Reprinted from The AF-CIO’s blog Now by Kenneth Quinnell on May 19, 2021.
For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today’s profile is Editha Adams.
Editha Adams is a home caregiver who was born in the Philippines and raised in Japan. Now she serves as statewide president of a union, United Domestic Workers, AFSCME Local 3930, representing more than 140,000 care workers, the majority of whom are women of color. Adams wins for her members by working with allies such as the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) and the California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA) to strengthen community bonds and to lift up social justice, justice in aging and disability rights in the labor movement.