40th Anniversary of the Chinatown Garment Worker Strike

Columbus Park, Chinatown, NYC

The Labor Movement: Then and Now

Commemorating the 1982 Chinatown Garment Workers Strike when 20,000 workers took to the streets to demand better wages and better working conditions

 What: Celebrate the strength of the labor movement! 

Hear from former garment workers who successfully rallied as one for better wages and better working conditions 40 years ago, and from a current Starbucks worker who is fighting alongside thousands more baristas across the country for improved workplace conditions for Starbucks workers!

We Are One was the rallying cry during the brief but successful strike in early summer of 1982, when an estimated 20,000 members of Local 23-25 of the ILGWU (now Workers United) – most of them Chinese immigrant women – walked off the job in protest. Find out more at LaborArts.org/1982.

Who: Speakers include retired union members from Local 23-25 Alice Ip, Betty Yu and Starbucks Barista Megan DiMotta. Performances will include Red Silk Dancers, Chen Dancers, Hamilton Madison Seniors’ Cultural Group, and the NYC Labor Chorus. 

Why: The fight for better wages and better working conditions have continued through the years. For as long as employers place priority on higher profits over the welfare of workers, this fight will continue. Join Workers United, The W.O.W Project, Labor Arts, APALA, and the NYCLC as we come together to highlight the significance of coming together as one to effect change in the workplace.

When:  Saturday, June 25, 2022                                                                                                                   2 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Where: Columbus Park, NYC                                                                                                                 Mulberry Street & Worth Street (South Basketball Court)

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