80-20 EF Spoke Up For AsAm Workers

S. B. Woo, President of 80-20 Educational Foundation, EF, wrote
EEOC Chairwoman Cari M. Dominguez. Woo applauded her desire
to "outreach" in order to decrease workplace discrimination and
offered to work with her. He also said, "AsAms not only perceive
discrimination at work but also suffer real discrimination."
Woo cited those statistics that he had sent earlier to
Labor Sec. Chao.

Domingues had puzzled publicly over why 31% of AsAm workers
perceived discrimination at work and yet filed very few complaints
with EEOC. Woo wrote to explain that

there are cultural and social reasons for the scarcity of
complaints to the EEOC from AsAms. A complaint to EEOC is
equivalent to initiating litigation in the minds of AsAms.
Many AsAms fear litigation for the following reasons.

A) Cultural Inhibitions Against Litigation

First generation Asian immigrants have strong cultural inhibition
to litigation. Many of us feel that being involving in a law suit
at least partially reflects on us, since in our view a truly good
&successful person can solve all problems without going to court.
We distrust lawyers much more than average Americans. We
believe lawyers can be bought by money and power as
commonly happened in our respective old countries in the
past -- a belief that is likely inaccurate in US. So going to
court is like gambling, not being in complete control of
one's own destiny and therefore a shame.

B) Cultural Inhibition Against Admitting Being Discriminated

Many of us hate to admit that we have been discriminated against.
Confucian training influences us to believe that a good and strong
person would win respect instead of suffer discrimination. Again
we believe being discriminated against partially reflects on us.
So when asked by a pollster and knowing that their names will
not be tied to the admission of having being discriminated, many
will admit. But the same persons probably have not mentioned
the discrimination to EVEN their own family members. I'll further
conjecture that not all Asian will owe up to being discriminated
even to a pollster. In other words, the real percentage may be
even higher than 31%.

C) Assessment of the Political Reality in America

Asian Ams are well aware that many of our compatriots consider us
"foreigners." We are further aware that should the same
discrimination statistics have applied to African Americans, the
NAACP, Urban League, the Black Congressional Caucus, Jesse
Jackson's Rainbow Coalition will have together long demanded a
Congressional investigation and gotten it. EEOC & the Civil Rights
Commission will be investigating the matter vigorously. Ethnic
publications like Ebony will be focusing on such statistics issue
after issues. The mainstream media will be carrying it week after
weeks. Nothing close to the above described had happened in the
Asian Am community. The AsAm politicians are on the whole less
powerful. So average AsAm workers don't feel their complaints
will be dealt with justly.

Many AsAms have observed how reluctant their employers are
to fire a Black or female colleague. We are NOT suggesting to fire
the others with ease, but to point out the political plight of a
small minority without the GROUP political clout.

How Asian American Must Adjust

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do." AsAms must ADJUST the
above cultural views when discriminated against. If we don't,
we'll forever be discriminated against.

Lacking GROUP political clout is something that individual AsAms
can't do much about. That was why 80-20 was born! However, 80-20
can't by itself create GROUP political clout, unless you pitch in.
Your offspring will thank you.

Hot News

This afternoon, US Senator Tom Carper of Delaware and DOL
Sec. Elaine Chao will meet in Sen. Carper's office. The topic will
be 80-20's letter to Sec. Chao of May 17, 2005. Senator Carper
will be accompanied by his Chief of Staff and Legislative Asst.
Paige Jennings who is a labor expert.

80-20 has worked with Senator Carper's office for the last 8
months regarding the issue of glass ceiling on Asian Americans
and Executive Order 11246 which was enacted to assure that ALL
Americans will enjoy equal opportunity in workplaces.

The central point of 80-20's letter to Sec. Chao is:

"When compared with average Am. workers in the same
positions, Asian Americans have only 55% of their
chance to rise to the top rank in the private Industries (1.9
million AsAm workers), 41% of their chance in the universities
(70,000 AsAm workers), and 30% their chance in the Federal
government (86,000 AsAm workers)."

80-20 requested Sec. Chao to enforce E.O. 11246 on hehalf of
Asian Americans so that the glass ceiling over them will be
removed within a reasonable time period.

The history of how this meeting came about is stated below:

80-20 President S. B. Woo requested help from Sen. Tom Carper
to get the Senate Labor Comm. to hold a hearing on the glass ceiling
on Asian Americans. Sen. Carper suggested an informal & friendlier
method first. He proposed to act as the host to get Sec. Chao and
S. B. Woo to meet in Carper's office with Carper being the third person.
The topic will be 80-20's letter to Sec. Chao of May 17, 2005.

Sec. Chao refused the meeting on the ground that she'd not meet
with the head of a PAC, political action committee. It so happens that
Sec. Chao's husband, Sen. Mitch McConnell of KY and at least half of the
US Congressional Delegation are also heads of PACs. However, to
accommodate Sec. Chao's wish, 80-20 proposed that Prof. Larry Ho,
a Harvard professor and Nat'l Academician and Gareth Chang, a
C-100 member, would meet with her. She refused to meet with them, as
well. So it was good of Sen. Carper to insist on meeting with her to
talk about the same issue.

80-20 shall keep you posted on the outcome of the meeting.

If we have a problem then WE must work hard to solve it
OURSELVES. Recall that the recent Gallup poll found AsAms to have
the highest % of workers who have perceived discrimination at work
when compared with other races or gender groups. WE need to each
do our share to build up our political clout painstakingly. We must be
willing to give time and money to achieve such goals. We must unite.

Join 80-20 to help achieve those goals. Using a credit card, go
http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership.html (easy to use) or
http://www.80-20initiative.net/paypal.html
PERSONAL checks are payable to "80-20 PAC", mailed to:
Jing-Li Yu 80-20 special Assistant
P.O. Box 527340 Flushing, NY 11352-7340 .
Write down your E-MAIL address & PHONE no. on the BACK of the
check. Basic membership is $35; Family (2 voters) is $50, Life
Membership is $1,000. Student membership is $15.

Gallup Poll: AsAms the most discriminated at work

EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) hired the Gallup
Poll org. to find out workers' perception of discrimination. Its
finding 100% backs up 80-20's contention that AsAms are the most
discriminated in workplaces.

The Gallup poll finds that 31% of Asian workers say they were
discriminated at work, followed by 26% for African Am. workers, and
22% for female workers. Most major papers covered the news. The
World Journal reported it as the front-page top headline article.
For EEOC press release, go http://www.eeoc.gov/press/12-8-05.html
For Washington Post, go http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2005/12/08/AR2005120802037.html
For the World Journal, go http://www.80-20initiative.net/gallupwj.html

Fellow Asian Americans, a convergence of opportunities has
emerged. The 4 great forces working for you are:

(1) 80-20 has dug up irrefutable statistics, using employment
data supplied by the government and broken down to races, to show
that Asian Americans are the most discriminated in workplaces. See
80-20's last mass email.

(2) The above finding was the spark. It is spreading like the prairie
fire among AsAm workers and orgs. See 80-20's last mass email.

(3) The recent Gallup poll shows that 31% of Asian Americans, the
largest % of all Americans, have experienced discrimination in their
workplaces.

(4) 80-20 has reserved time and money to begin an all-front push to
eliminate the gross inequity for Asian Ams., if Labor Sec. Elaine
Chao refuses to enforce Exec. Order 11246 on behalf of AsAm by
the end of 2005.

The prospect for victory is good. Please put your shoulder to the
wheel and push! How?

Organize fellow AsAms in your workplace and ask your management
for the employee data broken down to ranks and races. 80-20 is 98%
certain that you can document glass ceiling in your own backyard and
win your management's support to accelerate its acceptance of
diversity. It could be the most rewarding task that you've ever spent
time on.

Do it for your children. You saved and saved to send your
children to first rate universities. What is the use of a good
education, if your children don't have equal opportunity to live
to the maximum of their potentials?

Ask 80-20 to help you in your endeavor to get employee data.
80-20 needs your help as well. Join 80-20. Using a credit card, visit
http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership.html (easy to use) or
http://www.80-20initiative.net/paypal.html
PERSONAL checks are payable to "80-20 PAC", mailed to:
Jing-Li Yu Director of Projects
P.O. Box 527340 Flushing, NY 11352-7340 .
Write down your E-MAIL address & PHONE no. on the BACK of the
check. Life membership is $1,000; Family (2 voters) is $50; Basic
Membership is $35; Student membership is $15.

##### Announcement #######

80-20 has created a Members' News webpage. Submission is
welcome. Click on http://www.80-20initiative.net/membernews.html and
see Dr. Kuan-Teh Jeang, who is a model for AsAms. He stepped forth to
fight for equal opportunity for AsAms in NIH. Did you get punished
by the management? No, he was instead rewarded as the NIH Asian
American Scientist of 2005. Hurrah.

A Spark Has Started a Prairie Fire!

A spark can start a prairie fire. 80-20 was the spark to win

equal opportunity in workplaces for AsAms. A prairie fire is
spreading! Here are two such instances.

Background Information

A few months ago, 80-20 publicized its letter to Labor Sec.
Elaine Chao. It revealed that government data showed that AsAms
were the most discriminated in workplaces:

"When compared with average Am. workers in the same
positions, Asian Americans have only 55% of their
chance to rise to the top rank in the private Industries (1.9
million AsAm workers), 41% of their chance in the universities
(70,000 AsAm workers), and 30% their chance in the Federal
government (86,000 AsAm workers)."

80-20 asked Labor Sec. Elaine Chao to help the AsAms, since she is
legally designated & authorized to secure equal opportunity in
workplaces for ALL Americans. Thus far she has NOT replied.

A Spreading Prairie Fire

In spite of Sec. Chao's silence, in a democracy people have power.
80-20's discovery of the above statistics has started a prairie fire.

CASE 1: A Model Individual Stepped Forth
Dr. Kuan-Teh Jeang, an 80-20 member who works for the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), saw the 80-20 statistics. He wondered if
the same glass ceiling pattern exists in his own workplace. So he
asked NIH for the raw employee data and analyzed them. Behold,
glass ceiling exists.

12% of the eligible pool from which lab chiefs are drawn are
AsAms. 4.7% are lab chiefs! The dissemination of the data attracted
an article from a prestigious magazine, Science. Visit:
http://www.80-20.us/glassceilingscientists.html for an article:
"Asian Scintists Are a Major Presence in U.S. Biomedical Research
Labs. So Why Do So Few Hold Leadership Positions?"

Some Senior officials at NIH are paying attention. "There's
appearance of a glass ceiling, which is troublesome," says Michael
Gottesman, who heads NIH's intramural research program. "It makes
you wonder if there's an inherent bias."

CASE 2: A Prestigious Organization Helps to Spread the Fire
The Committee of 100, a prestigious Ch-Am organization, saw the
80-20-statistics. It wondered if they were valid. So it appointed a
committee to look into it. The committee reported back that AsAm
represented 6% of the workforce in university, however, only 1.5% of
the university presidents. That was reported in an article in The
World Journal on 11/19/2005. Visit
http://www.80-20initiative.net/glassceilinguniwj.html

Help spread the prairie fire. Ask for the report that your
workplace, whether university or private industry, submits annually
to EEOC with employees broken down to racial groups and ranks.
Document the glass ceiling in your own backyard.

YOU are not one to bury your head in the sand. YOU act.
You strive to improve you and your children's destiny! If 80-20 can
assist you in your statistical project, let us know. Also share your
success with 80-20. Together, we'll win equal opportunity in workplace.

80-20 is the spark! Will YOU please join 80-20 & spread the fire?
http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership.html (easy to use) or
http://www.80-20initiative.net/paypal.html
PERSONAL checks are payable to "80-20 PAC", mailed to:
Jing-Li Yu 80-20 special Assistant
P.O. Box 527340 Flushing, NY 11352-7340 .
Write down your E-MAIL address & PHONE no. on the BACK of the
check. Basic membership is $35; Family (2 voters) is $50, Life
Membership is $1,000. Student membership is $15.