APALA

Honoring 20 years of activism, empowerment, and community

APRIL 26, 2012. 6-8PM

AFL-CIO, GOMPERS ROOM

Buy tickets here

Honorees

Representative Judy Chu, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

Matthew Finucane, Senior Policy Analyst, Department of Education Policy and Practice, National Education Association & founding APALA Executive Director

Gerald McEntee, American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees President & founding Member of the AFL-CIO Executive Council Committee on formulation of APALA

Featured Speakers

Arlene Holt-Baker, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President

Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers President

In 1992, over 500 Asian Pacific American (APA) labor activists from around the country gathered in Washington D.C. for the founding convention of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO. Back then, APAs were a smaller percentage of the population, but the AFL-CIO had the vision and foresight to welcome us into the House of Labor. Now, the APA population is exploding with double and triple digit increases in key states like Nevada, Ohio, Texas and Virginia.

As we gather 20 years later, we celebrate our accomplishments while advancing plans on how to continue to build our work into the future. APALA is proud of what we have been able to accomplish in 2011 and in the last two decades. This year alone, there have been many successes we want to share, which would not have been possible without your support:

• Our 11^th Biennial Convention brought more than 750 participants, including 200 young workers & students to Oakland and we had a rally with 1,500 people in partnership with the Alameda Labor Council
• APALA Chapters convened Local Worker Rights Hearings in Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Oakland, New York, Seattle, & Washington DC
• Spearheaded an effort that led to more than 50 organizations, including the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, signing on to support public workers & to preserve collective bargaining that was translated in Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Tagalog (Filipino) & Vietnamese
• Established APALA’s John Delloro mentorship program & Young Leaders Council, to further develop & engage students and young workers
• APALA Ed Fund hosted the first ever Congressional Briefing, in cooperation with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, on Asian Americans, Unemployment & Job Creation with worker perspectives and speakers from Congress, Department of Labor, Economic Policy Institute and Center for Economic Policy & Research

2012 promises to be an especially challenging year for our community. With the recent attacks on unions, workers, and immigrants, it is clear that we cannot win on our own. We must build strong & powerful coalitions. APALA is poised to contribute to this movement and be a leader in APA advocacy and organizing. Please join us at our historic 20th anniversary to celebrate our successes and to build for a brighter future.