Public Employee Press

Union celebrates Puerto Rican heritage

Puerto Rico's financial crisis was the hot topic during Puerto Rican Heritage Week celebrated by the union's Latino Heritage Committee.

In his keynote speech during the committee's Nov. 20 event, DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido pledged to rally the labor movement to demand that Congress take action and help the Caribbean island, home to thousands of union retirees.

"We have to take a stand" Garrido said. "Our own pensions are at stake."

In August, for the first time in its history, the Puerto Rican government failed to make a payment on its debt. That month, it was supposed to pay $58 million on its $73 billion debt.

The island's governor, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, has called for the restructuring of the debt and help from Washington.

Garrido has called for Congress to allow the island to declare bankruptcy. He also called for Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates to be increased to match the rates in the United States.

"There is a game plan in place here, not just Puerto Rico, but all over the world," Garrido explained. "The plan is to push privatization of anything of value."

In October, DC 37 hosted a discussion on the crisis at which City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito also called on Congress to intervene. "This is a humanitarian crisis and it is getting worse by the minute," she said.

The heritage week's cultural presentation featured a performance of traditional Puerto Rican music by the group Danza Fiesta, which is directed by Gilda Rivera-Pantojas. The celebration closed with a special performance by singer Cita Rodriguez and her salsa orchestra. Rodriguez is the daughter of the late singer and Fania All Star Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez.

— Alfredo Alvarado