KIWA Victories
KIWA organizes for City to commit $10.5 million to buy land for Koreatown central park (2011)
KIWA organized the Koreatown community and its allies to push the City Council to purchase a 1 acre lot for a public park in one of the nation’s densest neighborhoods. With over 200,000 residents in just a few square miles, there are very few green spaces available to local residents. According to KIWA’s report, “Reclaiming Koreatown: Current and Future Needs of Koreatown Residents,” 87% of the people surveyed advocated for more parks in the Koreatown neighborhood. KIWA is currently pushing the City to finalize their commitment to purchasing the land by continuing to organize supporters of the Koreatown Central Park.
KIWA wins commitment from developer to build 96 units of affordable housing in Koreatown as community benefit (2011)
Description to come later
KIWA holds largest ever Community Town Hall in Koreatown with city officials (2011)
KIWA and over 25 organizations held a Community Town Hall meeting with key leaders of the Los Angeles City Council to discuss the future developments of Koreatown. Over 250 people showed up at the Town Hall meeting, demonstrating the community’s commitment and involvement to work with the elected officials to create a better future for Koreatown. Community leaders and residents were encouraged to share their concerns and visions on how to further improve Koreatown, including the need for more affordable housing and green space.
KIWA leads campaign to keep affordable housing dollars in Koreatown (2010 – 2011)
Description to come later
Worker Empowerment Clinic: Workers win back nearly $15 million in unpaid wages (1992 – present)
Worker Empowerment Clinic: Workers win back nearly $15 million in unpaid wages (1992-present) – KIWA works with low-wage workers from various industries win unpaid wages they are owed when employers fail to pay minimum wage or overtime, or violate other labor laws. In ten years, the clinic has helped Koreatown workers take their cases to the state Labor Commissioner to win back nearly $15 million in wages.
Workers win $1.475 million in Assi Market lawsuit settlement (2007)
Assi Market lawsuit: Workers win $1.475 million in settlement (2007) – A landmark case against local business giant Assi Market settles after a five-year boycott, a year of daily picketing, and numerous other actions taken by workers and community supporters. The lawsuit was filed for Assi’s failure to pay overtime, failure to give workers their mandated breaks, and for Assi’s discrimination against Latino workers.
KIWA is a key leader in anti-globalization solidarity (2005 – 2006)
Anti-globalization solidarity (2005-2006) – KIWA was a key leader of the Korean American delegation at the protests against the World Trade Organization Ministerial in Hong Kong. We also helped lead the U.S. delegation of Korean Americans joining in solidarity with movements from Korea to mobilize against the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement negotiations in Washington, D.C. and Seattle.
Groundbreaking report: Koreatown on the Edge (2005)
Groundbreaking report: Koreatown on the Edge: Immigrant Dreams and Realities in one of Los Angeles’ Poorest Communities (2005) – KIWA and Dr. Edward Park publish a report on the state of poverty in Koreatown, drawing public attention to the community crisis. It was found that 70% of Koreatown is living in poverty, and that families are making 18% less that what they did at the time of the LA Civil Unrest in 1992.
Creation of State Immigrant Affairs Office (2003)
In partnership with our allies through the Coalition of Immigrant Workers Advocates, KIWA lobbied for and helped create a new office of Immigrant Affairs under Gov. Davis.
KIWA promotes living-wage agreements for Koreatown market workers (2001-2009)
Low-wage, no-benefit jobs are a key root cause of Koreatown’s poverty crisis. By winning living wages agreements in five major supermarkets, KIWA helped raise wages and improve working conditions for over 500 workers. KIWA pioneered private living wage agreements in the Koreatown and Korean American communities. In one of our groundbreaking living agreements, wage conditions were attached to a private development’s land use appeals for the first time in the city.
Restaurant workers campaign boosts minimum-wage compliance in Koreatown restaurants (2000 – 2005)
Through the work of the Restaurant Workers Association (RWAK) in increasing minimum wage compliance in restaurants, workers have earned an estimated $71 million in wages that they would not have otherwise earned. This money has been directly invested back into the Koreatown community and sent to Mexico and Latin America to workers’ families.
Landmark case: KIWA advocates for domestic worker paid $1/hour (2000)
KIWA and the Asian Law Caucus wage a campaign to satisfactorily settle the landmark case of Tae Sook Park, a former domestic servant for Deputy Consul General Bong Kil Shin, of the Korean Consulate in San Francisco, and his wife Mee Sook Shin. The district court had initially dismissed Park’s claims that she was paid approximately $1 per hour in violation of minimum wage and overtime laws, saying that the employers had diplomatic immunity.
KIWA takes on the Koreatown restaurant industry for violating labor laws (1996 – 2000)
KIWA initiated the Koreatown Restaurant Workers Justice Campaign in 1996. Immigrant restaurant workers in Koreatown labored up to 72 hours per week for as low as $2.20 an hour and face brutal abuse from their employers in the form of unfair firings and physical abuse. A random sweep by the Department of Labor found that a staggering 97% of Koreatown restaurants violated labor laws. After a militant and high-profile campaign during which KIWA organized Korean and Latino restaurant workers to demand an industry-wide reform, labor law compliance in the industry has dramatically increased to 50%. Through this campaign the Restaurant Workers Association of Koreatown was formed and continues organizing workers.
KIWA helps win over $2 million for El Monte Sweatshop workers (1997)
In 1997, KIWA helped win over $2 million for workers from retailers and manufacturers connected with the now infamous El Monte “slave shop” operators. KIWA organized 55 Latino garment workers and was a part of the legal team that eventually won this landmark case that exposed Southern California’s modern-day sweatshops to the public.
KIWA organizes Korean and Latino workers for relief funds after Civil Unrest (1992)
This chapter explains ba bla bla
KIWA wins commitment from developer to build 96 units of affordable housing in Koreatown as community benefit (2011)
Following the April 1992 Civil Unrest, the Korean American Relief Fun, a self-appointed group of conservative businessmen, denied relief money to worker victims. KIWA organized 45 displaced Korean and Latino workers to demand inclusion of workers in relief fund distribution. The workers eventually succeeded in receiving $109,000 in relief funds.