This past year has been a year full of historic firsts, and I just want to take a quick look back at some of our accomplishments, which we couldn't have done without you, our members and leaders:

• Formed new chapters in New Jersey and in San Diego.
• Held 1st ever Congressional Briefing on Asian Pacific American (APA) unemployment and job creation.
• Convened largest and livliest APALA convention ever with 800 attendees and a 1500 person march to Oakland City Hall.
• Helped elect pro-worker candidates in New Jersey, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and other states.  
• Organized historic APA Worker Rights Hearings in greater Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Seattle, and the Bay Area.
• Led APA contingents to Occupy Wall Street encampments around the country. 
• Hosted occupational health and safety summits with OSHA in Oakland and New York.
• Got 50+ APA groups to sign  onto a letter of support for public employees.
• Amplified APA voices across the country through our AAPIs Want to Work campaign, as part of the AFL-CIO's America Wants to Work campaign. 
• Became the 1st APA and labor group to join the youth vote organizing coalition, the Generational Alliance.   

As your president, I look forward to what we can jointly accomplish in 2012. As usual, we will be leading the field effort for the APA community to make sure that APAs are educated and vote for a slate of progressive, working families candidates and ballot measures. We are spearheading a coalition of APA groups to do voter education and turnout, and we will continue to partner with our allies in labor and the immigrant and civil rights community to educate all workers about the important struggles that we all face.  

Please join APALA today so that we can continue to advocate for APA working families. Also, check out this holiday greetings video from the APALA National staff and the "We Are APALA-DC" video that made the semi-finals of contest that the White House Initiative on AAPIs is running.  

In solidarity,

Johanna Hester

APALA National President