Asuncion “Sonny” Arrojado: Woman union trailblazer (1968-1975)

by Levy Abad

Like a seed sown in Canada, Asuncion “Sonny” Arrojado grew and engaged in the struggle as a nurse and became the founding chair of the 17,000-strong National Federation of Nurses Union, now known as the Canadian Nurses Union on May 1, 1981 (Silangan, May 1981, Vol. 5, No. 5). In 1977, she was elected president of the Manitoba Organization of Nurses Association (MONA) Worksite 5 and from 1979 to 1981, she was MONA union president. This made Sonny Arrojado the earliest Filipino union leader in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and the pioneer Filipino woman labour leader in Canada.

As I was researching Winnipeg’s Filipino union leaders, key unionists like Bob Luna and pioneer activist and journalist Ted Alcuitas suggested Sonny Arrojado, as they fondly refer to her. After searching online and a visit to the Manitoba Archives Library, I learned that Sonny was born in Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines in 1946, and like most people who finished high school in the province, Sonny moved to Manila for her University education in the 1960s. Apparently, the ‘60s was the period when the student movement in the Philippines became revolutionary as portrayed in books such as the Days of Disquiet, Nights of Rage by Jose “Pete” Lacaba and the Philippine Society and Revolution by Amado Guerrero. I cited these books because they represent movements that shaped the development of Philippine society based on the critique of the existing social order.

Blooming where she was

According to the Canadian Encyclopedia article by Ysh Cabana, Sonny studied at the University of Santo Tomas, Faculty of Nursing. During that time, Sonny was involved in the protest movement against the Marcos regime. This stage in her life sheds light on her union involvement in Winnipeg when she arrived in 1968 and helped her bloom where she was as a trade union organizer and founder between 1968 and 1971 and started working in the Flin Flon, Manitoba General Hospital. In 1975 she worked at St. Boniface Hospital where she began organizing co-nurses in collective bargaining, which included calls for increased pay and better working conditions (Ysh Cabana, Canadian Encyclopedia).

Shift to bureaucracy

By 1982, Sonny bid adieu to the Canadian Nurses Union with her sudden shift to the bureaucracy and joined the Workers Compensation Board (WCB), a Manitoba government agency. She was the first woman and Filipino to head the board (Ted Alcuitas, “Can history be repeated?” Philippine Canadian News). Indeed, it was extraordinary for Sonny to rise from the ranks of the health care system of Canada in the early years of the Filipino community’s presence in Winnipeg when we were just one thousand. Based on the 2021 census, the number of Filipinos in Manitoba was almost 97,000, and in Winnipeg, it was more than 77,000.

After her initial stint in the bureaucracy, Sonny became part of the professional body of the Canadian Nurses Association sometime in 1986. In 1987, she was hired as a Senior Policy Adviser for the Manitoba Health Department under Premier Howard Pawley’s New Democratic Party (NDP). Unfortunately, this lasted only for a short time because Gary Filmon’s Progressive Conservatives formed the government the following year.

Seeds of activism

Looking back, it is interesting to note the involvement of Sonny with the student movement in the 60s in the Philippines against the Marcos dictatorship, which was greatly influenced by the Kabataang Makabayan (Patriotic Youth). One can imagine how her experience as an activist shaped her consciousness in terms of ideology, politics, and sense of organization. Earlier, I mentioned that she got involved in organizing the Manitoba Organization of Nurses Association, the founding of the Canadian Nurses Association, and issues pertaining to health care with its social democratic nuances. To be able to organize and handle the above involvements was extraordinary for a newly arrived migrant in the late 60s and Sonny’s activism through the years affirms her character. Hence, Asuncion “Sonny” Arrojado is definitely the prime example not only of leading, but serving the people by bringing into focus their struggles in the diaspora.

Levy Abad authored a book titled Rhythms and Resistance: Narrative of Filipino Musicians and Activists (1972-1994). Levy is also a singer-songwriter, poet, and migrant rights activist who has released four albums centred on the life and struggles of migrants.