SAN FRANCISCO –– Twenty-two servers, bussers, cooks, and other kitchen staff at Z & Y, a Chinatown restaurant on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list, won a settlement of $1.61 million for stolen wages, tips, penalties and interest, joining a wave of low-income, immigrant workers standing up for their rights and an equitable restaurant industry in the Bay Area.

On Thursday, July 15th 2021, twelve Chinatown residents and leaders spoke with workers at the Return 2 Work outreach blitz hosted by the Chinese Progressive Association. Over 400 “Know Your Rights” flyers with a checklist of workplace rights including minimum wage, mandatory breaks, paid sick leave, and COVID-19 health and safety guidelines were distributed to immigrant workers in Chinatown.

Our hearts are hurting for the victims in Georgia whose lives were claimed too soon. We hurt for our Asian American community and families who have continued to experience violence.

In response to the recent surge in COVID-19 related violence against Asian American communities throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area, the Coalition for Community Safety and Justice (CCSJ) in San Francisco joined forces with a coalition of organizations in Oakland to organize two parallel Days of Action this past weekend, both entitled “Love Our People, Heal Our Communities.” On the first weekend of the Lunar New Year, and a few days after more than 70 Asian American organizations issued a press statement condemning the violence, these two events brought together a multiracial and multigenerational coalition to stand against racism, xenophobia, and violence, and to offer space for healing the grief and pain that Asian communities feel in light of recent events.

133 restaurant workers, including cooks, dishwashers, servers, and hosts, have won a $2.6 million settlement from former employer Kome Japanese Seafood Buffet (Kome Buffet). With the organizing and legal support of the Chinese Progressive Association and the Asian Law Caucus, in partnership with the Labor Commissioner’s Office, the workers will receive amounts representing unpaid minimum wage, overtime, required split shift premiums, related penalties, as well as money owed for closing the restaurant without proper notice.

The Chinese Progressive Association stands in solidarity with black communities fighting for justice and freedom. We demand justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the many others who have been killed by police and racist violence.

Update July 1, 2020

As of May 1st, the application process for financial assistance from the Emergency Stabilization Fund is closed. To date, we have distributed $30,000 to 60 families. We have received over 4,500 applications and will prioritize the distribution of additional funds raised to existing applicants.

(San Francisco, CA) A decade ago, residents of Bayview Hunters Point and organizations, including, People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER) and Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice voiced concern about the horrific level of toxic contamination left by the U.S. Navy at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. With the high rates of cancer and asthma already in the neighborhood, residents knew that it would be disastrous for a housing development to be built on one of the most toxic superfund sites in the country. At the time, CPA joined in their demands that the shipyard be cleaned and remediated. However, our calls were ignored.

We, members of the Asian Contingent, are united under the banner “From Our Homelands to Our Frontlines.”

In 2013, a group of nearly 100 Chinese immigrant workers in San Francisco mounted an ambitious organizing campaign targeting their employer, the award-winning, high-end dim sum restaurant Yank Sing. The workers, who were cooks, dishwashers, and wait staff at Yank Sing, had approached the Chinese Progressive Association of San Francisco (CPA) in the spring of that year, detailing numerous workers’ rights violations.

Over the past several years, Youth MOJO members have experienced and recognized a heightened sense of fear, depression, and anxiety in themselves and among their peers. In response to their personal and collective experiences of feeling unsupported in accessing mental health services, youth leaders sought to better understand the mental health services that exist for youth in SFUSD and the systemic, emotional and cultural barriers to students’ utilization of services.

Regardless of where we come from, no matter what age we are, we all want to feel seen, heard, and valued as our full selves. These were the values that grounded Chinese Progressive Association (CPA) 華人進步會 Youth Movement of Justice and Organizing (Youth MOJO) 青年組織公義計畫 as they began organizing for their mental health campaign, Our Healing in Our Hands, last summer.

The Chinese Progressive Association stands firmly for all families to be treated with dignity and compassion regardless of where they come from or their immigration status.

Dear Friends, I have some wonderful news to share with you. Today, we are excited to announce a $4 million dollar landmark settlement and model workplace changes for workers at Yank Sing, one of the most well known and popular dim sum restaurants in San Francisco and the country.

San Francisco, CA – Nearly 200 Bay Area high school youth and Community Members rally in front of the California State Building in San Francisco to ensure that every person has access to affordable healthcare and urge Governor Brown to support universal healthcare amidst Republican threats to repeal Affordable Care Act. The rally was organized by Youth MOJO, a program of the Chinese Progressive Association, based in San Francisco Chinatown.

San Francisco, CA — On July 25th, while Republicans continued efforts to upend healthcare access for millions of people, the Chinese Progressive Association (CPA) 華人進步會 held a rally at the San Francisco General Hospital to protest the ongoing federal threats to cut health care coverage, restructure Medicaid, and raise costs for millions of people and uplift the health care stories of Asian immigrant communities.