APALA Prepares for 2008 Election

Contact: Malcolm Amado Uno
Phone: 202-508-3733
Email: muno@aflcio.org
Website: www.apalanet.org

APALA Prepares for 2008 Election

Washington D.C. – Building on momentum from prior election cycles, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) chapters engaged in voter mobilization efforts across the country.  APALA chapters coordinated precinct walking efforts, phone bank operations and town hall forums to ensure that the Asian Pacific American (APA) community was educated on the issues and mobilized for the 2007 election cycle.  “The local chapters anchor our political program by providing opportunities to connect to the work.  Members are making calls, walking precincts, organizing events and talking to workers on the job about the importance of Asian Pacific American involvement in the political process,” stated Maria Somma, President of APALA.  “Furthermore, APALA members are not only engaged in their chapter’s political program, but our members are involved in their Central Labor Councils, Area Labor Federations, State Federations and their international unions.”   

Highlights included the following:

• The Alameda County chapter partnered with the Alameda County Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO to mobilize voters to support Shilen Patel, an Asian American candidate for the Emeryville City Council, a city with a growing APA community that has reached 25 percent of the population.  While Patel won three precincts outright, the initial results suggest that he fell 107 votes short of winning the seat.  Election officials are still counting provisional ballots.

• The Los Angeles chapter coordinated a precinct walk with the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO to mobilize voters to support Warren Furutani, an APALA member and candidate for the 55^th Assembly District in California.  The special election is scheduled for December 11, 2007.  After the precinct walk, LA chapter members conducted a community forum targeting the Pacific Islander community in the Carson area.

• The San Francisco chapter organized a Cantonese and Mandarin language phone bank operation that successfully contacted 4,000 Chinese American union members to advocate for the passage of Proposition A in the countywide election.  The measure ultimately passed, garnering 53% of the vote.  APALA members also walked precincts in the Excelsior District in San Francisco, a community with a strong Filipino American presence. 

• The Washington D.C. chapter sponsored a phone bank and a precinct walk to assist the AFL-CIO to mobilize union workers and families for the Virginia election.  Virginia is of particular significance due to the growing APA population in the Northern Virginia region.  Furthermore, the state will be the site for a closely contested Senate race in the upcoming 2008 election.

Furthermore, this election cycle provided the opportunity for APALA chapters to begin building the necessary infrastructure to roll out the Every Vote Counts political program for the upcoming presidential election in 2008.  “While it is important to elect candidates that favor a working class agenda, it is equally vital to build the necessary infrastructure to maintain our momentum through election cycles,” said Linda Mann, Vice President of the Washington D.C. chapter.  “The Every Vote Counts political program provides the chapters with the framework to advocate for the political interests of the Asian Pacific American community while also developing our next generation of leaders.”

The Every Vote Counts political program consists of four major components – voter registration, voter education, voter mobilization and election protection.  In collaboration with the AFL-CIO and APIAVote, APALA has identified battleground states and regions where the Asian Pacific American community will influence the outcome of the election.  “The 2007 election served as a springboard to launch us into the 2008 presidential election.  We are gearing up to ensure that APALA continues to serve as the bridge connecting organized labor and the Asian Pacific American community,” stated Gloria T. Caoile, Executive Director of APALA.

Founded in 1992, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO, is the first and only national organization of Asian Pacific American union members.

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