With the SAG-AFTRA strike in full swing, the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) staff invited me to join the picket line with the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA). This organization collaborates with PWC in its efforts to educate and protect caregivers and other domestic workers. When we arrived at Warner Bros. Studios, the staff and I walked to a registration booth and prepared to join the droves of strikers pacing up and down the sidewalk. The air was thick with heat, and as cars honked in support, the marchers responded with whoops and shouts.
NDWA organizers gave everyone in our group yellow t-shirts with the NDWA logo on it, so when we joined the march with our signs the group of around fifteen of us stood out starkly against the other strikers in dark clothes and black SAG-AFTRA t-shirts. As we walked, a woman in our group initiated chants: “Who’s got the power?” “We’ve got the power!” “When we fight–!” We win!” Throughout the march, many SAG-AFTRA strikers who noticed us stopped and thanked the NDWA for coming to support them; sometimes, our chants were even met with cheers from passersby.
When my supervisor had initially invited me to this strike, I had been surprised that PWC was allocating its time and resources to joining the SAG-AFTRA union’s march. Though PWC supports workers, I felt that this strike was only tangentially related to its mission statement—surely the time PWC would spend striking would be better spent servicing the local Filipinos who received no community support outside of PWC. Didn’t the SAG-AFTRA strike have enough visibility? My doubts evaporated, however, once I arrived at the Warner Bros. Studios picket line. There was an air of conviviality and purpose at the strike that I had not experienced before, even in the worker development workshops or voter registration events I would have characterized as a more valuable and relevant use of PWC time before. Oftentimes, advocacy and community organizing can be disheartening—people who dedicate their lives to protecting marginalized communities are tasked with facing the ugliest parts of our system. Joining the SAG-AFTRA strike in solidarity not only bolstered the strikers’ efforts; it also gave NDWA and PWC workers the chance to hear gratitude for their work, and to expand their reach as organizations. We were almost walking advertisements for the NDWA, as well—journalists stopped us to interview some of the NDWA staff and a couple of strikers stopped and thanked our group for their involvement in protecting workers’ rights. Also, many of the PWC staff were friends with the NDWA representatives who were at the strike, and this gave them the opportunity to reconnect and strengthen their relationships.
Solidarity was a term I had heard often, but I did not assign much meaning to it. In my head solidarity was something stagnant: an outraged Instagram post shared on someone’s story, or a self-identification as an ally—things that are supportive, but that by themselves have little effect on a community’s fight for rights and respect. Attending this strike began to convince me that there is a genuine value in showing up for others in nonprofit and advocacy work—that solidarity is an active and essential aspect of organizing.
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the views or positions of CAUSE or the CAUSE network.
Written by Olivia Sieve, Leadership Academy 2023 Intern.
The CAUSE Leadership Academy (CLA) for students is a nine-week, paid, internship program that prepares college undergraduates to lead and advocate for the Asian Pacific Islander community on their campuses and beyond.