence operations.
The senator has also requested a full accounting of members and union leadership who have engaged in advocacy related to America’s policy toward Cuba and whether they consulted with Cuban government officials in connection with that activism.
"These examples raise serious concerns that IAM Union officials have used their positions within the union to advocate for policy objectives promoted by the Cuban regime as part of a foreign influence scheme," Cassidy wrote.