ORLANDO—The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) once again joined the international movement demanding an end to the U.S. economic blockade of Cuba by passing another resolution demanding an end to the decades-long embargo at its 54th International Convention last week in Orlando.
The resolution calls on President Trump to remove Cuba from the so-called “U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT)” list and urges Congress to lift all sanctions against the socialist island nation—condemning the six-decade embargo as a “humanitarian and economic catastrophe.”
For the past 64 years, since the Cuban Revolution, U.S. imperialism imposed an economic, commercial, and financial embargo on Cuba. It prevents most engagement and trade while punishing other countries that engage with them. The blockade continues to inflict daily hardships on the Cuban people, creates shortages of food and medicine, restricts financial and trade opportunities, and prevents Cuba from obtaining vital medical equipment—despite U.S. claims of “supporting” the Cuban people.
The devastating toll of U.S. sanctions includes $164 billion in economic losses for Cuba since the embargo’s inception, with $5 billion in annual damages, according to United Nations estimates. The resolution also condemned the 243 new sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, including restrictions on Cuban Americans sending remittances to families—a move which exacerbates the already fraught mass migration crisis from the region.
Additionally, the resolution rebuked the politically motivated terrorism designation, reinstated by Trump in 2025 just days into his second term—reversing President Biden’s last-minute removal of Cuba from the list. This arbitrary designation subjects Cuba to further sanctions and limits its ability to carry out critical financial transactions for food, medicine, and oil imports needed to power its electrical grid.
The CBTU resolution aligns with 32 consecutive U.N. General Assembly votes that condemned the U.S. embargo—most recently in October 2024, when 187 nations denounced the policy, which left only the U.S. and Israel in opposition. It also echoes a 2021 letter from 117 members of Congress, which argued that “a policy of engagement with Cuba serves U.S. interests and those of the Cuban people.”
For the CBTU, a constituency group of the AFL-CIO, the resolution reflects a longstanding, albeit uneven, working-class tradition of international solidarity. In an interview with People’s World, Lew Moye, a CBTU delegate from St. Louis and United Auto Workers (UAW) member, emphasized Cuba’s historic support for global liberation struggles, including in South Africa and the Black community in the U.S.
“Cuba has always been a staunch supporter of equality and justice,” Moye said. “They stood with South Africa against apartheid. They stood with us against racist discrimination and oppression. We can’t ignore that while our government punishes them for political differences.”
Moye stressed that U.S. workers must stand with Cuba against imperialist-driven policies: “Billionaires and corporations are the ones creating poverty for workers everywhere. We need international solidarity—not just with Cuba, but all workers internationally.”
As a result of the convention, CBTU delegates again pledged to mobilize their chapters and unions to pressure the Trump administration and Congress to lift the embargo and oppose bills like the FORCE Act, which seeks to permanently codify Cuba’s “terrorism” status.
The resolution also urges AFL-CIO affiliates and central labor councils to publicly denounce the embargo and fight Cuba’s SSOT designation—pushing the broader labor movement toward international peace and justice for working people.
Ani Toncheva contributed material for this story
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