Register for our 15th biennial Convention!
August 8th - 11, 2019
August 8th - 11, 2019
Chapter Highlights: APALA Los Angeles
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UTLA EDUCATORS WIN FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS - UTLA’s win resonates and has further inspired more communities to rise up to protect public education everywhere.
United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) went on strike for six days before reaching and voting for an agreement with the Los Angeles Unified School District on Wednesday, January 23, 2019. The second largest in the nation, LAUSD educates over 700,000 students and employs over 32,000 educators. The 32,000 UTLA members were joined by over 15,000 parents and community members daily at picket lines in front of every school site across the district. In addition, 50,000 to 60,000 members and supporters came out to daily rallies at various locations across the city including the offices of the California Charter Schools Associations, LAUSD Headquarters on Beaudry, and City Hall. APALA Los Angeles, other unions, and community groups put together and diseminated translated materials, adopted schools, and hosted rallies for AAPI parents to plug into the movement. The culmination of over 4 years of organizing and rebuilding their union as well as re-engaging with community members, the strike demonstrated the real power built by UTLA and workers across Los Angeles. You can read a summary of the full agreement here. |
APALA staff and National Executive Board supports UTLA!
We are so proud to have UTLA Secretary and Bargaining Chair Arlene Inouye on APALA’s National Executive Board -- she organized our communities and pushed hard at the bargaining table. In an inspiring interview with Jacobin Magazine, Arlene shares, "It’s just an amazing feeling to see a sea of red of educators feeling so happy, feeling so empowered. After years of being beaten down, LA teachers are now able to feel proud about who we are and what we do." |
Share your family's Immigration StoryAPALA is working with the National Council for Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) to put together a storytelling project to garner more support of family immigration. Share your family's immigration story here!
The Fight for Our Undocumented CommunityIn November, the organizing and mobilization efforts of DC chapter members were integral to the AAPI Mobilization to Demand a Clean DREAM Act, where over 120 Asian American and Pacific Islander DREAMers and allies convened in DC for trainings, a rally, an action, and legislative visits. APALA National President Monica Thammarath, National Executive Board Members Johanna Puno Hester and Luisa Blue, Executive Director Alvina Yeh, APALA staffer Kenneth Gonzales, and former Executive Director Gregory Cendana were 6 of 19 participants in a civil disobedience action that ended up in their subsequent arrest and release. We also thank NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia and AFSCME Secretary Treasurer Elissa McBride for speaking at our rally earlier in the day, and we give a special shout out to our partners the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and Asian Americans Advancing Justice. Check out the video of the civil disobedience to the above and more photos here. |
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