WSU Settled $650,000 Lawsuit with AsAms Employees

Dear Fellow Asian Americans and Friends, 

Are you being treated fairly at work or school? Do you know someone being discriminated due to their ethnicity? Forward this to your colleagues and administrators.

Washington State University (WSU) just settled a race-discrimination lawsuit brought by two Chinese American employees who are husband and wife.* Their lab supervisor subjected them to overt racial discrimination for years, including forbidding them to speak Mandarin to each other during breaks. When they complained, their supervisor retaliated by excluding them from work routines; among other punishments. Severe consequences ensued for their employer ONLY because the victims spoke up.

As a direct result of their courageous stand against discrimination:

o WSU settled for $650K.
o WSU settled with US EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) with campus-wide mandatory anti-discrimination training.
o The supervisor was fired.

Do you see parallel to the battles we are fighting for?

o In the "Land of the Free and the Brave", silent suffering, an "Asian value", is detrimental!
o "When in Rome, do what the Romans do". We no longer live under the authoritarian governments that many of us originally came from. Use the powerful legal and civil resources this country has to offer.
o When and ONLY WHEN you stand up for your rightful interest, can you get the equality and justice you deserve.

80-20 is the National Asian American PAC that is toiling to build a better tomorrow for all AsAms.

We are blessed to live in such a great nation where civil organizations can greatly influence the formulation, interpretation and the enforcement of laws and regulations, especially in the area of "equal protection" and "equal opportunity".

Rome was not built in one day! Support us by paying your membership dues and help spread the words. Together, we shall overcome.


Join 80-20 TODAY. Go to http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/join.asp

Or send your check to: 80-20 PAC, 13337 South St. #189, Cerritos, CA 90703

Family membership is $50 (two), individual $35, student $15.



Please see us on facebook at: www.facebook.com/8020PAC



Respectfully,

80-20 Collective Leadership

* http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/WSU-to-pay-650K-to-settle-lawsuit-3610591.php

Come Support Your Favorite Presidential Candidates!

Dear Fellow Asian Americans and Friends,

80-20 will hold its Endorsement Convention (EC) on Sunday August 26, 2012 in Los Angeles.

Who will we endorse?  It will be fiercely debated and decided by 33 delegates, comprised of 11 Democrats, 11Republicans, and 11 Independents.

Who can be a delegate?  Any current dues-paying member can run for delegate, our 3000+ members will vote to elect the most qualified candidates.

Will I be reimbursed for my travel expenses?  No!  Show your spirit of community service.  We are a volunteer organization that focuses limited funding on important projects (such as college admission).  Our board members and officers know all along that to service is to sacrifice your own money and precious family time, and expect nothing in return.

Then why should I bother?  Show the courage of your conviction to make your voices heard.  Our community has more than our share of whiners, critics, do-nothingers who are never happy with anything other people do.  Why don’t YOU come and change things for the better?

Why Bloc Vote?

“In business as in life, you do not get what you deserve; you get what you negotiate.”  Bloc vote is a proven collective bargaining tool which is the namesake of “80-20”

Only via the power of a bloc vote can a small minority like AsAm make a decisive difference in the outcome of elections, and hence motivate politicians to court our votes by offering favorable legislation and other initiatives that address the long neglected needs and concerns of our community.

If you know other orgs who are more dedicated, effective, and transparent in building a better tomorrow for all AsAms, please join them.  Otherwise, support us by paying your membership dues and help spread the words.

Join 80-20 Today.  Go to  http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/join.asp

Or send your check to: 80-20 PAC, 13337 South St. #189,  Cerritos,  CA 90703.

Family membership is $50 (two), individual $35, student $15.

Please see us on facebook at: www.facebook.com/8020PAC 

Respectfully,

80-20     Collective Leadership

Too Smart!

Dear Fellow Asian Americans and Friends,

Our Amicus brief has generated a storm of mainstream media coverage and elevated the plight of AsAm students into a central argument in the main Fisher brief to the Supreme Court

When we launched the College Survey, many were skeptical, wondering aloud on-line:

o "Something that takes just a minute CANNOT be good or effective."
o "It's a joke! Don't waste your time!"
o "Since when does the Supreme Court care about AsAm opinions?"

Many smart people talked themselves and their friends into DOING NOTHING, not a minute to waste for the community, thus make true of a self-fulfilling fallacy that we are voiceless and powerless. We salute the 50,000+ who stepped forward to get their voices heard. They are our heroes regardless of whether they are FOR or AGAINST the 80-20 position!

80-20 poured in thousands hours into the preparation so that you can be effective by spending just a minute.

o Early 2011: Background research and internal deliberation
o Dec 2011: Board vote, survey preparation, AsAm college data compilation
o Feb 2012: Worked with award-winning journalists to put the AsAm data into the national media in an effort to induce the Supreme Court to take up the case
o Mar 2012: Rolled out the historical survey upon the Supreme Court decision, and firmly documented that AsAms prefer race-neutral with a 52:1 ratio to guard against imposters who would claim they represent you to the contrary.
o Mar 2012: Identified experienced constitutional lawyer to not only write our brief but also to incorporate the AsAm plight into the main Fisher brief.
o Apr 2012: Identified Jewish partner to establish the historical perspective on how the harm of discrimination flows from one community to the other without remedial purpose.
o May 2012: Filed the brief, held a press conference in the Nat'l Press Club in D.C. to generate media blitz and launched a campaign in public opinions.

The hardest battle is not in the Court; it is in your heart.

We Asian Americans tend to outsmart ourselves into DOING NOTHING except for our immediate families.

o Through our apathy, we consent our youth to face much higher barrier than others.
o Through our apathy, we consent others to claim we all support "race conscious" policy.
o Through our apathy, we let the lonely voice of 80-20 to wither.

No longer can we afford the apathy and "suffer-in-silence" tendency of the past. To do so is to shirk our personal responsibility and actively lay the groundwork for continued discrimination and harm, and shackle the future for our children.

80-20 is toiling to build up our community through the proven process of political involvement.

Our success or failure is in your hand. Will you support us by paying your membership dues and help spread the words?

The miracle is in your heart!


Please join 80-20 TODAY. Go to http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/join.asp
Or send your check to: 80-20 PAC, 13337 South St. #189, Cerritos, CA 90703
Family membership is $50 (two), individual $35, student $15.



Respectfully,

The 80-20 Collective Leadership


Please see us on facebook at: > www.facebook.com/8020PAC

Are you with David or Goliath?

Dear Fellow Asian Americans and Friends,

80-20 Filed Supreme Court Brief on May 29th, the plaintiff-side deadline. http://www.80-20educationalfoundation.org/pdf/amicus-brief.pdf

The battle is NOT won. We face formidable opponents with unlimited resources. UT Austin paid $977,000 to retain Latham & Watkins LLP, a 2,000-lawyer firm with 31 offices who successfully defended the 2003 Grutter case, which in turn leads to the current  case: Fisher vs. UT Austin. There is no doubt L&W will coordinate dozens of Amicus briefs vigorously defending the current race-
conscious policy, and the briefs will include some AsAm groups who are determined to ensure you and your children would enjoy the status quo for another 20 years.

FIVE AsAm groups have announced they will file Amicus briefs to support the race-conscious policy:

o The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) (Margaret Fung, info@aaldef.org)
o Asian American Institute (AAI),
o Asian American Justice Center (AAJC),
o Asian Law Caucus (ALC), and
o Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC)

We are in an uphill battle like David v. Goliath (the Jewish boy v. the Philistine Giant), only with a twist: Imagining some Jews block David's path, argue that Goliath may well be their best friend. Furthermore, they contend they represent all Jews. Can David still win?

A house divided cannot stand. The Supreme Court may well believe the silent 15 million AsAms largely support the race-conscious policy, as these AsAm groups contend. Many other AsAm groups may join these five before the end of August deadline for the defendant (UT Austin) side.


The burden to fight for the interest of 15 million AsAms cannot rest only on the shoulders of 3000+ dues-paying 80-20 members. We may fail precisely because your silence emboldens these AsAm groups to fight against your interest with impunity. You can make a difference. Join 80-20 Today!


Please join 80-20 TODAY. Go to http://www.80-20initiative.net/membership/join.asp
Or send your check to: 80-20 PAC, 13337 South St. #189, Cerritos, CA 90703
Family membership is $50 (two), individual $35, student $15.



Respectfully,

The 80-20 Collective Leadership



Please see us on facebook at: > www.facebook.com/8020PAC