Tuesday, November 8th, 1887, the first Labor Congress began. The venue was a building, at the intersection of ‘’Dragones’’ and ‘’Zulueta’’ streets in Havana. With the desire to reach a true labor unification, union representatives of different parts of the island gathered. A delegation from San Antonio de los Baños was there. On the role of this town in the workers' struggles, we are talking today.
In 1866 the first genuinely labor union was founded, ''Asociación de Tabaqueros de la Habana''. Prior to that date, there were other organizations, within which workers were grouped. They were mutual aid societies whose purpose was to assist ill partners or in need. Gradually, the social content of these institutions was changing. The ideology of the pioneers of Cuban labor movement was reformist and anarcho-syndicalist. Consequently, they encouraged the creation of cooperatives dedicated to distribute profits among its components. That privilege was, until that time, exclusive of merchants and businessmen. In San Antonio de los Baños, like other inland towns near the capital, groups of similar aspirations emerged.
In Ariguanabo, documents that stimulated the association among workers saw the light. Magazines and newspapers were effective arteries of culture and patriotism. Science and literature, as well as art, philosophy and the ideal of Cuban identity, had on the press a favorable environment for their development and positive successes. Associations such as ‘’El Círculo de Artesanos’’ of San Antonio de los Baños contributed to the unification of the incipient Cuban labor movement.
