APA Labor Alliance selects new executive director

A DAUGHTER of refugees will helm one of the country's key labor organizations focusing on the needs of the Asian American and Pacific American communities.
The National Executive Board of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) announced that Alvina Yeh has been selected to serve as the organization’s next Executive Director.

“Ever since I became involved, I have always found a sense of community in APALA that you can’t get anywhere else," said Yeh. "With such a supportive National Executive Board and staff, I am excited to hit the ground running this June, especially in a progressive space that is a leader in the resistance needed in the AAPI and labor communities.”

Alvina Yeh

Originally from Colorado, Yeh has been an APALA member with the Washington, DC chapter for eight years and has served most recently as a chapter leader. There, she has helped facilitate and organize civic engagement programming in Virginia, various education roundtables, membership engagement events, and bolstered the DC chapter’s efforts with APALA priorities around supporting local Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) workers and communities.

Her prior experiences at State Voices, Asian Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), and political campaigns, including the 2012 Obama presidential campaign, have also uniquely positioned her as an expert in electoral strategy, program management, strategic planning, and organizational development.

Yeh is the daughter of Chinese refugees who fled the Vietnam War. Her experiences as a child of immigrants and growing up in a house that welcomed and supported refugees and immigrants have shaped her values and commitment to community. Yeh's career demonstrates her deep passion for empowering traditionally disenfranchised groups to become active participants in our democracy.

“In trying times like these, we need leaders to step up and prioritize movement building and intersectional organizing,” stated Johanna Puno Hester, APALA National President and Assistant Executive Director of the United Domestic Workers, AFSCME Local 3930.

“Alvina brings years of coalition-building experience for amazing year round civic engagement, and knows how to organize on the ground to engage the AAPI community and broader people of color in the civic and political process. She is a fierce advocate for our community, and I am confident she will lead APALA and IAPALA to the next level.”
Outgoing Executive Director Gregory A. Cendana, added, “I’ve known Alvina for almost a decade, and her vision, leadership, and track record show she's not only capable but the kind of leader we need in this political moment.”

AAPI cheer downfall of Trump's Labor Secretary nominee

Andrew Puzder's nomination for Labor Secretary brought out protests from his employees.

DONALD TRUMP'S pick to become Labor Secretary, Andrew Puzder, withdrew his name from nomination after a videotape of his ex-wife alleging domestic abuse surfaced.

Puzder, the CEO of the Hardee's and Carl's Jr. fast food chains, has seen his hearings delayed multiple times because he failed to fill out required financial and ethics forms, must overcome extremely damaging tapes alleging domestic abuse by his former wife, Lisa Fierstein.

Opposition from labor organizations should have been enough to question Puzder's qualifications, but his former wife's allegations may have been strong enough to sway some Republican senators to diverge from the party ranks. At least four of the Republican Senators were not going to vote for him, which would have denied him the Cabinet spot.

The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA) vehemently opposed the confirmation of Puzder.

“A millionaire whose appalling track record has demonstrated his opposition to overtime pay and increasing the minimum wage and whose companies also have a history of workers’ rights violations, Puzder has no place in leading an agency meant to protect the very workers his companies continue to exploit,” declared Johanna Puno Hester, APALA National President and Assistant Executive Director of the United Domestic Workers, AFSCME Local 3930.

“Not only has Puzder shown that he is unqualified to be Labor Secretary but also has he shown his blatant misogyny and pursuit of an anti-woman agenda," added Monica Thammarath, APALA 1st Vice President and National Education Association Senior Liaison. 

The allegations from Fierstein, Puzder's wife from 1973 to 1987, apparently were too much for the GOP to ignore. She appeared on Oprah Winfrey's show in March of 1990 in a segment about "High-Class Battered Women." On the show, Fierstein, in disguise as "Ann," describes alleged abuse by Puzder and its impact on her life. 

"I wound up losing everything, everything," Fierstein told Winfrey. "I have nothing. He has a Porsche and a Mercedes-Benz. He has the home. He has everything. He was an attorney and he knew how to play the system." She also claimed that Puzder told her: "I will see you in the gutter. This will never be over, you will pay for this." 

Since then, Fierstein has regretted her appearance on Winfrey's show and has retracted her allegations saying Puzder was a fine man and father but the video of her testimony was too damaging for his chances of winning Senate votes.

“Let Puzder’s withdrawal be an example of how powerful organizing can be," said Puno. "Puzder was only one nomination in a larger set of Cabinet picks who seriously threaten the lives and freedom of people of color, women, LGBTQ communities, and all other marginalized groups, we call on our members, co-conspirators, and allies to continue to resist, organize, and fight back against this administration that is intentionally targeting and attacking our diverse communities and working families nationwide.”

Asian/American lawmakers posted messages expressed a sigh of relief:

“Last month, I met several workers who were denied paid leave and were required to serve and prep food when they were sick while they worked for Andrew Puzder's fast food corporation” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, said in a statement. “No one should be forced to choose between taking care of themselves or a sick family member and earning a paycheck they cannot afford to go without. It was a mistake to nominate someone like Mr. Puzder who has spent his career exploiting workers and racking up labor violations. I hope the President chooses someone more qualified to lead the Labor Department.”

Read more here: http://www.bnd.com/news/local/article133001054.html#storylink=cpy