March 29, 2022: The Real Cost of Poor Pay, Union Built Matters

Council member Sandra Ung, who represents the city’s 20th district, described how difficult it is for immigrant workers to join unions. “My district is majority Asian, and union membership among Chinese and Korean workers is one of the lowest among the city’s diverse communities—not just in the construction industry—but in all sectors of the workforce,” Ung said. She added that while the process of joining a union may sway undocumented and other immigrant workers, the certificates and licenses required to be a union worker only exist for a good reason: “to protect workers by creating a safe work environment.”