​Washington, DC – The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) urges Congress to block any legislation, including the recently proposed bill introduced in the House, that would repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and would, if put into effect, potentially impact millions of people, including two million in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. According to the Congressional Budget Office, an estimated 14 million people will lose coverage by 2018  – a number that would grow to 24 million by 2026.
 
“The administration continues to be ruthless to our communities,” stated Johanna Puno Hester, APALA National President and Assistant Executive Director of the United Domestic Workers, AFSCME Local 3930. “Our families are already under threat in so many ways: the gutting of health care security, the increased profiling of and attacks on black and brown bodies, the assaults on women’s and LGBTQ rights. To repeal and replace ACA has ramifications for all Americans and would – quite literally – make America sick again. This bill serves to deliver tax cuts for the wealthiest – another tactic to preserve the widening gap between rich and poor. With attacks on all fronts, it’s imperative to not let our guards down and to always put people over profits.”
 
“Repealing the Affordable Care Act would mean cuts to Medicaid and higher costs and less care for millions of families including nearly 40 percent of children nationwide,” said Luisa Blue, APALA National Executive Board Member and Executive Vice President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) who helped found the SEIU Nurse Alliance. “As a former nurse, I have witnessed how critical it was for patients to have access to affordable care and preventative care. We cannot allow the Republican Congressional leadership to take away healthcare from millions of Americans. This directly impacts so many Asian American Pacific Islanders, who like the rest of us are just trying to work hard to build a better life for their families.”
 
National Executive Board Member and UFCW Local 400 member Yves Gomes ended: “The Affordable Care Act was a good step to insure millions of people throughout the country; however, millions of people – including my undocumented brothers and sisters – still remain uninsured. Health care is a human right, and we should be working towards the expansion of coverage to include all people living and working in the country, not the reduction of it.”

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​Washington, DC – The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) condemns the newly issued “Muslim Ban 2.0,” which continues to ban U.S. entry to individuals from six Muslim-majority countries, and to suspend the refugee program. APALA issued the following statement from Johanna Puno Hester, APALA National President and Assistant Executive Director of the United Domestic Workers, AFSCME Local 3930:

“The ‘revised’ order is nothing short of disgusting. As an immigrant myself, I am ashamed that the administration continues to put forth policies that are contradictory to our values as a country and that are indubitably anti-immigrant. Fascism at the head of our country is already having deadly effects on brown and black bodies, and we cannot let this order – or any other attempt or tactic of xenophobia, racism, and hate – stand. Across the nation, the lives of our families and friends are at risk simply because of who they are. No person should live in fear, and the new administration is doing the exact opposite by emboldening white supremacy into action.
 
As the country closes the door on immigrants and refugees, our communities and allies have a responsibility to resist and fight back against these attacks. The struggle against the growing anti-immigrant, anti-Black/Brown, and anti-Muslim sentiment needs to happen both nationally and locally because we know we’re better than this. We stand by our immigrant, refugee, and Muslim communities and all people of color who are impacted by these hateful policies, and we will not stand down. To remain silent is to be complicit in this institutionalized form of hate.”

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Chicago, IL – The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) denounces the recent racist rhetoric made by Representative Mike Bost and incumbent Mundelein trustee Dawn Abernathy in two separate incidents in the past two weeks. In the latest incident, Rep. Mike Bost used racist language to compare rowdy town halls to public humiliation and abuse, and in the earlier incident, Dawn Abernathy attributed mayoral candidate Holly Kim’s fundraising efforts to ‘Korean money.’

“What we’re seeing at the local level is this emboldened use of more racist and racially charged rhetoric from our politicians. And it’s no wonder why this is happening,” stated Arathi Jayaram of the APALA Illinois Chapter and the Chicago Teachers Union. “We’ve seen racist, xenophobic, and hateful speech on the national scale thanks to 45, and it’s definitely trickling down to the state and local levels too.”

“This is simply unacceptable,” added Alex Han of the APALA Illinois Chapter and Vice President of SEIU Healthcare Illinois. “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have a long history in this country, and it’s unfortunate that the words from our elected officials and leaders still try to make us feel like outsiders in our very neighborhoods and communities. We are not model minorities nor are we perpetual foreigners.”

Monica Thammarath, APALA 1st Vice President and Senior Liaison of the National Education Association, concluded: “From the tragic shooting in Olathe, Kansas to detainment of DACA recipients and undocumented youth in Washington and Mississippi, we are seeing attacks on brown and black bodies across the nation. Words are powerful, and they definitely matter in this political landscape. That’s why APALA is ready to call out any and all politicians, organizations, and individuals who further hateful speech, actions, and policies because we refuse to make hate normal.”

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