AIWA'S HISTORY
In 1983, AIWA was founded to address immigrant women’s
most immediate needs by teaching survival English to immigrant
hotel workers in San Francisco.
In 1991, AIWA opened a branch office in San Jose in
order to educate and organize the increasing number of immigrant
electronics assemblers in Silicon Valley facing economic exploitation
and toxic exposure in the high technology industries.
From 1992 to 1997, AIWA garment workers led a national
grassroots effort called the Garment Workers Justice Campaign
to demand corporate responsibility from multi-million dollar
garment manufacturers. Fueled by the courage of immigrant
seamstresses, national support of college students, labor,
religious and community organizations, AIWA reached an historic
agreement in 1996 creating worker protections for thousands
of garment workers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Expanding
the impact of their first agreement, AIWA met with three more
Bay Area manufacturers in 1997 – Esprit de Corp., Byer
California and Fritzi of California reaching three more agreements
with these multi-million dollar corporations.
In 1997, AIWA developed the Youth
Build Immigrant Power Project with young people who walked
the picket line in support of their mothers during the Garment
Workers Justice Campaign. YBIP develops the leadership and
organizing skills of youth from low-income Asian immigrant
families so they are able to bring social change to their
communities. (link to YBIP page)
In 1998 AIWA began the Peer
Health Promoters Network. This program used peer educators
to train working immigrant women about occupational health
and safety. This program evolved into the Ergonomic Improvement
Project, which works to improve ergonomic conditions in garment
factories through research and changes in workstation design.
In 2000, in collaboration with the University
of California, San Francisco, AIWA launched the Asian Immigrant
Women Workers Clinic, which since 2001 has continued under
UCSF auspices. AIWA leaders are focusing on improving the
health and safety of workers through workstation improvement
and worker leadership development.
Now AIWA’ s programs include:
- Weekly workplace literacy classes in Oakland and San Jose
taught using an innovative peer teaching model
- Leadership development training that move immigrant women
into leadership roles within AIWA and the broader community
- Strategic justice campaigns which build power for immigrant
women to win real changes at the workplace and in their
communities.
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