Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Profiles: Sumi Haru

For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month this year, the AFL-CIO is spotlighting various Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have worked and continue to work at the intersection of civil and labor rights in the United States. Today’s profile is Sumi Haru of SAG-AFTRA.

A longtime Screen Actors Guild board member and officer, the late Sumi Haru became the first Asian American elected to the AFL-CIO Executive Council in 1995, serving until 2001. “Actors should be involved because trade unionism is about organizing,” she said. “It’s about safety for workers, decent wages, making sure we have medical coverage and pension benefits, and have dignity in the workplace.”