APALA is proud to co-chair the Housing & Economic Justice Committee of the National Council on Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) with the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (CAPACD).

As part of NCAPA's Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Summit, APALA & National CAPACD hosted a policy roundtable on Housing, Community Development, Small Business, Workforce Discrimination and Worker Protections.

A special thank you goes to Casiano Corpus, a Stations Casino worker and organizing committee member from Culinary Workers Local 226 in Las Vegas, Lelaine Bigelow of Congresswoman Judy Chu's Office and Phil Tom, Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the US Department of Labor for joining Gregory and Caroline as panelists. (Photo credit: Ken Liu, Culinary 226)  

Immigration 

APALA was doubly represented on the same day at the NCAPA Immigration Roundtable, where Caroline Fan and Seattle chapter member Yuki Suren, an undocumented student, spoke movingly about the need for immigration reform and the DREAM Act, recognizing that about 10 percent of undocumented students are APA. Caroline said, "America was built out of the dreams and sweat of immigrant workers, and if we are going to be a prosperous, future-facing country, we need to include our most talented young people - regardless of immigration status."  

Yuki shared her own hopes and experiences: "Passing the Dream Act will help me and many other good hard working people who just simply want to survive. It will help me to fulfill my dreams, serve my community and contribute to this nation which I consider my home. Please put yourself in my position, and do not punish me for the sacrifice that my parents made for a better life for me. Our immigration system especially victimizes immigrants' children who had no say in coming here."  

Other speakers included Congressman Mike Honda (CA), Angela Arboleda, Senior Policy Advisor to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Morna Ha, Executive Director of NAKASEC.  

Immigration reform remains a central and driving goal of the APA community. To that end, yesterday Caroline and other NCAPA representatives met with key White House staff to discuss the APA community's specific concerns and needs on immigration. 

SEIU International celebrated APA Heritage month with traditional Indian and Korean dance performances as well as a fiery and inspiring conversation with heavy audience participation from SEIU staff and workers around the model minority myth. APALA Associate Director Caroline Fan spoke on the high levels of APA unemployment, rising student loan costs, and the 99 percent. She was joined in a fishbowl discussion by Woong Chang, a member of Restaurant Opportunities Center - DC, Rogie Legaspi (AFT member from Baltimore), Tom Hayashi (Executive Director of the Organization of Chinese Americans), and Stan Lou (President of OCA-Greater Washington DC). The room was overflowing, and one of the SEIU workers in attendance was inspired to join APALA for the first time ever, writing in: "I definitely identified with most of the issues that were mentioned and I think it's really important to talk about the issues surrounding our lives and circumstances here in America and to educate and/or start having deep conversations to understand each other and unite us all."

AFSCME International kicked off APA Heritage Month with a screening of "Grassroots Rising," which highlighted the stories of APA workers organizing in LA. AFSCME staff also gathered to celebrate the contributions of APA labor activists at an Ice Cream Social. AFSCME staff had a chance to show off their skills at a karaoke open-mic, which included a special performance from Secretary-Treasurer Lee Saunders. The AFSCME APAHM Committee ended May with a round table on APAs in the workplace with Sarita Gupta, Executive Director of Jobs with Justice. Additionally, AFSCME staff participated each week in an APA Trivia Contest. A month-long silent auction featuring many unique Asian items was also held, in which proceeds will be donated to AALEAD. 

On May 12, the Las Vegas APALA chapter held a celebration for APA voters in Nevada. APAs have had explosive population growth in Nevada, with an 116% increase from the last Census - more than any other state.   

"The APALA Las Vegas Chapter recognizes the importance for Asian Pacific Americans in Nevada to exercise their voting power. We have community partners who are excited about and supportive of the tremendous increase and growth of AAPIs in our state," said Gloria T. Caoile, APALA Las Vegas President and National Political Chair. "We will continue to register voters and then implement voter outreach and education to ensure that APAs are aware of their voting rights."

Other luminaries who attended the event include Rozita Lee, White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Commissioner, May Manahanan with the Clark County Nevada - Election Department, and other Asian American veterans, business leaders, union members, and community leaders. The event received a full half page of coverage in the Asian Journal.