History of Organizing APAs

These organizers can speak over 20 different Asian languages, including Cantonese, Korean, Hindi, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Hmong.  Valuing this new generation of leaders, APALA held a three day training / conference on organizing in San Diego in 1996.  At this conference, organizing directors from international unions attended to discuss the role of APA organizers in unions.  The 1997 San Francisco convention devoted entirely to organizing.  This was followed by a historic conference in 1998 in San Jose, at the request of APA organizers to examine issues of retention and support for organiers.  As a follow-up, APALA held an "Organizer's Summit" in 2001 to evaluate, reasess, and strengthen the training and organizing program.