The Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance 한인타운 노동연대 (KIWA, pronounced kee-wah), also known under its past name Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates 남가주 한인 노동 상담소, is a multi-ethnic

immigrant worker Foreign workers or guest workers are people who work in a country other than one of which they are a citizen. Some foreign workers use a guest worker program in a country with more preferred job prospects than in their home country. Guest worke ...

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

membership organization A membership organization is any organization that allows people or entities to subscribe, and often requires them to pay a membership fee or " subscription". Membership organizations typically have a particular purpose, which involves connecting p ...

based in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Koreatown area. KIWA was founded in 1992 by progressive-minded Korean activists who saw

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

as the basic contradiction of the immigrant communities in Koreatown. It has since been involved in the aftermath of the

1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, in April ...

, campaigns to improve working conditions and immigrant worker empowerment in various Korean ethnic industries, the living wages campaign, and Koreatown's multi-ethnic community developments. KIWA is perhaps best known recently for its long campaign against Assi Market, the largest ethnic Korean-owned supermarket of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, located in Koreatown. Started in the late 1990s, KIWA demands that Assi management rehire dozens of fired

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

and Korean workers who were fired for trying to organize a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

. Although initially staffed mostly by ethnic Koreans, KIWA grew to encompass Asian-Pacific American and

organizers and members. The

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

"''Alianza de trabajadores inmigrantes del Barrio Coreano''" had been in common use since the early 2000s; however the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

name was officially changed in March 2006 from ''Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates'' to ''Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance''. The

Korean language Korean ( South Korean: , ''hangugeo''; North Korean: , ''chosŏnmal'') is the native language for about 80 million people, mostly of Korean descent. It is the official and national language of both North Korea and South Korea (geographic ...

"한인노동상담소" (Korean Worker's Center) has been changed to 한인타운 노동연대 to signify its geographical focus rather than on an ethnic group. KIWA is a member organization o
MIWON (Multi-Ethnic Immigrant Workers Alliance
, an alliance of four (formerly five) immigrant workers' centers in the Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles area, and ENLACE, a U.S.-

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

network of workers' centers.

References

*Cho, Namju. "Check Out, Not In: Koreana Wilshire/Hyatt Takeover and the Los Angeles Korean Community." ''Amerasia Journal.'' 18:1 (1992). *Doherty, Jack. "Activists Train to Aid Korean Workers." ''Los Angeles Times.'' July 4, 1993. *Ha, Daisy. "An Analysis and Critique of KIWA's Reform Efforts in the Los Angeles Korean American Restaurant Industry." ''Asian Law Journal.'' 8:1 (May 2001). *Hong, Peter Y. "Working for Less." ''Los Angeles Times.'' May 7, 1995. *Lee, Hoon. "Displaced and Demanding Justice." ''Third Force.'' September/October 1994. *Lee, John. "Real Good Food at a Price." ''Gidra.'' Spring 1999. *Nguyen, Tram. "Showdown in K-town." ''ColorLines.'' Spring 2001. *Thornburg, Gina. "Koreatown's Workers Find a Voice." ''The Progressive.'' July 1998.

External links

*{{Official website, http://kiwa.org
Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance Blog
Anti-corporate activism Community organizations Koreatown, Los Angeles Korean-American culture in Los Angeles Civic and political organizations of the United States Non-profit organizations based in California History of labor relations in the United States Organizations established in 1992