A worker center founded in 1992, KIWA organises, trains and serves Latino and Korean immigrant workers in low-wage industries in Koreatown and California, and advocates on housing and development policy.
The Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA) is a worker center founded in 1992, two months before the Los Angeles civil unrest, by community organizers and workers. Based in Koreatown, Los Angeles, and active throughout California, it is one of the nation's most established worker centers. Its work centres on immigrant workers in low-wage industries, particularly Latino and Korean workers in the restaurant and retail sectors.
KIWA combines four lines of work. Grassroots worker organizing mobilises immigrant workers in low-wage employment; leadership development programmes build worker leadership within the community; direct services assist workers facing exploitation, wage theft, unsafe conditions and discrimination; and policy advocacy addresses housing rights, equitable development, immigration and civic engagement in response to gentrification and development pressures.
The organisation is community-based and grounded in solidarity across racial lines, with a focus on immigrant worker rights and empowerment. Its stated concerns include wage theft, unsafe working conditions and discrimination, alongside anti-gentrification and equitable development efforts. Further information is available at https://kiwa.org/.
