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APALA Members Picket in Solidarity with Striking University of California Academic Workers

11/18/2022

For Immediate Release: November 18, 2022
Contact: Katie Moy Mostris, katie@apala.org

APALA Members Picket in Solidarity with Striking University of California Academic Workers

This week, Academic Workers at the University of California (UC) represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) went on strike for higher wages and increased child-care benefits. After a year of negotiations and being unable to reach an agreement, 97% of academic workers across the UC system voted to authorize an unfair labor practice strike. This strike is the largest group of employees on strike this year and the largest strike ever at a higher education institution.

Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) urges management at UC to meet with workers at the table, bargain in good faith, and offer a comprehensive living wage package. Academic workers are the backbone of the massive UC system, and campuses and workers are significantly underpaid, especially given the rising cost of living. For example, teaching assistants at the University of California Los Angeles earn an average wage of $24,000 a year, while the median rent in the area is more than $36,000 a year (according to realtor.com).

APALA National Executive Board Members and leaders will join workers at the UCLA picket line on Friday, November 18th, 2022, and will continue to support the UAW workers in the fight ahead.

Alex Mabanta, UAW Local 2865 and Young Workers Vice-President of APALA, said, "Academic workers on all 10 UC campuses live and work in some of the most expensive cities in California and, adjusted for an hourly wage, are paid subminimum wages. Our campaign fights for a living wage, childcare, and healthcare for dependents, public transit passes, and better accessibility for workers with disabilities. Amid skyrocketing rents, living costs, and inflation, we know our strike advances collective liberation: economic justice is racial justice is climate justice is disability justice is housing justice. We are fighting to transform how academic workers are valued comprehensively. Together, we are 48,000 strong. We teach classes, grade papers, and perform cutting-edge research. By mobilizing the largest higher education strike in American history, we are shaping how fair contracts empower academic workers across California and beyond."

Sandra Engle (UAW), APALA National Executive Board Secretary, said, “APALA is ready to stand in solidarity with all UC Academic Workers on strike for better pay. UAW members are leading the largest strike in the U.S. since 2019 and are blazing a path ahead for academic workers across the country. Workers have the power and are ready to put it on the line for economic and racial justice.”

For more information about the Strike or to find a picket at a campus near you: https://www.fairucnow.org/picket/

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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.

APALA Management and Staff Union Ratifies Groundbreaking Union Contract!

9/7/2022

For Immediate Release:
Contact: Katie Moy Mostris, katie@apala.org

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.

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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.

APALA Decries Myanmar’s Unjust Execution of Pro-Democracy Activists

8/3/2022

For Immediate Release: August 3rd, 2022
Contact: Katie Moy Mostris, katie@apala.org

APALA Decries Myanmar’s Unjust Execution of Pro-Democracy Activists

APALA decries Myanmar’s Military for their recent unjust execution of four pro-democracy activists. These executions are the first reported judicial executions by the junta in decades. APALA represents AAPI workers across the U.S., including Burmese workers, and has previously condemned the military’s use of force to undermine democracy, advocated for the BURMA Act in Congress, and appealed for the urgent assistance of the U.S. Department of State regarding the safety and security of a high-profile Burmese union leader who has fled the country with his young family.

Myanmar has executed four activists, including two pro-democracy leaders allegedly charged under counter-terrorism laws. Their names were Phyo Zeya Thaw, Ko Jimmy, Hla Myo Aung, and Aung Thura Zaw. Little information is public or has been provided to the family as trials for all four were conducted behind closed doors, and the government had refused to share when or how the activists were executed. These executions come after the country’s military violently seized power early last year (2021).

APALA Texas Chapter Leader and SIU Appointee Shwe Aung states, “The junta is attempting to intimidate and instill fear in the people of Burma. With 76 other political prisoners currently detained and many movement leaders fleeing for their lives in exile like my brother, these executions are a disturbing and heinous warning to all in Burma. We will continue to stand with activists to fight for democracy and self-determination while urging the U.S. government and other allies of democracy to take action. Now Burmese people are determined to end the military regime and urge you all to help by supporting the movement.”

Follow US Campaign for Burma for more updates on Facebook (@uscampaignforburma), Instagram (us.campaign.for.burma), and Twitter (USCB).

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APALA Members Picket in Solidarity with Striking University of California Academic Workers

APALA Management and Staff Union Ratifies Groundbreaking Union Contract!

APALA Decries Myanmar’s Unjust Execution of Pro-Democracy Activists

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