Asian Immigrant Women Advocates (AIWA) is a community organization in the San Francisco Bay Area that organizes and trains immigrant women and students of Asian and other origins to engage in left-of-center social and political advocacy, as well as encourage union organizing in workplaces. ^{1 2}

It also engages in public advocacy on behalf of immigrant populations, and has been involved in numerous high-profile public campaigns. In the 1990s, AIWA led a multi-year boycott of women’s formalwear designer Jessica McClintock over pay and conditions at contracted apparel manufacturers that resulted in a California law making apparel brands responsible for the pay and working conditions of workers in their supply chains. ^{3 4 5}

History and Leadership

Asian Immigrant Women Advocates (AIWA) was founded in 1983. ⁶

The organization has a three-member board including representatives of labor union interests. ⁷ The board chair is labor attorney Latika Malkani, who represents labor unions and workers in private practice. ⁸ Another board member is Mila Thomas, the former organizing coordinator for SEIU Local 1021, which represents service employees, nurses, other healthcare workers, and public-sector workers in northern California. ⁹

Advocacy

Asian Immigrant Women Advocates is allied with labor unions and works to unionize Asian and other immigrant workers in garment factories, hotels, restaurants, and other workplaces where they form a large percentage of the workforce. ¹⁰

AIWA supports the labor union-funded “Fight for $15” campaign to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour and has participated in Fight for $15 marches in California. ¹¹

Jessica McClintock Campaign

Between 1992 and 1996, AIWA waged a public opinion campaign against women’s formalwear designer Jessica McClintock over wages owed to Asian seamstresses by a bankrupt contractor to McClintock’s company. ¹² McClintock argued that she had no legal responsibility under California labor law to the 12 workers who were owed roughly $15,000 by the bankrupt Lucky Sewing Co., and that her company had only been working with Lucky Sewing for six months at the time of the bankruptcy. ¹³ She also rejected AIWA’s demand for a two-year contract for the workers to sew dresses for McClintock directly, pointing out that her company only worked with contractors who “agree to abide by all federal and state wage, hour, safety and other laws.” ¹⁴

In response, AIWA published advertisements calling for a nationwide boycott of not only McClintock’s stores but also stores such as Macy’s and Nordstrom. ¹⁵ Its representatives and allies launched an aggressive picketing campaign focused on Black Friday and other major retail calendar events. ^{16 17}

In 1994, McClintock went to court to receive an injunction limiting the number of picketers who could be in front of her home or businesses at any given time. ¹⁸

After four years of pickets and other activism, McClintock and AIWA reached an agreement in 1996 mediated by Clinton administration labor secretary Robert Reich in which McClintock agreed to fund a garment workers’ education fund for a workers’ union and scholarships for students and workers. ¹⁹

The McClintock campaign featured heavily in advocacy by AIWA and other organizations that led to the passage of California’s Garment Worker Protection Act in 1999. ^{20 21 22} The law made apparel companies and sometimes even retailers responsible for the compensation of garment workers if they are not paid by their direct employers. ²³

Training Programs

Asian Immigrant Women Advocates operates training programs around occupational health and safety and English-language training that are designed to engage immigrant workers and encourage them to become active in broader workplace organization, including potentially forming labor unions. ²⁴ These programs also include components that advance left-of-center views on topics such as gender, sexuality, and support for the Black Lives Matter movement. ^{25 26}

Some of this training is funded by grants from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). ²⁷

Community Transformational Organizing Skills

AIWA’s Community Transformational Organizing Skills (CTOS) is a seven-step training program that aims to turn low-income immigrant women and children into “social justice” leaders in their communities. ²⁸

According to AIWA’s tax returns in 2022, the curriculum included sessions on “anti-Asian hate, Black Lives Matter, and Asian-Black solidarity to build solidarity with blacks and other disadvantaged in order to challenge the current racist sentiments and policies.” ²⁹ Other training topics include “immigration, sexual harassment, homophobia, income inequality, and workers’ rights.” ³⁰

Youth Build Immigrant Power

AIWA’s Youth Build Immigrant Power (YBIP) program is a leadership training session and youth education initiative that recruits 20 members each year from immigrant high school students. ³¹

While the program’s webpage simply describes the curriculum as focusing on “critical issues affecting low income immigrant youths,” AIWA documents have described YBIP’s curriculum as including “language justice, patriarchy, homophobia, Asian immigration history, community organizing,” and other left-of-center social and political topics. ^{32 33}

Funding

Asian Immigrant Women Advocates has received funding from the Akonadi Foundation, ³⁴ the Asian Pacific Fund, ³⁵ the East Bay Community Foundation, ³⁶ the Ford Foundation, ³⁷ the Ms. Foundation for Women, ³⁸ the Rosenberg Foundation, ³⁹ the San Francisco Foundation, ⁴⁰ the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and other left-of-center donors and foundations. ⁴¹

It has received government grant funding from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to train immigrant workers on workplace hazards. ⁴²

AIWA is also a participant in Our Promise, a paycheck deduction charitable giving campaign for California state government employees. ^{43 44}

1.  Martinez, Elizabeth. “Sweatshops, Firsthand.” The Nation, June 29, 2015. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/sweatshops-firsthand/.
2. Chun, Jennifer, George Lipsitz, and Youn Shin. “Immigrant Women Workers at the Center of Social Change.” AIWA, 2010. http://www.aiwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/KalfouArticle_SocialChange.pdf.
3. Contreras, Rebecca. “Asian Immigrant Garment Workers Campaign for Economic Justice, San Francisco, USA, 1992-1996.” Global Nonviolent Action Database, October 22, 2011. https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/asian-immigrant-garment-workers-campaign-economic-justice-san-francisco-usa-1992-1996
4. Feitelberg, Rosemary. “Jessica McClintock, Favored Designer for Proms, Dies at 90.” WWD, March 16, 2021. https://wwd.com/feature/jessica-mcclintock-favored-designer-for-proms-dies-at-1234778816/.
5. “Garment Worker Wage Claim / AB 633.” California Department of Industrial Relations. Accessed March 16, 2024. https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Garment_worker_wage_claim.html.
6. “History.” AIWA. Accessed March 16, 2024. https://www.aiwa.org/history/.
7. “Staff and Board.” AIWA. Accessed March 16, 2024. https://www.aiwa.org/staff/.
8. “Staff and Board.” AIWA. Accessed March 16, 2024. https://www.aiwa.org/staff/.
9. “Staff and Board.” AIWA. Accessed March 16, 2024. https://www.aiwa.org/staff/.
10. Martinez, Elizabeth. “Sweatshops, Firsthand.” The Nation, June 29, 2015. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/sweatshops-firsthand/.
11. “Asian Immigrant Women Advocates Inc, Full Filing .” Nonprofit Explorer, August 22, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/942977665/202312349349301356/full.
12. Contreras, Rebecca. “Asian Immigrant Garment Workers Campaign for Economic Justice, San Francisco, USA, 1992-1996.” Global Nonviolent Action Database, October 22, 2011. https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/asian-immigrant-garment-workers-campaign-economic-justice-san-francisco-usa-1992-1996
13.  Feitelberg, Rosemary. “Jessica McClintock, Favored Designer for Proms, Dies at 90.” WWD, March 16, 2021. https://wwd.com/feature/jessica-mcclintock-favored-designer-for-proms-dies-at-1234778816/.
14. Feitelberg, Rosemary. “Jessica McClintock, Favored Designer for Proms, Dies at 90.” WWD, March 16, 2021. https://wwd.com/feature/jessica-mcclintock-favored-designer-for-proms-dies-at-1234778816/.
15. Contreras, Rebecca. “Asian Immigrant Garment Workers Campaign for Economic Justice, San Francisco, USA, 1992-1996.” Global Nonviolent Action Database, October 22, 2011. https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/asian-immigrant-garment-workers-campaign-economic-justice-san-francisco-usa-1992-1996
16. Contreras, Rebecca. “Asian Immigrant Garment Workers Campaign for Economic Justice, San Francisco, USA, 1992-1996.” Global Nonviolent Action Database, October 22, 2011. https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/asian-immigrant-garment-workers-campaign-economic-justice-san-francisco-usa-1992-1996
17. Feitelberg, Rosemary. “Jessica McClintock, Favored Designer for Proms, Dies at 90.” WWD, March 16, 2021. https://wwd.com/feature/jessica-mcclintock-favored-designer-for-proms-dies-at-1234778816/.
18. Sullivan, Kathleen. “McClintock, Rights Group End Dispute.” Connecticut Examiner, March 22, 1996. https://www.ctinsider.com/business/article/McClintock-rights-group-end-dispute-3157108.php.
19. Contreras, Rebecca. “Asian Immigrant Garment Workers Campaign for Economic Justice, San Francisco, USA, 1992-1996.” Global Nonviolent Action Database, October 22, 2011. https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/asian-immigrant-garment-workers-campaign-economic-justice-san-francisco-usa-1992-1996
20. “Garment Worker Wage Claim / AB 633.” California Department of Industrial Relations. Accessed March 16, 2024. https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Garment_worker_wage_claim.html.
21. Chun, Jennifer, George Lipsitz, and Youn Shin. “Immigrant Women Workers at the Center of Social Change.” AIWA, 2010. http://www.aiwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/KalfouArticle_SocialChange.pdf.
22. “History.” AIWA. Accessed March 16, 2024. https://www.aiwa.org/history/.
23. “Garment Worker Wage Claim / AB 633.” California Department of Industrial Relations. Accessed March 16, 2024. https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/Garment_worker_wage_claim.html.
24. Chun, Jennifer, George Lipsitz, and Youn Shin. “Immigrant Women Workers at the Center of Social Change.” AIWA, 2010. http://www.aiwa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/KalfouArticle_SocialChange.pdf
25. “Asian Immigrant Women Advocates Inc, Full Filing .” Nonprofit Explorer, August 22, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/942977665/202312349349301356/full.
26. “History.” AIWA. Accessed March 16, 2024. https://www.aiwa.org/history/.
27.  “Asian Immigrant Women Advocates – SH-05002-SH8.” Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2018. https://www.osha.gov/harwoodgrants/grantmaterials/fy2018/sh-05002-sh8.
28. “CTOS Program.” AIWA. Accessed March 16, 2024. https://www.aiwa.org/ctos/.
29.  “Asian Immigrant Women Advocates Inc, Full Filing .” Nonprofit Explorer, August 22, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/942977665/202312349349301356/full.
30. “History.” AIWA. Accessed March 16, 2024. https://www.aiwa.org/history/.
31. “Youth Build Immigrant Power.” AIWA. Accessed March 16, 2024. https://www.aiwa.org/youth-2/.
32. “Asian Immigrant Women Advocates Inc, Full Filing .” Nonprofit Explorer, August 22, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/942977665/202312349349301356/full.
33. “Youth Build Immigrant Power.” AIWA. Accessed March 16, 2024. https://www.aiwa.org/youth-2/
34. ^[1] Ramirez, William. “Announcing Grantees from So Love Can Win Round 1.” Akonadi Foundation, September 12, 2022. https://akonadi.org/announcing-grantees-from-so-love-can-win-round-1/.
35. ^[1] “Asian Immigrant Women Advocates.” Asian Pacific Fund. Accessed March 16, 2024. https://asianpacificfund.org/affiliate/aiwa/.
36. “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.” East Bay Community Foundation, 2021. https://www.ebcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2021-East-Bay-Community-Foundation-Public-Disclosure-990.pdf.
37. “114372 – Asian Immigrant Women Advocates, Inc..” Ford Foundation, November 28, 2023. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/asian-immigrant-women-advocates-inc-114372/.
38. Grant Benefits Asian Immigrants.” East Bay Times, August 17, 2016. https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2005/03/05/grant-benefits-asian-immigrants/.
39. “Rosenberg Foundation 1994-1999 Report.” Rosenberg Foundation, 2000. https://rosenbergfound.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/1994-1999.pdf.
40. ^[1] “Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax.” San Francisco Foundation, 2019. https://sff.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2019-San-Francisco-Foundation-990.pdf.
41. ^[1] “Asian Immigrant Women Advocates – for General Operating Support.” Hewlett Foundation, December 20, 2023. https://hewlett.org/grants/asian-immigrant-women-advocates-for-general-operating-support/.
42. “Asian Immigrant Women Advocates – SH-05002-SH8.” Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 2018. https://www.osha.gov/harwoodgrants/grantmaterials/fy2018/sh-05002-sh8
43. “About Our Promise.” Our Promise, February 14, 2022. https://www.ourpromiseca.org/about.
44. “2021 – Our Promise Nonprofit Guide.” Our Promise, 2021. https://www.ourpromiseca.org/sites/main/files/misc/2021_op_-_npg-_final.pdf.