Blog Archives

WHAT'S NEW AT OPEIU?

3/29/2021

Stressed? Join Our Women's Committee on April 15 for "A Life Without Stress"

Join our Women's Committee on April 15 at 6:30 PM for "A Life Without Stress" - led by Local 2 Shop Steward Nalishha Mehta, who teaches meditative and reflective processes for activists, leaders, and workers. Pre-registration required so sign up by clicking the button below!

3/26/2021

Anti-Asian Violence is a Labor Issue

Anti-Asian racism in the United States is nearly as old as our nation itself. Throughout our country's history, white supremacists and their enablers have subjected Asians and Asian-Americans on and off U.S. soil to discrimination, violence and bigotry. Recent waves of violence, incited by careless rhetoric and reckless misinformation, have carried on this shameful tradition against our Asian-American and Pacific Islander citizens.

OPEIU stands with the AAPI community against the violence and discrimination they've been subjected to for centuries on U.S. soil, which has skyrocketed more than 150 percent since the start of the pandemic. No one should fear racist violence in or out of the workplace. It's incumbent on the entire labor movement, including OPEIU, to educate, agitate and organize internally and externally against the myriad ways racism has seeped into our society and our workplaces.

For anyone lost and unsure of how to #StopAsianHate, be sure to join the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) community and become a member! APALA is an outspoken champion for #AAPI workers everywhere. Their membership drive ends on April 8th. Join the movement today: https://apalanet.org/membership.html

3/26/2021

OPEIU Quarterly Newsletter: Spring 2021

It's been a busy few months! Workers continue to advance the labor movement in partnership with OPEIU: tech workers continue to build power in their industry with a new Tech Workers Bill of Rights, eight new nonprofit groups join OPEIU including DC SAFE and Emily's List, and employees at Augsburg University made history by becoming the first unionized professional staff at a private university in Minnesota. Read the full issue in English or Spanish below!

3/22/2021

Local 2 Members Inspire the Next Generation :)

Local 2 members rock! Kaiser Permanente phlebotomist Adrian left such a lasting impression on one of his patients that he inspired a book.

"The book was written and published by the parent of one our young KP members after the young member visited the Prince George Laboratory for phlebotomy services. The young member was serviced by the Laboratory Technician, Adrian. Adrian left such a lasting impression that the young member’s mother was inspired to write a book about the child’s experience."

3/18/2021

APALA Grieves for the Asian Women Who Were Victims of Targeted Shootings in Georgia, and Condemns Misogyny and White Supremacy that Motivated These Murders

Statement from the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance - Last night, eight people were murdered at three spas in Georgia, many of whom were Asian and immigrant women that were targeted at their workplaces. These killings happened amidst a global pandemic that has revealed the vulnerability most workers face in America and brought to the forefront anti-Asian racism, both of which are critical to maintaining white supremacy.

These murders show how both racism and sexism shapes the specific ways that Asian women experience violence; Asian women are fetishized as sex objects and perceived as deserving of violence. Such dehumanization goes back to more than a century ago when the Page Act of 1875 defined all Asian women as sexually deviant and therefore limited their mobility and freedom. These murders were also driven by the demonization of China, where institutions from all sides are blaming a whole nation of people, and thus all people racialized in the same way, for everything from the COVID-19 pandemic to the resulting failing economy.

Full statement -->

3/9/2021

Join the Education Committee the next Shop Steward Forum on Grievance Handling via Zoom! March 24, 2021 from 5:30-7:30p

Join us on March 24, 2021 from 5:30-7:30p via zoom.

To register click here.

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