Jenny Ho, a labor economist with AFSCME and secretary-treasurer for the D.C. Chapter of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), sends us this report from her experience in Ohio mobilizing residents
The forces against workers’ rights are powerful. Super-rich global conglomerates and a web of very well-funded conservative think tanks are currently fueling GOP-led attacks against working families across the nation, shamelessly lobbying for union-busting and corporate tax cuts in a campaign that even Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin has admitted has little to do with budget deficits. Yet America’s workers have shown time and again that workers, united, have prevailed in the most daunting battles. More than ever, the union movement must build solidarity. We must pull together all the stakeholders of the American Dream.
In Ohio, I joined workers and allies in the campaign against Senate Bill (S.B.) 5—which, if left to stand, would strip collective bargaining rights from thousands of public servants. We reached out to small local businesses who understood that slashing wages and benefits creates a downward spiral detrimental to the local economy. Currently, more than 400 small businesses, which serve a diverse number of neighborhoods and communities across Ohio, are on board, including family-owned restaurants, auto repair shops, independent bookstores and many more.
Taking part in such critical coalition-building activities reinforced my conviction in the power of community partnerships. As an APALA member and chapter leader, I recognize the crucial role that labor constituency groups must play in the current battle to save the middle class. Anti-union legislation such as S.B. 5 will have serious repercussions for the Asian Pacific American (APA) community. There are some 800,000 APA workers represented by public-sector unions and recent research revealed that APA workers and their families depend on the wage and benefit protections that unionization brings. The majority of APA workers are immigrant workers who look to unions as the first line of defense against unfair employment practices. Plus, the APA community faces the deterioration of vital public services. As a result of an initiative spearheaded by APALA, the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), a coalition of 29 organizations representing a wide range of Asian Pacific American communities, pledged support for public employees in a historic and unified gesture of solidarity in March.
With 13 chapters in eight states, APALA has been a driving progressive force within the APA community since it was founded in 1992. APALA has highlighted the stories of APA workers and APA labor leaders, educated the APA members on their rights in the workplace and solidified the support of community allies. As the fight for workers’ rights intensifies across the country, APALA members are fired up! We have taken part in solidarity events in New York; New Jersey; Washington, D.C.; Detroit; Alameda, Calif., Los Angeles; San Francisco; and Sacramento, Calif. APALA members have traveled to Wisconsin to stand with workers. APALA chapters continue to hold local workers’ rights hearings, bringing together community partners to uplift the voice of workers.
The current political landscape has heightened the urgency for growth and capacity building. Facing escalating attacks against workers’ rights, APALA must expand activities to bridge community groups and labor. We must ensure that the rapidly growing immigrant workforce recognizes its shared interests with the union movement and is actively engaged with us. Growing APALA membership and building new chapters in all 50 states, which APA workers call home, is the only way we can effectively equip APA workers and their families with the knowledge and training to protect their basic human right to organize under the most challenging conditions. Together we can build a stronger movement for every community, every family and every worker.
