​Honolulu, Hawaii – This past weekend, the National Executive Board of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) passed resolutions to resist all policies, appointments, and collaborations with the President-Elect’s administration and to hold our elected officials, especially the President-Elect, accountable for serving the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and broader communities of color and marginalized populations.
 
APALA National President and Special Assistant to the Executive Director at United Domestic Workers/AFSCME Local 3930 Johanna Puno Hester declared: “APALA's leadership has spoken. We do not see the President-Elect as a president who will represent and serve our communities. The campaign he ran – a campaign of racism, sexism, Islamophobia and xenophobia – is not what we envision our president to be, and his appointments thus far have confirmed the type of policy we expect to see. We will resist all forms of oppression against ours- and allied- communities and continue to fight for racial, economic and broader social justice.”
 
“This is not a drill. We must not sit idly by and allow the normalization of white supremacy, authoritarianism and fascism in the White House,” added APALA Executive Director Gregory A. Cendana. “We also cannot normalize acts of hate against brown and black bodies and communities. Now is the time to take a stand on the right side of history because we cannot let this President-Elect threaten the diverse fabric of our society.”
 
Monica Thammarath, APALA’s 1st Vice President and Senior Liaison at the National Education Association, stated: “The Trump effect is already being felt in our schools. It’s up to us to organize and mobilize our constituencies on the federal, state and local levels to fight against the attacks that we are already seeing in our communities. Don’t doubt that we will call out legislators who comply and collaborate with any backwards and harmful policies.”
 
APALA remains committed to advocating for worker, civil, and immigrant rights.  Please read the full resolution on the Trump administration and resolution to hold elected officials accountable here. To join us in the fight and commit your resistance to the Trump administration, please also sign the #NotYourModelMinority Pledge here.

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Las Vegas, NV - Despite disappointing presidential election results, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) celebrates a victory in the battleground state of Nevada as the state turned blue and elected the first-ever Latina to serve in the U.S. Senate. 

American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) International Vice President and APALA National President Johanna Puno Hester stated: "We are thrilled with Catherine Cortez Masto's election to the U.S. Senate. Though we are now fighting an uphill battle with a GOP controlled presidency, congress and soon-to-be Supreme Court, we need women of color - like Catherine Cortez Masto - to be our champions and representatives. Her leadership paves the way for more immigrants and people of color - especially women - to have a seat at the table." 

"Everything we've done this year in Nevada has culminated to this moment. We've worked tirelessly to register over 3000 new voters, and by Election Day, our state turned out over three quarters of registered voters. That's huge to have that many people engaged," stated Gloria T. Caoile, APALA Nevada Chapter Leader who has continued to lead the on the ground efforts in the state for numerous cycles. "Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voices undoubtedly made a statement that our voices do count." 

Luisa Blue, International Vice President of the Service Employees International Union and APALA Board Member, added: “Asian American Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing racial group in this country and could very well be the deciding factor in future elections at the local, state and national level. While overall union density has been on the decline, unionization of Asian American Pacific Islanders has increased by 9%.  Labor needs to continue working with their AAPI membership to increase their participation and develop them to become leaders of their union. Though it was not in our favor this time, we will continue to build our base to Stand Up and Fight Back against the racist, sexist and xenophobic rhetoric and any policies that will come out of this new administration.”

"We went from being marginalized to being the margin of victory in the silver state - and that says a lot to the organizing on the ground," APALA Executive Director Gregory A. Cendana concluded. "Nevada is a key example of how we need to be organizing in other states to ensure the voices of our communities are heard and represented at all levels of government."

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