Chinese Women In Katie Quan's Vulnerable To Victorious?

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Recommended: The labor union movement from 1875 to 1900

Deborah Chang Section C11 TA: Ekhlas Fajardo Professor Gagnon February 8, 2016 Vulnerable to Victorious From the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory to the Bread and Roses Strike, the 20th century was a time where workers actively participated in direct action to protest for better laboring conditions. Despite the possible endangerment to their health, women were still obligated to win part of the bread for their families. More recently, the intersectional struggle of gender and race has clashed with the interests of labor unions, in that Chinese women have struggled with laboring conditions in New York. In “Memories of the 1982 ILGWU Strike in New York Chinatown,” author Katie Quan describes her firsthand account of her participation in bettering …show more content…

Contractors countered back by not abiding by their manufacturers’ demands, which resulted in workers losing their “holidays and other medical and retirement benefits” (Quan 103). Hence, widespread publicity was prevalent in promoting a rally on June 24, 1982. Amidst the continuous passing out of leaflets, boycotts, and meetings, few leaders cast doubt upon the abilities of the unions to stand in solidarity. From the win, Quan illustrated her point that the workers were constantly and tirelessly advocating for their rights together, which showed that “Chinese immigrant women do fight, and their support for the union [could not] be taken for granted” (Quan 106). The victorious aftermath of the strike transformed the intersectional ideas and culture of race, class, and gender for Chinese immigrant women. In spite of significant successes, corporations still possess the capability of being nomadic institutions, hovering to non-unionized areas in order to profit greatly. Power and profit prioritize over the well-beings of …show more content…

Not only are community efforts being made to continue “[building] the voice of Chinese workers,” but the fight to globally overcome the oppression of apparel corporations still remains a struggle. Because private sectors and corporations are able to easily travel around nomadically to exploit and outsource cheap labor, organization for a global union is a challenge. The strike of 1982 resulted in an intersectional improvement and a defeat of patriarchal leadership. However, the fight for justice does not end in 1982, as there are still unions in other countries that are advocating for their rights or are still in the process of organizing themselves into homogenous solidarity. Globalization of the corporations should bring about the globalization of unions. Collaborating as an interracial “giddy multitude” (Takaki 58) would establish concrete solidarity against monopolizing companies as well as draw international sympathy. Challenging the system through direction action is necessary for taking one step forward toward justice. From the inspirations of 1982, the most vulnerable would become the most

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