Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why is there a separate organization for Asian Pacific Americans within the larger labor movement?

A: To specifically address the needs of the APA community that may not need by discussed or dealt with the movement as a whole (including, but not excluded to immigration, “model minority” perceptions, language barriers, etc).  The APA community is critical to the labor movement, due to its status as one of the fastest growing immigrant populations in the country.

Q:  What is a union? What do its members do?

A: Unionized workers typically organize themselves within their workplaces with elected leaders and regular meetings to ensure that their contract is upheld in both letter and spirit as well as to discuss any other workplace issues that might have arisen. Some of these elected positions are called "stewards." Stewards are fellow union members and co-workers who volunteer to help their co-workers by answering with questions about the contract, assessing whether individual problems fall within a solution outlined in the contract, or helping to figure out other alternatives.

They also serve as a vital communications network to relay concerns of workers to other elected leaders of the union and to spread information about workplace issues back to the workers.  Unionized workers may also hold regular meetings to prepare for bargaining and to have a continuing forum for workers to bring up issues of concern to them.

Q: What are the benefits of joining a union?

A: Unions have helped women and people of color make great strides in closing the wage gap and lessening the disparities in income, and consequently in opportunity.

Labor unions have also worked to pass laws that benefit all workers such as Social Security, the Fair Labor Standards Act, unemployment insurance, and the minimum wage.

They have set the standards for the eight-hour workday, five-day work week, paid leave, job security, and fair treatment for women, people of color, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender workers.

Finally, unionized workers have used their voice at work to improve the quality of services for the community. Health care workers have secured better minimum nurse to patient staffing ratio. Teachers and school employees have advocated for early childhood education programs such as extended full-year kindergarten for disadvantaged children.  Workers in the public services have lobbied for accountability and reliable delivery of quality services.

Q: How do I join a union?

A: The easiest way to join a union, of course, is to work in a place that is already unionized, where you may join as part of your employment.  Workers cannot be forced to join the union as members, but may be required to at least pay the costs of collective bargaining.  Joining as a member, however, would allow you to have a voice in the process of bargaining your contract and a vote to approve or reject proposals.
At a regional level, unions work together as part of state or local labor council.  These councils can also help you to find a local union to help you organize.

Q: How do I start a union?

A: If you and your co-workers would like to form a union, the first step is to contact a union organizer to help guide your organizing efforts. Although federal and state laws recognize the right to form unions, employers often resist workers’ efforts to form unions. So before talking about forming a union, you should contact a union organizer for assistance to help you. Once workers demonstrate that a majority of them would like to have a union, sometimes employers will honor that choice.

Often, workers must ask the government to hold an election. If the workers win the election, they negotiate a contract with their employer that spells out the conditions their employment. Contracts have expiration dates and are periodically re-negotiated, usually every few years, and offer workers and employers to put forth proposals to change the existing contract. For more information on what unions to contact visit the AFL-CIO website.

The sitting Congress has recently debated passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which if ratified, would drastically reduce the barriers of joining a union at the workplace.  However, President Bush has vowed to veto any such bill.