Description
Comprises notes, correspondence, memos, agendas, minutes, reports, convention materials, rosters, press material and other
organizational documents collected and generated by Katie Quan in her role as a founding member of the
Asian Pacific American Alliance (APALA). APALA, a nationwide organization of
Asian Pacific American trade unionists formed under the auspices of the AFL-CIO, was created in response to the working conditions, concerns and
aspirations of
Asian Pacific American workers.
Background
Katie Quan, one of the leading
Asian
Americans in the U. S. labor movement, has been involved in the
Asian
American community since her student days at the University of California, Berkeley, when she worked with Oakland-based civil rights
groups. In 1975, Quan moved to New York City and worked as a sewing machine operator in a Chinatown garment factory. She
joined the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) that same year, and then became a shop steward in 1982. She
went on to join the union staff as an educator and an organizer. During her years in New York City, Quan helped establish
a day care center for garment workers and helped organize the Chinese Committee of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, a political
and social group for Chinese seamstresses. She returned to San Francisco in 1990 to take on the position of manager of the
Pacific Northwest District Council of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees Union (UNITE), and in 1992 she was instrumental
in establishing the
Asian Pacific
American Labor Alliance (APALA), a nationwide group of Asian Pacific unionists formed under the auspices of the AFL-CIO. She served
as the vice president of APALA and international vice president of ILGWU and its successor, UNITE. Quan's husband, Richard
Leung, president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 87, was also a founding member of APALA and he served
as its treasurer.Founded in 1992 the
Asian Pacific
American Alliance (APALA) is the first and only National organization of
Asian
Americans and Pacific Islander (AAPI) workers, whose mission is to advance worker, immigrant and civil rights. In 1990, AAPI labor
activists approached the AFL-CIO with a proposal to form a national AAPI group. A year later, the AFL-CIO Executive Council
established a committee to explore the formation of a national AAPI labor group. The 37-member Steering Committee was formed
from representatives of the three regional AAPI labor groups, the Hawaii State AFL-CIO, and seven founding unions. In 1992,
over 500 labor activists from around the country convened in Washington, D.C. for the founding of APALA.
Extent
3.75 Cubic Feet
(3 cartons)
Restrictions
Copyright has not been assigned to the Labor Archives and Research Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from materials must be submitted in writing to the Director of the Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf
of the Labor Archives and Research Center as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Availability
Collection is open for research. Some material is restricted to protect personal identifiable information. Access restrictions
are noted at the file level. Please contact the Director of the Labor Archives and Research Center for more information.