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Finding Aid to the Katie Quan Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) collection
larc.ms.0419
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Title: Katie Quan Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) collection
Date (inclusive): 1988-1998
Creator:
Quan, Katie
Physical Description:
3.75 Cubic Feet
(3 cartons)
Collection number: larc.ms.0419
Accession number: 2016/003
Repository:
Labor Archives and Research Center
J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460
San Francisco State University
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco, CA 94132-1722
(415) 405-5571
larc@sfsu.edu
Abstract: 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.
Physical Location: Materials are stored offsite; requires advance notice.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English.
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.
Donated by Katie Quan in 2016.
Arranged as received. Quan's folder titles were retained.
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.
Some material is duplicated across series.
[Identification of item], Katie Quan Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) collection, larc.ms.0419, Labor Archives
and Research Center, San Francisco State University.
Collection was processed by Wendy Welker in 2019.
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.
The material in this collection evidences APALA's focus on recruiting a new generation as labor organizers, forging labor-community
alliances, supporting civil rights legislation, securing fair representation for Asian Pacific Americans at all levels of
politics, and advancing Asian Pacific American political power.
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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance
Asian Americans -- Employment.
Pacific Islander Americans -- Employment.
Labor unions -- Organizing -- California.