Public Employee Press

South Asian Labor
One voice, one movement

This year, the Alliance of South Asian American Labor's grassroots work will focus on immigration reform, organizing workers and community outreach.

By GREGORY N. HEIRES

More than 200 activists and guests gathered at DC 37 Dec. 6 for the seventh annual convention of the Alliance of South Asian American Labor, which was organized around the theme of "One Voice, One Movement - Empowering South Asians."

The gathering addressed immigration reform, the garment workers' struggle, and the taxi and limousine unionization drive. It highlighted the need of the embattled union movement to build strong community alliances.

"The labor movement cannot be successful in today's political climate until we become active in the community," said ASAAL President Maf Misbah Uddin, who is also DC 37's treasurer and president of Accountants, Statisticians and Actuaries Local 1407.

"ASAAL's goal is to get involved and bring our message to the community," Uddin told PEP. "The community should feel we are a group that represents and speaks for it."

DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido discussed how unions must become more aggressive and encourage greater membership activism, particularly in light of the Republican takeover of the U.S. Congress.

ASAAL honored Garrido and John W. Wilhelm, former president of UNITE HERE, the Union of Needle Trades, Restauarant, Hotel, Industrial and Textile Employees. ASAAL's 600 participants from the tri-state area include activists and leaders from 70 local unions, individual workers interested in working with the labor movement and self-employed people, including those who run their own small business.

Grassroots activities

During the past year, ASAAL has worked with the South Asian communities in support of labor issues. It has focused on fighting layoffs, budget cuts and contracting out in addition to supporting campaigns for affordable housing, the living wage and the struggle of low-wage workers.

During its grassroots political work in 2014, ASAAL distributed more than 20,000 palm cards. The organization has strongly backed the organizing efforts of taxi and limousine drivers, whose ranks include many South Asians, and has reached out to the city's 10,000 street vendors to discuss union affiliation, Uddin said.

Chaired by Mazeda A. Uddin, the group's women's committee spearheaded a successful initiative to require the city to have ballots in Bengali. The committee works for immigration reform and last year campaigned for the Dream Act. The act, which would have allowed undocumented students to receive state financial aid for their studies, was narrowly defeated last year in the New York State Legislature.

Guest speakers included state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, Public Advocate Letitia James, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, city Central Labor Council President Vincent Alvarez and several state senators, Assembly and City Council members.

"Justice has to be served," said Uddin at the convention, underscoring ASAAL's commitment to supporting immigrant workers and revitalizing the labor movement, which now represents 7 percent of the private-sector workforce.

"We can't continue like this," said Uddin. "We must continue our fight. We must establish rights as human beings in the United States and the world."