Johanna Hester, President of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO, the only organization of Asian Pacific American union members, issued the following statement of support for the Occupy Wall Street movement on behalf of the APALA National Executive Board, which met this weekend in Los Angeles:
We stand with the 99 percent of Americans who are tired of corporate greed. Wall Street financiers have profited off the backs of working people, resulting in millions of Americans losing their homes and jobs, and a generation of graduates facing crushing debt with few jobs in sight. Asian Americans in particular face some of the highest rates of long-term unemployment. So just why are we bailing out banks and laying off teachers? We as a nation need to re-examine our priorities.
Johanna Hester, President of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO, the only organization of Asian Pacific American union members, issued the following statement of support for the Occupy Wall Street movement on behalf of the APALA National Executive Board, which met this weekend in Los Angeles:
We stand with the 99 percent of Americans who are tired of corporate greed. Wall Street financiers have profited off the backs of working people, resulting in millions of Americans losing their homes and jobs, and a generation of graduates facing crushing debt with few jobs in sight. Asian Americans in particular face some of the highest rates of long-term unemployment. So just why are we bailing out banks and laying off teachers? We as a nation need to re-examine our priorities.
It’s time for the millionaires – the richest 1% – to start paying their fair share so we can support education and other vital services. Wall Street executives have made record profits while slashing jobs and plundering retirement accounts, while foreclosing on small businesses on Main Street. Instead of creating sustainable jobs, corporations have used their earnings to attack working families and their right to form unions. We are teachers, nurses, firefighters, construction workers, engineers, and service workers - we are the 99 percent.
We support the Occupy Wall Street movement and recognize that the peaceful protesters seek a free and fair democracy, with economic justice for all. As an organization that has always brought together labor and community groups, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance and the 630,000 APA union members we represent declare our solidarity with Occupy Wall Street. As the 99 percent, we occupy all of America, and we are stronger together.
