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Students aim for better conditions

By Daily Bruin Staff

May 28, 1997 9:00 p.m.

Thursday, 5/29/97 Students aim for better conditions CAMPAIGN:
‘Take Back the World’ tour takes on L.A.’s garment industry

By Quyen Ta Daily Bruin Contributor Do you know who made your
clothes? Though many of us pay close attention to looking good and
wearing the right name brands, we often never give a second thought
to where our clothes were made. In a tour sponsored by the Asian
Pacific Islander community earlier this month, the group focused on
the exploitation of low-wage workers by big retailers. The tour was
a part of the "Take Back the World Campaign," sponsored by UCLA’s
Asian Pacific Coalition (APC). Amy Luu, a second-year psychology
student and a member of Concerned Asian Pacific Students for Action
(CAPSA), explained the "Take Back the World" campaign as an attempt
to empower women in the workforce, especially in low-paying areas
such as the garment industry. "This campaign is an effort to deal
with women laborers, but also with global issues. We want to tell
women to take back their lives, not to be oppressed, to take
control," Luu said. Vy Nguyen, a member of APC elaborated on the
purpose of the campaign. "This campaign allows us to focus on women
in labor and to stop exploitation by big retailers," she said.
After arriving at an office building in downtown Los Angeles,
students met with leaders of the Thai Community Development Center
(Thai CDC), Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) and Korean Immigrant
Workers Advocates (KIWA). As an active member of KIWA, Nguyen
arranged for students to meet with leaders of these grassroots
community groups, people who deal with labor issues and community
concerns. Because these groups are not long-established (5-year-old
KIWA being the oldest), they are still in the process of
establishing networks and gaining support from their communities.
Funding for these organizations comes primarily from individual
donations, and most organizers work as volunteers. Although each
organization focuses on specific issues within their respective
communities, they also work together for a common cause – to
provide services to workers in the minority, immigrant and refugee
communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Chanchanit Martorell,
executive director of the Thai CDC and an alumna of UCLA, said that
the organization hopes to raise low-income Thai families to a
"level of self-sufficiency." This goal includes improving working
conditions for low-income Thais, especially those working in
sweatshops and other substandard conditions. The Thai CDC also
helps provide affordable housing, and offers services such as
language instruction, legal consultation and peer mentorship. The
Thai CDC received most of its public attention for its involvement
in the El Monte Workers Case in 1995. According to Martorell,
government officials found over 70 Thai nationals working in
"near-slavery" conditions in a sweatshop and getting paid below
minimum wage. "We intervened on behalf of these workers with
emergency relief, shelter, and medical care," Martorell said.
"Women make up 80 percent of the garment industry, so it is
important to join campaigns to stop the exploitation of their
labor." John Delloro, a graduate student in the UCLA Asian American
Studies Masters program and one of the founders of the PWC, spoke
to students about the need to "forge ties with workers in the
Pilipino community." "We believe in the empowerment of workers in
the working class Pilipino community," he said. This empowerment
involves educating Pilipino workers and their families. Issues the
PWC deals with include the violation and abuse of workers. In terms
of issues within the Los Angeles community, the PWC is currently
working on the Workers Rights Abuse and Violations Project (WRAV).
WRAV offers workers an opportunity to report abuses committed by
their employers. On the global scale, PWC is working on the "No to
APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation)" campaign. "’No to APEC’
is a campaign which promotes international solidarity within the
community, to help workers in the Philippines too," Delloro said.
PWC organizers seek to educate Pilipinos about industries such as
the garment industry which are becoming increasingly globalized. In
many cases where large retailers move to other countries, such as
the Philippines, large companies often overlook the working
conditions of low-wage workers. The last speaker during the tour
was Paul Lee, a 1993 UCLA alumnus and an active organizer of KIWA.
He spoke at length about the urgent need to help and empower
Koreans in the workforce. "It is a myth that all Koreans are
business owners or middle-class and well-off. Many need KIWA to
speak for their rights. These workers need to be treated with
respect," Lee said. Founded in 1992, KIWA has grown immensely and
focuses on helping Korean immigrant workers with workplace and
computer literacy, workers’ rights education, legal assistance, and
organizes support for low-wage workers. KIWA also works closely
with two other organizations, the Korean Youth and Student Union,
and the Center for Korean Culture. Current projects for KIWA
include the Retailer Accountability Campaign (RAC). Every Saturday
this May KIWA members have picketed or passed out leaflets in front
of major retail shops which they claim refuse to take
responsibility for what KIWA believes is its exploitation of
low-wage workers. KIWA received a lot of attention last year when
the group was sued by the company Guess, one of the largest
manufacturers in the Los Angeles area. In October, Guess filed a
civil lawsuit against KIWA for defamation. Nevertheless, KIWA
members are determined to continue their campaign. "We are
continuing our indiscriminate exposure of all irresponsible
manufacturers and retailers and will meet this legal challenge head
on," a KIWA newsletter stated. KIWA has also worked on affirmative
action defense campaigns, a community voter education project, and
a program to help workers and employers in the Korean restaurant
industry. Perhaps the most interesting part of this tour, however,
was when Lee took students to the Fashion District in L.A. where he
pointed out what he believed were sweatshops. "This is an
underground industry, so it’s difficult to really identify these
places," said Lee. Lee showed some 10 to 14 story buildings where
students on the tour could see sewing machines and spools of thread
from the windows. Surrounded by run-down fabric stores and
abandoned hotels, these alleged sweatshops contrasted greatly with
the modern skyscrapers and corporate buildings just across town.
"This part of the tour is helpful," said An Le, a third-year
political science student and member of APC. "We often go through
downtown, but don’t really see what’s going on, like with the
garment industry." Students left the tour with a better
understanding of issues affecting the community, including abuses
they believe exist within the garment industry, but they also came
out with a sense of determination to make a change. After the tour,
Le and several other students became interested in a Summer
Activist Training program (SAT) sponsored by these three
organizations. Ultimately, this tour showed students how other
groups are working to "take back the world," and making it a better
place. "I have a responsibility to give back to my community,"
Delloro said. "To continue the struggles of my ancestors, because I
am a part of the community." WYNN RUJIRAVIRIYAPINYO/Daily Bruin
Concerned students Stephanie Wang (left) and Lung-Chi Lee listen
attentively to KIWA speaker Paul Lee.

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