The Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA), founded in 1992 as the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Advocates of Southern California, is a left-of-center advocacy organization and community and labor organizing group located in Los Angeles. The organization operates a variety of campaigns in favor of left-of-center economic and labor policies, often in conjunction with other activist groups and labor unions in Southern California.

The organization was founded close in time to the 1992 Los Angeles riots and conducts a variety of organizing campaigns and organizing training related to minimum wage, immigration, and environmental issues. Funders of the organization include the California Community Foundation, the Tides Foundation, and George Soros’ Open Society Foundations. ^{1 2 3 4}

Background and History

The Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance was founded in 1992 immediately following the 1992 Los Angeles riots, also referred to as the Rodney King riots after the man whose beating by police was credited with sparking them. The organization sought to address alleged “rampant worker exploitation” in the Koreatown neighborhood in Los Angeles. The organization states that it works with both ethnic Korean and Latino individuals in the area. ⁵

Largely a labor union-adjacent workers center, the organization employs strategies similar to those in union organizing and conducts “strategic industry-based campaigns that target employers directly, advocacy and multi-ethnic coalition building.” ⁶

The organization’s first campaign was to push for the inclusion of “displaced workers in a community relief fund set up by conservative Koreatown business owners” following the riots. In 1997, the group was involved in a lawsuit that settled for “$2 million for garment workers from retailers and manufacturers connected with the now infamous El Monte ‘slave shop’ where Thai immigrants were held captive.” ⁷

The organization has also been active in organizing for workers in restaurants and supermarkets and its restaurant workers and living wage campaigns have been involved in various negotiations concerning back wages and working conditions. The group also collaborates with other left-of-center organizations, stating that “KIWA has fought to maintain the state’s affirmative action programs, raise the minimum wage, lower bus rates for the poor, save hundreds of union jobs at two local hotels and win dignity and respect for workers locally and internationally.” ⁸

Activity

Activities of the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance include both labor organizing and policy campaigns advocating for a variety of left-of-center policies. The group has also contracted with state and local government agencies to conduct outreach and education services to immigrant workers, small businesses, and other “hard to reach” populations. The group contracted with the Los Angeles Housing Department to conduct outreach and application assistance for the Lead Hazard Remediation Program (LHRP); with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), to carry out outreach and community education around immigrants’ interests, including legal advice; and with the California Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications to provide outreach and education on extreme heat, water conservation, vaccine equity, and the individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). ⁹

The group also partnered with the AAPI Equity Alliance in a program administered by the California Department of Social Services to provide “direct services, prevention services, and intervention services for victims of hate.” ¹⁰

Funding

Funders of the Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance include the California Community Foundation, the California Immigrant Resilience Fund, Common Counsel: Fund for an Inclusive California, Durfee Foundation, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, Liberty Hill Foundation, Movement Strategy Center, Omidyar Network, Open Society Foundations, Roy and Patricia Disney Family Foundation, S. Mark Taper Foundation, Tides Foundation – Leaders Trust, AFT Local 1521, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA, and Weingart Foundation. ¹¹

1. “Partners.” KIWA. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://kiwa.org/partners
2. “Outreach and Education.” KIWA. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://kiwa.org/outreach-and-education
3. “History.” KIWA. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://kiwa.org/history
4. “About KIWA.” KIWA. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://kiwablog.wordpress.com/about-kiwa/
5. “About KIWA.” KIWA. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://kiwablog.wordpress.com/about-kiwa/
6. “About KIWA.” KIWA. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://kiwablog.wordpress.com/about-kiwa/
7. “About KIWA.” KIWA. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://kiwablog.wordpress.com/about-kiwa/
8. About KIWA.” KIWA. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://kiwablog.wordpress.com/about-kiwa/
9. “Outreach and Education.” KIWA. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://kiwa.org/outreach-and-education
10. “Outreach and Education.” KIWA. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://kiwa.org/outreach-and-education
11. “Partners.” KIWA. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://kiwa.org/partners