This is an excerpt from a column in The Huffington Post.

I have been following all of the news about the number of elected officials, especially U.S. senators, who are "coming out" in support of marriage equality. It is clear progress is being made and there is much celebration amongst members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community. I also recognize that marriage equality has been an entry point for many allies into the LGBT movement.

Gregory Cendana, executive director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), warns that the national debate around creating a commonsense immigration process “has largely ignored a disturbing trend in businesses: the modern-day indentured servitude of temporary workers.”

Organizations representing flight attendants, air marshals and other concerned groups protested a new policy, announced by the Transportation Security Administration, that would allow small knives and other potentially dangerous items to be carried on to commercial flights. Labor and community groups say that allowing these items on planes breaks down one of the integral layers keeping the U.S. aviation system secure.

Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) President Veda Shook said:

Flight Attendants will not stand silently by as knives are re-introduced to the aircraft cabin. Flight Attendants serve as the last line of defense in aviation security, and we are responsible for ensuring the safety, health and security of everyone on board.

The AFL-CIO’s My Vote, My Right mobilization is teaming up with community partners around the nation to make sure eligible voters are registered and to ensure that their voting rights are protected. This week in Nevada, volunteers from the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), unions from the Nevada State AFL-CIO and others in the Nevada New Majority Coalition fanned out across Las Vegas in registration drives in conjunction with National Voter Registration Day, Sept. 25. 

The Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) in recent days hit two big milestones: The AFL-CIO constituency group celebrated its 20th anniversary and launched APALA's Young Leaders Council.  

Twenty years ago, when the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) was founded, “you could almost count the number of Asian Pacific American (APA) organizers on one hand,” says APALA Executive Director Gregory Cendana. But in the two decades since, "That has clearly changed when you look around at the growing number of Asian Pacific American union leaders, staff and organizers." 

Marvin Bing, a member of the AFL-CIO Special Committee on Labor-Community Partnerships, sends us this report on a meeting of AFL-CIO constituency groups in Phoenix.

AFL-CIO constituency groups kicked off the “We Are One Moving America Forward” symposium late last week with a series of great speeches by William Lucy, Ben Jealous, George Gresham, Danny Ortega and Judith Browne-Dianis. A resounding theme: “We can’t let the 1 percent trick us into believing we are different—We are the 99 percent, we are one and if we don’t work together on issues that bring us together, we will fall together.” We are the people who fight for working families, we are the people who fight to protect our students, children, seniors and families. We are the labor movement and together with the community we are unbeatable.

Katrina Dizon, president of Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA)-DC, sends us this.

APALA members joined a packed room at Eatonville Restaurant yesterday as the Restaurant Opportunities Center United (ROC-United) released its “Diners’ Guide 2012,” a booklet rating 150 of the most popular restaurants in the United States on a variety of workplace standards. Criteria include the restaurant’s high-road practices, the extent workers are tipped and non-tipped wages and access to paid sick leave and advancement opportunities.

Emmelle Israel, AFL-CIO Media Outreach fellow, sends us this.

“Unemployed, Not Undeserving”—the first-ever congressional briefing on Asian American and Pacific Islander unemployment and job creation—yesterday brought to light issues of long-term unemployment, income inequality, and the need for bold jobs legislation as it relates to Asian American and Pacific Islander workers.

The first-ever New Jersey chapter of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) was chartered today at a ceremony at New Jersey State AFL-CIO headquarters.