NEWS! When 80-20 dies, who will fight for you?

Pres. Obama's Promises to us Through 80-20:

See his SIGNED PROMISE, click on
http://www.80-20initiative.net/news/preselect2008_obama.asp .

The promises are:

(1) make it his "top priority" to drastically INCREASE the number of Asian Am. life-tenured federal judges in both the District and the Appeals Courts levels;

(2) break the glass ceiling against Asian Ams in universities; and

(3) break the glass ceiling against Asian Ams in private industries.

Pres. Obama has honored at least 2 of 3 promises. Here are the facts.

UNDER (1) ABOVE, Pres. Obama has just appointed TWO MORE.

o Jacqueline H. Nguyen, a Vietnamese American, to serve on the 9th Appeals Court, and

o Miranda Mai Du, another Vietnamese American, to serve as a District Judge for the District. of Nevada

In 3 years, he has DOUBLED the number of Asian Am judges, with 2 in Appeals Court level.

UNDER (2) ABOVE, there has been MORE Asian Am. presidents/provosts appointed to BIG universities than what had been in the ENTIRE history of America. 80-20 just learnt of yet another recent appointment:

o Amado Gabriel Esteban, Filipino American, appointed to be the President of Seton Hall University in 2011, the first president of that university who is not a Cathlolic preiest.

One Uncertain Area!

Under (3), 80-20 is not sure if there has been much progress. Therefore, S. B. Woo & Ved Chaudhary just made an appointment to see the director of OFCCP, Department of Labor, Patricia Shiu. They'll meet on Oct. 31 in Washington D.C.

80-20 shall also meet with Pres. Obama early next year to review the progress
in the private industries area.

What if 80-20 dies? Who will fight for you?

Join 80-20. Using a credit card, go to http://www.80-20initiative.net . Or send
your check to 80-20 PAC 13337 South St. #189 Cerritos, CA 90703.

There is a matching fund of $1,660 for dues of anyone joining. Basic $35; Family $50 or Life Member $1,000.

Respectfully,

S. B. Woo, who has devoted 12 years to 80-20 and donated $100,000
http://www.80-20initiative.net

Acknowledgement:
Larry Yu-Chi Ho, Boston, MA: $1,000
S. B. Woo Newark, DE: $660

A True Story told by S. B. Woo

The following conversation occurred between Sen. John Kerry of MA and S. B. Woo in 1988.

Kerry: S.B., do you know why both political parties and the national media don't pay much attention to the Asian Am. community?

S. B.: Why?

Kerry: Because all 3 entities know that even your activists, when told to go away or ignored long enough, will quietly go away. No sustained action.

80-20 is a role model in taking sustained action to make the "impossible" possible. 80-20 aims to EMPOWER our community with ample self-confidence and a new spirit.

80-20 also vows if it can't serve our community effectively anymore, it'll rather die than pretending to be activists but who will quietly submit when the going gets tough.

Here are items that 80-20 has made POSSIBLE, conceived by many as impossible earlier?

o Go by a "reward and punish" principle in dealing with the political establishment
o Deliver Asian Am. bloc votes
o Fight with presidential candidates and yet get their commitments.

Perhaps the biggest "impossible" 80-20 aims to OVERCOME is our POLITICAL APATHY.

80-20 aims to HALVE the amount of our political apathy by DOUBLING its membership within a year, or it'll dissolve itself!

How is DOUBLING going? It needs your sustained help, especially help from our Basic Members who are urged to upgrade to Family memberships. See below. The red line is getting ever closer to the green line.

Join 80-20. Please help the 2 lines to cross so that TOGETHER, we can make "impossible" possible. Using a credit card, go to http://www.80-20initiative.net Or send your check to 80-20 PAC 13337 South St. #189 Cerritos, CA 90703.
Sudent $15; Basic $35; Family $50 or Life Member $1,000.

Respectfully,

S. B. Woo, a volunteer who has volunteered for 12 years for 80-20 and donated $100,000
http://www.80-20initiative.net

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
Tony Li, Skillman, NJ: $1,500
Yin-Long Qiu & Libo Li, Ann Arbor, MI: $1,500
Daisy Wu, Ann Arbor, MI $1,000 &
Tina Liu Jen, Parsippany, NJ: $1,000
Alice Huang, Pasadena, CA: $1,000

Men beat AsAm to death; sentenced to probation and fined $3,780

Written by Ed Lin, an 80-20 Board Member

Dear fellow Asian Americans,

Of what importance are judicial appointments and how can it affect the 99.999% of us who are law abiding citizens? Why should we even care? Does the above ACTUAL verdict concern you?

Remember the 1942 internment of Japanese Americans during WWII? Approximately 110,000 of them lost their property, were incarcerated with total disruption to their careers, businesses and private lives, and put under a devastating cloud of suspicion about their patriotism.

Fortunately, German Americans and Italian Americans escaped a similar miscarriage of justice, and were accorded our constitutional protection of due process and presumption of innocence (notwithstanding the fact Germany and Italy were allied enemies of the US on the European battlefront).

Nor should we forget that in 1982, a Detroit Chinese American, Vincent Chin, was beaten to death by two Caucasians, former Chrysler plant superintendent Ronald Ebens and his stepson Michael Nitz. They mistook Chin to be Japanese and took out their unemployment anger on Chin. Judge Charles Kauffman, on sentencing the two guilty men, said “These are not the kind of people you put behind bars” and sentenced the two men to three years’ probation and $3,780 in fines and court costs. Although the miscarriage of justice sparked an outcry amongst the Asian American community, there was insufficient political muscle for justice to be served, and to achieve a different outcome.

Insufficient political muscle for justice to be served . . .

Does this seem like déjà vu? How many times does history have to repeat itself before we finally learn our lesson? And realize that AsAm unity and political strength is crucial to our social wellbeing and equality?

AsAm are the most educated ethnic group in the US and comprise 5% of US population. Although we have a disproportionately high (5.5%) representation in the legal profession with many exceptionally qualified legal scholars, we have a dismal representation in the Federal judiciary:

In the nearly two decades between 1988 and 2005, the number of AsAm federal judges increased from 5 to 6. In 2006, 80-20 began a push for more AsAm federal judges. In 2008, we secured a written promise from then presidential candidate Obama to increase the number of AsAm federal judges. He has substantially fulfilled that promise to AsAm. As of today, we have 15 AsAm federal judges, with one at the Appellate level. If all AsAm judicial scholars had an equal opportunity to become federal judges, we ought to have around 40 instead of 15 AsAm federal judges.

To give you an inkling of the amount of behind-the-scenes work necessary to bring a judicial nominee to a vote in the Senate, consider this: In 2010 and 2011, 80-20 worked with CA Senators and the White House to nominate a supremely qualified jurist, Professor Goodwin Liu of UC Berkeley, to serve as a life-tenured judge on the US Court of Appeals. Although successfully nominated and confirmed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, his final confirmation by the US Senate was met with partisan opposition by Republicans who would not permit a vote to take place. 80-20 called for a fax campaign to Republican Senators to support Liu, but to no avail. President Obama re-nominated Liu in 2011 and again the confirmation could not come to a vote due to a Republican block. Professor Liu then withdrew his nomination and he has just been confirmed to the CA Supreme Court. See below.

Our government is supposed to be of the people, by the people. Power corrupts and partisan politics lead some to put political gains ahead of national interests and equality for all.

Remember Selma? Remember Birmingham? The only thing protecting us against tyranny and injustice, is our judiciary system. In the end, the responsibility for fighting for AsAm equality and justice falls squarely on your shoulders and mine.

If WE don’t care enough about AsAm equality and justice to put them front and center of our priorities, then WHO will??

80-20 is the singular AsAm organization that has steadfastly fought the toughest battles for you and your children. Yet out of 15.5 million AsAm, only 2,650 pay their dues to support our work! Our political apathy threatens to choke the life out of this scrappy, tough-fighting valiant organization.

If you are one of our special dues-paying members, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You. Your steadfast support and shining example sustains 80-20 in its daunting and lonely task. If you’re not, please don’t starve your workhorse any longer. If you want 80-20 to be around to help you or your children, help 80-20 DOUBLE its membership. Using a credit card, go to http://www.80-20initiative.net Or send your check to :

80-20 PAC 13337 South St. #189 Cerritos, CA 90703.

Basic $35; Family $50 or Life Member $1,000.

Thank you.

Ed

Dr. Edward Lin
Director, 80-20 Initiative; Family Life Member & Founding Patron
http://www.linkedin.com/in/EdwardLin001USA

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Confirmation of Goodwin H. Liu's nomination to the California Supreme Court

Real Stories Regarding Keeping 80-20 Alive

o A $10,000 check form Alex New of NY arrived.
I e-mailed him: "Alex, bad news. Your matching fund of $10K is all used up. Pay up pls. :)" Alex replied, "To me, that's the good news. A check sent." Generosity!

o An email moved me to tears.
A good friend who is an Honorary Family Member proudly fulfilled his promise to recruit a member for 80-20. His email states, "xxx and yyy, our dear children, agreed to join 80/20 as members to fulfill my birthday wish last week. . . . Indeed, the torch shall be passed to the next generation." Getting ones' own children to support 80-20 is sometimes the hardest and the most ticklish task!

o An American living in France (Neuilly Sur Seine, zip: 92200) responded. She upgraded from Basic to Family membership. What great support!

o Putting money where the mouth is.
A friend Yin-Long Qiu of Detroit wrote me. He suggested for 80-20 to translate its e-newsletters into various Asian languages including Chinese to expand 80-20's membership base. I replied saying that such is beyond 80-20's ability, considering cost-effectiveness. You know what! I just receive an email from him stating:

"I am talking to my daughter, who is a college sophomore, just joined 80-
20, and is learning Chinese, about translating main points of 80-20
website as her extra-curriculum project. I will be working with her to
check everything in the end. . . . I am also contacting UM As-Am student
organizations, and will try to find students to do similar translations in
Hindi, Japanese, Korean, and other languages. Please be patient, and it
may take a while. Perhaps the Christmas/New Year break will be needed
for them to get the project done." That "can-do" spirit moved me to no end!

o Few things are truly impossible.
Many Asian Ams used to think it impossible for 80-20 to
o go by a "reward and punish" principle in dealing with politicians;
o fight with presidential candidates and yet get their commitments;
o deliver an Asian American bloc vote.

80-20 has proven that such "impossible missions" are possible.

Now is HALVING our community's POLITICAL APATHY or DOUBLING 80-20's
membership impossible? See the graph below. If 130 join 80-20 this week,
the red line will have caught up with the green line . Will you be one?



Any US citizen AND permanent resident may join 80-20. Using a credit card, go to http://www.80-20initiative.net Or send your check to
80-20 PAC 13337 South St. #189 Cerritos, CA 90703. Student $15; Basic $35; Family $50 or Life Member $1,000.

Respectfully,

S. B. Woo, A volunteer
http://www.80-20initiative.net

S. B. Woo Commits $30,000 to achieve DOUBLING

650 Basic (1 vote) members got a personal commitment from S. B. Woo that if they'll add $15 to upgrade to Family memberships (2 votes), and if 80-20 still fails to DOUBLE, he'll send each of them $50. That amounts to a personal commitment of $30,000 or more!

As usual, S. B. is always willing to put his own neck on the line for the public good. While he prods all of us to sacrifice for the benefit of the whole, he has ALWAYS led by SACRIFICING more himself.

Below is what he sent to those Basic members. About 200 Basic members have already upgraded, responding to S.B's earlier pleads.

80-20 wants to publicize this commitment so that Asian Ams will know that S. B's commitment is real. 80-20 will hold him to it! We also join S.B. in pleading to the 650 Basic members to upgrade to Family memberships in order to keep 80-20 alive!

Respectfully,

Ved Chaudhary, Secretary and
Kathleen To, Treasurer and Past President, 80-20 PAC, Inc.

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Dear xxx:

This is my 3rd plead for you to do our children & me a BIG favor. It's not because I want to plead. It's because I don't know where else to turn to keep 80-20 - the one and only effective lobby group for Asian Ams - alive!

If 95% of the remaining 650 Basic members, like you, will upgrade with $15 (200 have already done so), 80-20 will only be 400 members short of its DOUBLING goal to combat POLITICAL APATHY. I give you my word of honor that I'll get those remaining 400 members. If I fail in that pledge, I'll send each of you, who will have upgraded owing to my 3rd plead, $50 -- a total commitment of $30,000. 80-20 needs members, not $$$.

If you don't help, 80-20 shall die! That's again my words of honor. See the graph below. The red line has fallen again.

Would you give $15 to upgrade your Basic membership (1 vote) to Family membership (2 votes)? The process is easy. See the footnote. The second member can be your spouse, child, sibling, or any one of your friends.

Respectfully yours,

S. B. Woo, who has volunteered for 12 years for 80-20 and donated $100K.

FOOTNOTE: To UPGRADE with $15:

Click on http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/payment.asp . Go the line marked DONATION.
Enter 15.00 & submit. At the next page, enter BOTH the second name & his/her e-mail address, if any, at the COMPANY line, & your OWN name & email address at respective proper lines. 80-20'll take care of the rest.

To send a check of $15, please write the name & e-address of the second person at the back of
your check. Send it to 80-20 PAC 13337 South St. #189 Cerritos, CA 90703. Your $15 will be matched.

An additional inducement for you to upgrade to family membership:
o 1-year membership will be EXTENDED to one year from the date you've added the $15. So it' a good deal. :)
o Multiyear membership will continue after 1 year, although not that of the 2nd person.

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Annoucement & Acknowledgement:
Goodwin Liu was confirmed as California's Supreme Court justice unanimously
Tony Zhicong Li & Dr. Lin Huang, Skillman, NJ: $1,500
Henry Sun, LWR, FL: $1,000 Henry Lao, El Monte, CA: $500

On Labor Day: Is your labor being equitably recognized?

Dear fellow Asian Americans,

The government announcement below is a compelling example of 80-20’s landmark accomplishments on your behalf: 80-20 is securing equal opportunity and invaluable protection for 15.5 million Asian Americans. For the first time in American history, we are
FINALLY receiving protection under EO 11246. This equal opportunity law was enacted by
President Johnson in 1965. You have seen its dramatic results over the past 46 years as it
helped millions of Blacks, Hispanics and women attain greater equality in the workplace.

Sadly and incredibly, this Equal Opportunity Law has never been enforced for Asian Americans
until 80-20 took up the cause and got Democratic Presidential candidates, including Obama, to
promise in writing in 2008 to do so once the candidate became president. See
http://www.80-20initiative.net/news/preselect2008_obama.jpg All of the Republican
candidates refused to respond.

Until recently, despite higher education well above the national norm, Asian Americans have
only 30-45% chance of rising to upper management in federal government, universities and
private enterprises. See:
http://80-20initiative.blogspot.com/2011/05/best-of-80-20s-10-accomplishments.html

The OFCPP (U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs) under
Patricia Shiu is charged with the enforcement of EO11246. OFCCP can come down on any
government contract recipient (that includes all universities and large corporations) with the
threat to cancel the contract and bar the entity from future gov’t contracts. So they pay
attention to OFCCP and take its actions seriously. Instead of each aggrieved Asian American
having to sue his/her employer for discrimination—against great odds and at huge costs—the
weight of the Federal Government is brought to bear and the employer has the burden of
proof that it did not discriminate. In contrast, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chow (under
President Bush) refused to enforce EO11246. Asian Americans seek NO preferential treatment.
We only ask for the same equal opportunity that all Americans deserve, and which the DOL’s
own statistics showed have been clearly denied to our ethnic group.

In the entire US, only about 2,500 people pay their modest annual memberships dues to
support the important and difficult work of 80-20, performed by a team of dedicated all-
volunteer Asian American leaders. Our progress is severely hobbled by the disease of
pervasive political apathy amongst Asian Americans— 99.99% of us are quite content to let
someone else shoulder the burden for them. Which group are you in?

If you are one of our 2,500 special dues-paying members, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.
For your sustaining support and shining example. If not, please don’t starve your workhorse
any longer. If you want 80-20 to be around to help you or your children, help 80-20
DOUBLE its membership.

Using a 1000 credit card, go to http://www.80-20initiative.net/ Or send your check to 80-20 PAC
13337 South St. #189 Cerritos, CA 90703. There is a donor matching fund of
$10,000 for dues of anyone joining. Basic $35; Family $50 or Life Member $1,000.

Thank you.

Ed

Dr. Edward Lin
Director, 80-20 Initiative; Family Life Member & Founding Patron

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From: White House Office of Communications 

Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2011 6:13 PM

To: Edward Lin

Subject: FW: OFCCP Sues Big Cheese, el Queso Grande News Release
U.S. Department of Labor For Immediate Release Sept. 1, 2011
Office of Public Affairs, Contact: Deanne Amaden José Carnevali
San Francisco, Calif. Phone: 415-625-2630 415-625-2631
Release number: 11-1291-SAN Email: amaden.deanne@dol.gov carnevali.jose@dol.gov

US Labor Department files complaint against Colorado-based
cheese producer for discriminating against minority job
applicants at California facility
Back wages and job offers sought for African-American, Asian and Hispanic applicants;
debarment from future government contracts recommended 


LEMOORE, Calif. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs today filed a complaint with the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges
against federal contractor Leprino Foods Co. for discriminating against qualified African-American, Asian and Hispanic applicants for on-call laborer positions at the company’s Lemoore West facility.

The administrative complaint seeks back wages and interest for at least 270 class members, as
well as job offers for at least 17 of the original applicants. OFCCP also is requesting that
Leprino Foods’ existing federal contracts be canceled and the company be debarred from
entering into any future contracts until the violations are resolved and the company corrects
its discriminatory employment practices.

“Leprino Foods’ hiring process simply doesn’t pass the sniff test,” said OFCCP Director Patricia
A. Shiu. “When workers are denied employment because of factors that have nothing to do
with their ability to perform the job, something is not right. Our message to the company is
clear: Correct your discriminatory practices and make restitution to the victims or lose your
lucrative federal contracts.”

Under Executive Order 11246, federal contractors cannot discriminate in employment practices
with regard to race and national origin. Data collected from Leprino Foods showed that the
company’s use of a job skills assessment called the WorkKeys exam adversely impacted
minority applicants. During OFCCP’s review, which examined hiring practices for a 22-month
period, the agency found that only 49 percent of otherwise qualified minority applicants
passed the exam, compared with more than 72 percent of non-minority applicants. OFCCP
could not substantiate the employer’s claim that the exam measured applied math, workplace
observation and information location skills related to the essential functions of on-call
laborers. On-call laborers perform a variety of entry-level tasks, including inspecting products,
monitoring equipment and maintaining sanitation at the facility.

Denver-based Leprino Foods is the nation’s largest producer of mozzarella cheese. The
company has contracts totaling $5 million with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide
mozzarella and whey produc 3b9 ts to the Farm Services Agency.

In addition to Executive Order 11246, OFCCP’s legal authority exists under Section 503 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of
1974. As amended, these three laws hold those who do business with the federal government,
both contractors and subcontractors, to the fair and reasonable standard that they not
discriminate in employment on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability
or status as a protected veteran. For general information, call OFCCP’s toll-free helpline at 800-
397-6251. Additional information is available at http://www.dol.gov/ofccp