The Bay Area chapter of the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador is sending Marissa Jefferies Guzman and Karl Kramer, long-time CISPES activists, to Cuba to express solidarity with the Cuban people. This is at a critical time in history when the Cuban people need the support of people in the United States and around the world as Cuba revives itself from the pandemic health crisis. This year there is a major effort to send people to Cuba for the May Day march and celebration to witness and report that Cuba stands strong!

They will support the educational work of the Building Relations with Cuban Labor program. Their solidarity work in the United States will benefit from meetings with the Cuban Workers Confederation (CTC), participation in the International Conference of Labor Solidarity in Havana, and exchanges with the Federation of Cuban Women.

Karl is a leader in the San Francisco Living Wage Coalition and long-time labor activist. He collaborates on many solidarity campaigns, including mutual aid efforts to support day laborers in San Francisco as a response to the COVID-19 crisis. He actively works to create solidarity across borders by providing critical analysis that challenges neoliberalism.

Marissa is a student at UCSC pursuing her undergraduate degree in Latin America/Latinx studies and feminist studies. She is currently working on ethnographic exploration, grounded in feminist epistemologies, of Cuban feminisms that will work to build solidarity across borders through the testimonios of Cuban feminists in the labor and LGBTQ rights movements.

While Marissa and Karl have secured their flights, they need to raise $2400 for meals and lodging, program fees, a share of honoraria for speakers, donations to partner organizations, ground transportation and a driver. And they need to raise it before April 28 when they leave. Anything raised over the required amount will be material aid to the Cuban people.

This trip provides a critical opportunity to build international solidarity with a deeper understanding of how the labor movement plays an essential role in the liberation of the working class globally. With your help, Marissa and Karl can contribute to building a bridge to overcome the misinformation about Cuba with the real stories from the Cuban people.