Vincent (Panama) Alba
Revson Fellow 2005-2006
Business Agent/Organizer
Local 108, Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) AFL-CIO, Justice Committee, National Congress of Puerto Rican
hello, this is a test Vicente (Panama) Alba is currently an Executive Board Member and Delegate of Laborers’ Local 108 (L.I.U.N.A.) AFL/CIO where he organizes workers, mainly immigrants and many undocumented in the solid waste and recycling industry. He is also a board member of For A Better Bronx. Previously he served as a member of the local advisory board of the Free Speech Community sponsored by WBAI, founded the Latino committee within the station, and participated as a member of the nationwide Justice & Unity movement fighting for inclusion of the diverse voiceless communities. Mr. Alba is also a founding member of the South Bronx Clean Air Coalition, the David Sanes Rodriguez Brigade for Peace and Justice in Vieques (the Vieques Brigade), and the National Congress of Puerto Rican Rights. He is a member of the citywide Harm Reduction Program. He began his political activism in protest against the Vietnam War in the late sixties. In 1970, he joined the Young Lords Party. In 1977, Mr. Alba became a political prisoner as the first person arrested in the United States with alleged ties to Fuerzas Amadas de Liberacion Nacional (FALN). He spent six months in jail. Five years later he was acquitted. Mr. Alba has been involved in the two takeovers of the Statue of Liberty, first as a part of the campaign to free the Puerto Rican Nationalist Prisoners and most recently in support of the struggle of the people of Vieques. He was born in Panama City, Mr. Alba and immigrated to the Soundview/Castle Hill section of the Bronx in 1961. During his Revson year, he plans on taking courses in human rights, labor, social justice, and writing.
(The Revson Fellow’s biography that appears above was last updated in 2005. Revson Fellows may update their biographies on this site by sending email to: revson@columbia.edu)
The Program gave me an opportunity to reflect on my community organizing experience and career options. There, I met other seasoned advocates who believed that all available tools especially street activism and grassroots organizing must be used to advance progressive causes and agendas.
