Assi Super

As immigrants continued to endure the suffering of blatant injustice including the imposition of harsh anti-immigrant policies, the cruel treatment carried over into the work field. Following the September 11th terrorist attacks, the support of immigrants was at an all time low as major anti-immigrant movements were spread across the nation. Within the work field, immigrants were essentially viewed as work slaves with no rights or power and were victims to inhumane working conditions. In November of 2001, hundreds of workers from multiethnic backgrounds formed a powerful strike against Assi Super, also known as Korea-town’s largest Korean supermarket. The strike was formed to protest against the clear and obvious injustice within the work field, including low wage, physical and mental harassment, as well as a significant reduction in work hours. Immigrants from various ethnic backgrounds utilized the strike to express their utter resentment with the way they (immigrants) were being treated. Gabriel Perez Galvan, a Latino immigrant working under Assi management, expressed his frustration, stating, “Many workers would go home with their backs sore, tired and abused, and couldn’t open up to tell anyone about what was going on”. Ultimately, the Latino and Korean immigrant workers had come to the decision that enough was enough and had begun to work with KIWA, also known as the Korea-Town Immigrant Workers Alliance, where they laid out the groundwork for an independent union and brought the injustice of the Assi market management to the light of the public. Rather than limiting their efforts to one particular issue, KIWA “organizers didn't want just to improve conditions among low-wage workers, but to foster a working-class identity among Korean immigrants that would stretch across race and ethnicity to include solidarity with other workers”. In retaliation against the union and union supporters, Assi management had decided to suspend 53 workers. Subsequently, the Immigrant Workers Union and union supporters launched a successful boycott of the Assi Market, demanding for the reinstatement of all workers as well as compensation for the countless violations and discriminative acts they've endured over the years. “KIWA’s work dramatically altered the social and cultural landscape of Korea-town. The Assi campaign introduced the concept of unionism to Korea-town and especially to its immigrant working class”. Ultimately, the remarkable actions led by the immigrant workers with the great assistance of KIWA transformed the criteria for working conditions within the Los Angeles region as other store owners and markets began to follow the developments of Assi Super. 

Moreover, the events that took place following the powerful strike against Assi Super demonstrates the potential immigrants could have once they unite. In the case of the Assi Super strike, the remarkable actions that took place in the early 2000’s paved the way for future improvements and developments of unions for immigrants, protecting them and creating new benefits that were previously non existent. The immigrant workers essentially cemented their place within the work field, achieving their aspirations, and asserting their power within the community. Additionally, the Assi Super Korean supermarket serves as a representation of the immigrants long journey to achieve non-citizen citizenship. From the passing of Proposition 187 as well as the major anti-immigrant movements following the events of 9/11, the immigrants had come a long way. For decades, immigrants of all ethnicities have dealt with severe forms of discrimination on a national scale. The country had created a certain perception and narrative, deeming immigrants as inferior and constantly rejecting them on a national level. While citizenship tends to be formally discussed on a national level, the Assi Super strike serves as a representation of the fight for citizenship on a local level. The multiethnic immigrants utilized their platform to demand respect and recognition through strike and protest at their work place. Rather than formally fighting for their citizenship on a national scale, the immigrants had united to gain a form of respect and recognition at a local level, helping us understand what the term citizenship truly meant to the immigrants. Dating back to even before the approval of Proposition 187, immigrants were viewed as non-factors within society, being told to stay quiet and not get into trouble. Although citizenship on a federal level may have been a dream for many immigrants, their true desire was to be viewed and respected as equals within the community. 

The Assi Super strike proved to be a fundamental turning point for the immigrants as they had come together, ultimately rejecting the narrative the United States had created demanding the immigrants to defer to their peers from a social and economic standpoint. Conversely, the immigrants decided it was time for them to reject that role and evolve, ultimately claiming citizenship at a local level. Furthermore, the development of various organizations focusing on the concept of noncitizen citizenship demonstrates the progression and evolution of the immigrants. The Multiethnic Immigrant Workers Organizing Network was one of the many organizations focusing in on the cause and “has mobilized undocumented immigrants to participate in a variety of political campaigns and thus to insert themselves as rights-bearers in the public arena. MIWON’s practice of “noncitizen citizenship,” moreover, includes not only Latino immigrants, but also several other ethnic groups”. While critics of immigration claim immigrants may potentially cause a division within the location of interest, these actions debunk the idea, as various ethnic groups successfully united and left a positive impact. To this day, the number of immigrants in legal trouble continues to rise due to the fact that many are still considered “undocumented”. Although immigrants are embedded within the community and play an essential role in everyday life, the irrational immigration system allows for the exploitation of immigrants and the potential to be deported. Evidently, it is important for the community to understand the significance of non-citizen citizenship as it becomes the immigrants ultimate form of respect within the community. Although protests and strikes on a local level may not seem to originally grant greater access to citizenship on a national scale, the grant to greater access to citizenship on a national level is the result of years upon years of local protests that eventually contribute to the matter on a national level. Ultimately, the Assi market serves as a influential location representing an unsung chapter in the immigrants long journey to achieve non-citizen citizenship.

“About KIWA.” Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA), December 3, 2009. https:// kiwablog.wordpress.com/about-kiwa/. 

Choi, Ji-Son. 2001. "KIWA: The Warriors of Koreatown." Korea Times, May 31, 8. https:// search.proquest.com/newspapers/kiwa-warriors-koreatown/docview/367819382/se-2?accountid=14512.

“Information about the Displaced Workers of Assi Super, Inc. in Los Angeles.” Information about the displaced workers of Assi Super, Inc. in Los Angeles - DRS. Accessed February 26, 2021. https://repository.library.northeastern.edu/files/neu:274556. 

“In Koreatown, Los Angeles Workers Center Fights for Immigrant Worker Rights.” Labor Notes, March 28, 2013. https://www.labornotes.org/2003/10/koreatown-los-angeles-workers-center-fights-immigrant-worker-rights. 

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Nguyen, Tram. 2001. "Showdown in K-Town: KIWA Mounts a Multiracial Class Challenge in L.A.'s Koreatown." Colorlines, Apr 30, 26. https://search.proquest.com/magazines/showdown-k-town-kiwa-mounts-multiracial-class/docview/215540940/se-2?accountid=14512.

Omatsu, Glenn. "Immigrant Workers Take the Lead: A Militant Humility Transforms L.A. Koreatown." In Immigrant Rights in the Shadows of Citizenship, edited by BUFF RACHEL IDA, 266-82. NYU Press, 2008. Accessed March 17, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qftrr.23.

“Riots Are Invoked in Union Drive.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, April 26, 2002. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-apr-26-me-market26-story.html.