​Washington, DC – The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) is outraged by the unnecessary, forcible removal of a passenger on a United Express flight operated by Republic Airways by airport security officers that occurred last Sunday.
 
“Incidents like these are deeply upsetting,” stated Johanna Puno Hester, APALA National President and Assistant Executive Director of the United Domestic Workers, AFSCME Local 3930. “It could have easily been resolved by peaceful means. No one deserves to be treated that way!  It was a needless act of brutality yet again on a person of color."
 
APALA Executive Director Gregory Cendana added: “Resistance to ‘authorities’ of the carceral state does not justify violence against our bodies. This incident is another example in the larger narrative on how people of color are devalued, dehumanized, and criminalized in our society. We demand accountability for the officer’s actions and will continue to put people over profit -- and in this case, the profit of the airline.”
 
"We do not condone the actions of the officer involved. There are tens of thousands of amazing airline employees who provide excellent customer service, and the airline's policy failed them,” continued Hester. “Even after public apologies, airlines should not only reform policies, like the overbooking practice, that can impact their workers’ day to day interactions with passengers, but also represent their dedication to their workers properly throughout these processes.”
 
Cendana concluded: “What is even more disturbing, however, is a growing police state emboldened to use force and violence. Airlines and airports are increasingly becoming places where brown and black communities feel more and more unsafe. We challenge these institutions to proactively address issues of discrimination and racism, and to denounce acts of violence that they may encounter in their workplaces.”

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​Washington, DC – The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) strongly condemns Trump’s latest executive orders that would build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, increase enforcement and detention, and withhold federal funding for sanctuary cities, in addition to the expected actions to ban Muslims and refugees.
 
“There is no doubt that this a direct attack on the majority of the country. Trump’s unabashed advancement of right-wing policies reflects his gross neglect of what is profoundly American: to value diversity no matter faith, nationality, skin color—or any self or perceived identity,” declared Johanna Puno Hester, APALA National President and Assistant Executive Director of the United Domestic Workers, AFSCME Local 3930.
 
Not even a week into his term, Mr. Trump continues to forge a dangerous path for any type of serious conversation that could bring our country together. Instead, his demagoguery is so polarizing and continues to criminalize people of color, immigrants and refugees, Muslims, women, LGBTQ and indigenous communities.
 
“No person should fear to simply exist. From the Chinese Exclusion Act to the incarceration of Japanese Americans to the Southeast Asian deportation crisis, our Asian American and Pacific Islander community intimately understands the deep arc of racial violence, oppression, and criminalization against our community,” added Monica Thammarath, APALA 1st Vice President and Senior Liaison of the National Education Association. “And still, our Black and Brown brothers and sisters from all backgrounds continue to face persecution.”
 
Hester continued: “The economic and cultural contributions of immigrants and refugees on our history and strength as a nation have been immeasurable. To denounce and minimize their existence is to denounce our ideals of freedom and equality that we as Americans hold dear. As an immigrant myself, I am ashamed that the so-called 'leader of the free world' is prioritizing, promoting and expanding state-sanctioned prejudice that panders to a white supremacist status quo.”
 
“The danger that this administration poses on freedom, civil liberties, and equality has the potential to mar generations to come. This is no time to be complicit with the administration; this is no time to remain silent,” added Yves Gomes, APALA National Executive Board Member and member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 400.
 
Needed now more than ever is to work with community leaders, organizers on the ground, and local and state representatives in government to protect our communities, our children, and our families from the hateful, racist, Islamophobic, and xenophobic actions that will arise from such orders. We stand side by side with our allies, organizing our bases to protect all immigrants, Muslims, and refugees that are targets of Trump’s deplorable executive actions.
 
We’re here to stay. We declare black lives matter. We demand not one more deportation. We are better than this – we are stronger than hate.
 

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Honolulu, Hawaii – Last Monday, on December 12, members of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) National Executive Board and staff convened a roundtable with the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) to discuss the importance and alignment of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) issues within the broader Asian American community as it relates to mass incarceration and economic justice. 
 
Convening at CNHA member organization Keiki O Ka Aina Family Learning Center for its work to connect children with their mothers in the system, roundtable speakers included Michelle Kauhane, CNHA President and CEO; Annelle Amaral, member of Hawaii Paroling Authority and president of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Oahu Council; and a formerly incarcerated staff member at the center who graciously shared her story of reentry into society.
 
“The school-to-prison pipeline undoubtedly disproportionately affects Native Hawaiians as well,” commented CNHA President & CEO Michelle Kauhane. “40% of Hawaii’s inmate population is Native Hawaiian. We need to be looking at the root causes of our overly incarcerated population – lack of a living wage, poor public schools, an unfair criminal justice system.”
 
APALA National President Johanna Puno Hester added: “It is so important that we include Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in all policy discussions including efforts to reform the criminal justice system because there is so much alignment with the incarceration of Asian American folks more broadly. Even still, NHPI populations also experience different strains like being separated from their families as brothers and sisters are sent to do their time on the continental U.S.”
 
“We’re so excited to welcome Michelle Kauhane to APALA's advisory committee on NHPI issues, co-chaired by APALA National Executive Board Members Executive Secretary-Treasurer Josie Camacho and State Director of the United Public Workers, Dayton Nakanelua,” added APALA Executive Director Gregory A. Cendana. “Hawaii has the highest density of Asian American and Pacific Islander union members, and with this newly formed committee we hope to better voice the perspectives of the NHPI community in our advocacy, organizing and movement building.”
 
The APALA National Executive Board passed a resolution reaffirming our commitment to uplift Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander issues. To view the full resolution, please click here. APALA continues to advocate for a reformed criminal justice system through AAPIs Beyond Bars, a coalition of labor, education, civil rights, and criminal justice organizations addressing mass incarceration and deportation in the AAPI community. 
 

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The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO was founded in 1992 as the first and only national organization for Asian Pacific American union members to advance worker, immigrant and civil rights. For more information, visit www.apalanet.org and follow @APALAnational
 
The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the well being of Hawaii through the cultural, economic, political and community development of Native Hawaiians.