May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. It’s time we pause and celebrate the diverse cultures, traditions, and histories of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and their significant contributions to the growth and development of the United States.
Every year, AFGE celebrates Asian Pacific Heritage Month by recognizing Asian American labor leaders who have made a difference in the lives of their fellow Americans. This year we sat down with Justin Chen and Gilbert Galam. Chen is an inspector and president of AFGE Local 1003 representing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees in Texas and second vice president of AFGE Council 238 representing EPA employees across the country. Galam is Transportation Security Officer and Local 1230 secretary and legislative political coordinator. He’s also YOUNG coordinator for AFGE District 12. Both AFGE members emphasized the vital role of unions in our daily life, including unions’ role in protecting public health and improving workers’ pay in the local market.
WFP and AFGE A.P.O.W.E.R. are helping AFGE celebrate AAPINH Heritage Month by raising awareness about the challenges and barriers that Asian Americans face in the workplace, learning more about the history of Asian American labor and immigration, and acknowledging and appreciating the contributions that Asian American and Pacific Islander workers have made to the labor movement and to the broader community. Check out links to all the programming right after the interviews.
Justin Chen
EPA
How long have you been working at the EPA and what made you decide to join public service?
I started in 2015. I joined the agency because I wanted to serve the public by using my talents and education to the best of their abilities.
How long have you been an AFGE member and why did you join?
I became an AFGE member as soon as I joined the agency. I joined because I believe in workers' rights and that labor unions are the most important political and economic organizations a person can and should be part of. I've been active in my local since joining, but I became the Legislative Political Coordinator in 2018 and became local president in 2020.
How does your work help the American people and your local community?
I am an inspector and enforcement officer, so I investigate facilities to make sure they comply with laws and regulations as well as ensuring they are not overly polluting the environment. The agency's mission is to protect human health and the environment, and that's localized to the communities I work in as well as nationally and internationally speaking since pollution isn't usually restricted by boundaries.
The EPA council voted to declare a climate emergency last year. Can you give us an update on that? Why is it important to act now? Is it too late?
Council 238 is working with its allies, both in labor and in politics, to make sure that the EPA has the people and resources to address climate change. I am a participant in the Texas Climate Jobs Project, which is affiliated with the Texas AFL-CIO to make sure that renewable energy jobs are organized. It is important that the country act now on this issue because the slower we react, the more difficult it will be to mitigate increased harm that climate change will cause humans as well as the planet as a whole. It's not too late, but time wasted is more harmful, and those who will most be hurt by the effects of climate change are working class people, at least in the USA.
What can the American people do in their daily lives to help with climate change?
The most important thing your average working class American can do is to put political pressure on their politicians and representatives to pass laws and budgets towards changing our economy to be one that is no longer reliant upon fossil fuels. This can take the form of voting and campaigns, but I would highly emphasize that organized workplaces are the most important political formations for working class people, and working-class people in this country are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Unions should be pressuring the government to change our economy toward an environmentally sustainable one. Individual actions like recycling, reducing water usage, using public transit, etc. are great things but what is most needed is collective action toward reshaping our country's economy. So the most important thing the American people can do is form a union in their workplace and press for change from the government, in my opinion.
What are your thoughts on Biden’s 2024 budget proposal? If he gets his way, the EPA is getting a huge increase. Will that make a difference?
A budget increase is necessary, and I applaud the proposed increase to the EPA budget. I do believe it will make a difference as our staffing levels are as low as the Reagan administration, let alone the peak during the 90s. There is more work than the current staffing can handle, but we also need increased budgets for existing staffing as well as our workers are significantly underpaid, especially when compared to our private industry counterparts. I would ask Congress to pass the FAIR act and increase federal salaries by at least 8%.
Are you a member of an Asian American Pacific Islander group? What issue/challenge facing the AAPI community are you most concerned about?
I am Chinese. Shout out to APALA, the AFL-CIO's AAPI organization. As a Chinese person in the USA, my greatest concern is the increasingly negative rhetoric and relationship between the USA and China. What is a foreign policy spat spills over culturally, influencing negative perceptions of AAPI people as a whole since racists don't actually care about where people are from, just whether they can be stereotyped to a preconceived notion. Additionally, climate change is a global problem, and the only way we as the people of this world address it is through cooperation and collaboration, especially with the USA and China being the two greatest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world. It's not realistic to expect a new cold war, let alone an active war, being productive in addressing an existential threat like climate change.
Anything else you want to add regarding AAPI Heritage Month?
I hope everyone has a great month where we can build bonds both within and without the AAPI community!
Gilbert Galam
TSA
How long have you been working at TSA and what made you decide to join public service?
I have been working at TSA for nearly 18 years. I joined public service through a job recruiting event at my community college.
How does your work help the American people and your local community?
I think my work in AFGE helps to boost wages for everyone in my local job market. I regard federal employment as setting the standard for all other jobs. The Women's and Fair Practice portion of my work also informs my activism when I participate in local activism.
How long have you been an AFGE member and why did you join?
I have been an AFGE member since they were certified for TSA in 2011. I joined because I believe in the collective good that labor unions provide. My mom was a member of IBEW her entire life while working for PG&E, and I saw how it provided her with great security and benefits.
TSA officers got a huge pay bump this year and more workplace rights similar to Title 5, thanks to AFGE’s decades-long work. How does that help improve airport security?
The pay bump will help TSA retain experienced officers, reducing the brain drain that results from attrition. It will also improve morale so that officers can be more focused on the mission instead of living paycheck to paycheck.
What kind of support do you need from the American people to help protect our skies?
We just need the public to be empathetic about how mentally taxing the job is, much like the support we received during the 2018/2019 government shutdown.
Are you a member of an Asian American Pacific Islander group? What issue/challenge facing the AAPI community are you most concerned about?
I am Filipino. I think the most pressing issue is educating Americans about the labor history of Filipinos, it's actually quite interesting and colorful. The origins of the farmworker's labor movement that created UFW originated with Filipinos. Filipino nurses were born out of programs created by the United States in the Philippines to fill positions in this country.
Anything else you want to add regarding AAPI Heritage Month?
I would say you should look at the history of all AAPI within the individual lenses of each respective ethnicity/culture. There are a lot of common themes that are shared when you look at the history of AAPI (U.S. imperialism, racism, oppression, etc.).
Join Women and Fair Practices Departments in Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month
Follow AFGE A.P.O.W.E.R. on Facebook.
All month long, we will be spotlighting AAPINH stories that demonstrate the rich history and tradition of AAPINH workers fighting for better workplaces, unions, and communities. Follow here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/afgeapower/
Join us for the AFGE A.P.O.W.E.R. Survey Results & Discussion (Webinar) on May 16, 2023 from 7-9 p.m. ET.
Join us as we unpack the AFGE A.P.O.W.E.R Survey results, learn more about AAPINH member experiences at work and in the union, and discuss how WFP and AFGE A.P.O.W.E.R. can better work toward building a more just union for all federal and D.C. workers. Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAsdOirqTMsH9PBU0S68_qlr6RJSQukYbUh
Join us for AAPI Community Resistance & Resilience: Past, Present, and Future (Webinar) on May 17, 2023 from 1-2 p.m. ET.
We are excited to welcome Vivian Chang, Civic Engagement & Racial Justice Director for the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) for a discussion on resistance and resilience of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities through the lens of past, present, and future. We will discuss the contributions of Richard Aoki, Grace Lee Boggs, and Yuri Kochiyama during the Civil Rights Movement, Black Panther Movement, labor movement, and other social movements globally. We will also highlight stereotypes including the model minority myth. Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_c4_EyrPFRyiDWwaTytj0Kg