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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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