FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 28, 2011

Contact: Gregory Cendana, gcendana@apalanet.org (916) 284-9839

Statement by Luisa Blue, National President of APALA

The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO, the nation’s only union of Asian Pacific American workers, stands with the workers under assault in Wisconsin and other states. One out of eight Asian Pacific Americans is a union member, and we call on Wisconsin Gov. Walker and other elected officials to create jobs for hardworking Americans, not to repay corporate donors by tearing down middle class jobs. We stand opposed to politicians’ efforts to deny teachers, nurses, and firefighters a voice at work by taking away their long-held right to organize and to bargain collectively. 

Inspired by the workers in Wisconsin who aim to preserve middle class jobs and vital services for their communities, APALA members have participated in solidarity actions in New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Detroit, Alameda, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, and in Wisconsin itself. 

We stand together with the millions of workers, parents, and students who are fighting to keep workplace freedoms. We stand united against the unreasonable politicians who do not bargain in good faith, but instead seek to destroy working families. Attacks on union members are just the tip of the iceberg. Instead of balancing the budget by closing corporate loopholes and pursuing tax-evading companies, politicians like Gov. Walker are trying to pass divisive anti-immigrant bills and cut health care and social safety net programs that Asian Pacific American families rely on. 

Now, more than ever, we must take a stand. Students face rising tuition costs and homeowners increasingly find themselves unable to maintain a roof over their heads.  Asian Pacific Americans who are unemployed remain out of work for longer periods than other Americans, and face greater language barriers to employment.  It’s time for our elected leadership to put aside political posturing, stop attacking workers’ rights, and work together to create a jobs plan for the future. 

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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.