APALA

  • About
    • About
    • National Executive Board
    • National Staff
    • Opportunities
    • Our Work >
      • Young Leaders Council
    • Contact us
  • Convention
    • 2025 Convention
    • 2023 Convention
  • Join APALA
  • Take Action
    • Subscribe to Newsletter
    • Donate
    • Labor Toolkit on Anti-Asian Racism
  • Media
    • Publications
    • Press Releases
    • AAPI Worker Stories
    • APALA in the News
  • APALA Archives
  • Shop
  • About
    • About
    • National Executive Board
    • National Staff
    • Opportunities
    • Our Work >
      • Young Leaders Council
    • Contact us
  • Convention
    • 2025 Convention
    • 2023 Convention
  • Join APALA
  • Take Action
    • Subscribe to Newsletter
    • Donate
    • Labor Toolkit on Anti-Asian Racism
  • Media
    • Publications
    • Press Releases
    • AAPI Worker Stories
    • APALA in the News
  • APALA Archives
  • Shop

Press Releases

APALA Management and Staff Union Ratifies Groundbreaking Union Contract!

9/7/2022

 
For Immediate Release:
​Contact: Katie Moy Mostris, [email protected]

APALA Management and Staff Union Ratifies Groundbreaking Union Contract! 

Washington, DC - APALA is proud to reach an agreement with OPEIU Local 2 to ratify the organization’s first staff union contract. The contract includes pay increases and guaranteed raises; alternatives to carceral practices in the workplace; added protections and benefits for LGBTQ, immigrant workers, and workers of color; and so much more. 

The staff union was voluntarily recognized in the last months of 2020. They join the growing movement of nonprofit and staff union workers who are organizing their workplaces. It is noteworthy that all members of the union are Asian American, the racial group with the lowest rates of unionization. APALA is the first of the six constituency groups affiliated with the AFL-CIO to have unionized staff. This contract will increase all bargaining unit member salaries by $10,000 and guarantees 5% salary increases each year of the contract moving staff forward in line with rising inflation. 

Vivian Chang (APALA Civic Engagement & Racial Justice Director) and Kristina Romines (APALA Economic Justice & Capacity Building Director), OPEIU Local 2 and members of the bargaining committee, “We are incredibly proud of our first contract and the groundbreaking language we implemented to make APALA a better workplace for all workers. Every worker needs a union, including employees at non-profits or in offices, and we are proud to be a part of our OPEIU family.”

APALA National Executive Board Secretary and Management’s Chief Negotiator Sandra Engle, UAW said, “The bottom line is non-profits have to practice what we preach. We are proud to settle our first contract with our dedicated staff and look forward to continuing to collaborate to create a more democratic workplace. We hope our contract serves as a model to other employers negotiating their first agreement on how to incorporate our values and protect our most vulnerable workers.”

Some of the highlights of ways the contract protects marginalized identities include:
  • implements a 32-hour workweek for all staff;
  • Provides the bargaining unit $500 total per year in financial assistance for new bargaining-unit employees and/or interns who request it for purposes of purchasing business casual or traditional business attire.
  • Institutes a gender non-specific dress code and prioritizes venues that provide gender-neutral restrooms and/or private bathrooms that provide greater degrees of privacy;
  • Calls for a gender equity audit and assessment of division of labor (e.g. pattern of note taking by a specific gender); 
  • Provides up to $1,000 to any employee who is seeking immigration, citizenship, or visa assistance; prohibits APALA from sharing employee information with ICE nor facilitating the deportation or detention of any employee; and provides employees paid working days to attend immigration proceedings related to the employee and/or the employee’s family (family as defined by the employee);
  • Requires an annual training for all staff and board members on mental health accommodations using a framework of disability justice, nonviolent communication; learning and communication styles;
  • Creates a remediation process that prioritizes understanding, acknowledging harm and the needs that result from harm, and developing agreements that increase trust and safety, rather than focus solely on legalistic processes when it comes to addressing conduct issues;
  • Requires APALA to review partnerships and investments with the purpose of divesting from fossil fuels, policing and prisons;

The Management team included board members Sandra Engle, Jason Chan, Tiffany Hsieh, and Executive Director Alvina Yeh. The Bargaining Committee included OPEIU union representatives Juanita Bowman and Jessica Maiorca, and APALA staff Vivian Chang, Michelle Loo, Kristina Romines, and Maggie Tsai. 

###

Founded in 1992, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO, is the first and only national organization of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) workers, most of whom are union members and our allies, building power for AAPI workers and communities.

    For Immediate Release

    Contact:
    info[at]apala.org

    For full list of all press releases and statements, please click here.

    ​

    Archives

    May 2024
    November 2023
    August 2023
    June 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    April 2013
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    April 2011
    February 2011
    August 2007

    Categories

    All
    2016 Election
    AAPI Behind Bars
    AAPIs Beyond Bars
    #AAPIsResist
    Affirmative Action
    APAHM
    #BlackLivesMatter
    Black Lives Matter
    Civic Engagement
    Convention
    Corporate Accountability
    Criminal Justice Reform
    DACA
    DOL
    DREAMERs
    Economic Justice
    Education
    End Islamophobia
    Endorsements
    Every Vote Counts
    Gender Justice
    Gun Control
    Gun Violence
    Hate Crime
    Healthcare
    Health & Safety
    Immigration
    International Solidarity
    Leadership
    LGBTQ
    Living Wage
    Mass Criminalization
    Mass Incarceration
    National Executive Board
    NHPI
    Not Your Model Minority
    Police Brutality
    POTUS
    Racial Justice
    Reproductive Justice
    #ResistTrump
    Right To Organize
    SCOTUS
    TPP
    Trade Justice
    Unemployment
    Voter Education And Mobilization
    Women's Rights
    Workers' Rights
    Young Leaders Council

    RSS Feed

Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance
815 16th St. NW, 2nd Floor
Washington, DC 20006
202-800-5811 | [email protected]

​Contact Us
Founded in 1992, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO, is the first and only national organization of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) workers, most of whom are union members and our allies, building power for AAPI workers and communities.
Quick Navigation
About | Our Work | Chapters | Take Action | Media & Resources 
| Shop | Privacy Policy