Resolution supporting Asian-Americans
WHEREAS On March 16, eight people were murdered at three spas in Georgia, many of whom were Asian and immigrant women that were targeted at their workplaces, happening during a global pandemic that has revealed the vulnerability most workers face in America and brought to the forefront anti-Asian racism, and
WHEREAS 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, and
WHEREAS 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, and
WHEREAS Since 1992 the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO, has played a unique role in addressing the workplace issues of the 660,000 AAPI union members and in serving as the bridge between the broader labor movement and the AAPI community and has with strong support of the AFL-CIO, accounting for more than 20 chapters and pre-chapters and a national office in Washington, D.C, and
WHEREAS APALA AFL-CIO has called for affiliates, chapters, Locals, and organizations across the country to add their names as signatories to the Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ-Atlanta) “Collective Statement - A Community-Centered Response to Violence Against Asian American Communities”, and
WHEREAS Bloomington-Normal is a diverse regional community in Central Illinois who’s residents; our coworkers, union siblings, teachers, students, neighbors have been subjected or borne witness to anti-Asian racism and sexism in person and/or in media, and
WHEREAS Bloomington-Normal Trades and Labor Assembly (BNTL) seeks to create the living and working conditions that are equitable for all,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Bloomington-Normal Trades and Labor Assembly (BNTL) will take the following steps to #StopAsianHate
Add Bloomington-Normal Trades and Labor Assembly as signatories to the AAAJ-Atlanta Statement, and
Encourage the following groups of individuals and to add their names to the AAAJ-Atlanta Statement
Elected Officials in McLean Co
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the BNTL Assembly will
Ask Local leaders in our Central Labor Council to encourage their rank and file to become members of APALA, AFL-CIO, and
Encourage our members to develop and/or attend internal and/or labor-centric race-equity trainings such as the courses offered on “Race and Labor” through University of Illinois’, Labor Education Program, and
Inquiry with local Asian-American organizations for ways in which Bloomington-Normal Trades and Labor Assembly may help address the local mutual aid needs for individuals they represent, and
Advocate that IL AFL-CIO prioritize creation and dissemination of resources for members to obtain “bystander training” for pro-actively addressing discriminatory behaviors in our community and the workplace.
Much of the Whereas content comes directly from the APALA press release & AAAJ-ATL statements. Thank you to the members & workers who drafted that language.
AAAJ-ATL Statement: https://www.advancingjustice-atlanta.org/aaajcommunitystatement?fbclid=IwAR3uyPJ1BnDQ34FqBBTKMDFFwH_xYmTCFn8olIw80LoVbyBliFjfUOugruM
APALA, AFL-CIO: https://www.apalanet.org/
UIUC LER Program: https://ler.illinois.edu/
Bystander Training: https://www.advancingjustice-chicago.org/what-we-do/bystander-intervention-trainings/
