12pm: Asian Immigrants, Labor Struggles & Economic Justice in LA
(Ralph & Goldy Lewis Hall (RGL), Room 105, University of Southern California)
Asian Immigrants, Labor Struggles & Economic Justice in LA: Where have we been and where are we headed?
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
12:00 PM-1:30 PM
Ralph & Goldy Lewis Hall (RGL), Room 105, University of Southern California
Space and parking are limited, please rsvp with CSII by emailing csii@usc.edu or by phone at 213.740.3643.
The growing Asian population in Southern California is increasingly constituted by immigrants, and "Asian Pacific American (APA) workers are, with Latinos, the fastest growing group in the U.S. workforce and in organized labor" (CEPR 2009). Despite this, issues around labor and immigration in the United States have tended to center around the Latino experience. Media attention and political efforts often overlook Asian communities, but Asian immigrants continue to deal with their own set of integration issues including poverty, lack of authorization and labor exploitation.
Los Angeles remains a powerhouse for labor organizing but what are the challenges and opportunities for building an organizing infrastructure for Asian workers? What does this movement look like? How does it fit into the larger labor and immigrant movements? How are people addressing the needs of Asian immigrant workers from a policy perspective? And where are these movements headed? This event is co-sponsored by Asian Pacific American Student Services at the University of Southern California.
Moderator:
Leland Saito, Associate Professor, Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity, USC
Panel:
Betty Hung, Attorney, Legal Aid Foundation Los Angeles and Committee Member, Los Angeles Taxi Workers Alliance
Glenn Omatsu, Faculty, Asian American Studies, CSUN and Sociology, PCC
Danny Park, Executive Director, Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance
Aquilina Soriano-Versoza, Executive Director, Pilipino Workers’ Center
Film benefit for Haiti (6:30 pm)
(3731 Stocker Street, Suite 201, Los Angeles)
Screening. FILM Benefit for Haiti: The acclaimed 2009 documentary “Poto Mitan: Haitian Women, Pillars of the Global Economy"
The film is told through the compelling lives of five courageous Haitian women workers, Poto Mitan gives the global economy a human face. Each woman’s personal story explains neoliberal globalization, how it is gendered, and how it impacts Haiti: inhumane working/living conditions, violence, poverty, lack of education, and poor health care. While Poto Mitan offers in-depth understanding of Haiti, its focus on women’s subjugation, worker exploitation, poverty, and resistance demonstrates these are global struggles. Finally, through their collective activism, these women demonstrate that despite monumental obstacles in a poor country like Haiti, collective action makes change possible.
Cost is $5.
For more information, call: (213) 201-7029.
Growing Together/Creciendo Juntos (10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.)
(Paramount Library: 16254 Colorado Ave., Paramount, 90723)
Caregivers and children ages 1 to 3 years old will participate in stories, songs, exercise and art. This is an English and Spanish-speaking program.
For more information, please contact the children's services librarian at (562) 630-3171.