New York, NY: On Wednesday, June 3, 2026, workers at a local Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) advocacy organization, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF), demanded voluntary recognition of their union, CACF Workers United (CACF WU), today by presenting a letter to management. The organization is led by Co-Executive Directors, Anita Gundanna and Vanessa Leung. CACF’s Board of Directors includes Art Chang, who ran for NYC mayor in 2021.
CACF’s supports over 90 member organizations, and their mission is “to advocate for equity and opportunity for marginalized AAPI children and families.” This May, they helped lead the securing of $30 million in New York State funding for AAPI communities. At the organization, most of the employees are AAPI-identifiying. In their petition, CACF WU states a desire “to ensure that the things we practice and preach externally reflect what we practice and preach internally.”
The bargaining unit will include approximately 14 employees. Their petition for union representation represents a further expansion of union drives taking place across non-profit organizations, where burnout, low pay, workplace discrimination, and toxic culture are often cited as workplace complaints.
Unionization efforts by CACF WU are led in collaboration with Workers United NY/NJ (WU NY/NJ), a joint board of Workers United which has its origins in the historic International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union and the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union. WU NY/NJ also represents non-profit workers at Garden State Equality and The Baffler. Workers United fights for every worker on every front, advocating for strong contracts, worker protections, democracy on the job and policy change to achieve meaningful improvements for all working people.
From the workers at CACF:
“CACF is a pillar of support for AAPI orgs and we hope that they will also support staffs’ call for unionizing. Advocacy is not done in isolation or removed from the workplace and unionizing is a parallel to the campaigns and projects we currently do. We hope that in unionizing we gain the same dignity and respect in the workplace that is honored with our members.”
Nikita Boyce – Employee since October 2024
“I came into CACF really excited to hit the ground running, excited to be at the only Pan-Asian American organization in the country, and excited to work directly with the AAPI community in NYC and NY State. I love the relationships I’ve been able to build throughout my time so far. However, all of the amazing things I love about CACF are tainted by the lack of transparency and accountability in our leadership team, pay discrepancies, and unclear paths towards growth in the organization. As an organizer outside of my role at CACF, and now an organizer through unionizing with my colleagues, I always feel so at ease knowing the work we are doing is in good faith, for the love of our jobs and because we care deeply about each other, ourselves, and ensuring our work is valued, sustained and dignified. I want myself and all my colleagues to feel seen, heard, and thrive in our respective positions.”
Mira Gupta – Employee since November 2024
Instagram: @cacfwu
Twitter: @WorkersUnitedNY
Contact: Judy Luo, jluo@workersunitednynj.org, 636-288-2627