Caroline Fan is Associate Director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO. She was a policy specialist, organizer, and communications maven for international unions, think tanks, and grassroots nonprofits. She has spoken at and been a trainer at numerous national conferences and has advised state lawmakers on immigration and worker rights issues. Caroline is the author and editor of several reports including APALA's “Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence” and contributed to a national Asian American anthology published in 2001. She works to engage APAs in the political process through several civic engagement campaigns and her board membership with the Asian American Action Fund.

APALA Unites Generations of Activists in Largest, Liveliest Convention Ever

by Caroline Fan


The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA)’s 11th biennial convention which took place July 21-24 in Oakland, drew in the biggest crowd in APALA history. Over 1500 people participated in the Friday rally (co-hosted by the Alameda Labor Council) at Oakland City Hall, protesting lending practices at Wells Fargo as well as calling for workers’ and immigrants’ rights.

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis opened the convention, addressing wage theft, and was met with a standing ovation for her strong support for the DREAM Act.  The convention’s impressive lineup of speakers also included AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler, AFSCME Secretary-Treasurer Lee Saunders, SEIU President Mary Kay Henry, and California Labor Federation Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski.