When the United States Congress passed 1965’s Immigration and Nationality Act, it signaled a sea change in how immigration to the United States would now function. For East Asians with hopes of immigrating to the US, particularly Chinese and Japanese communities, the 20th century had been defined by racist, legal systems of exclusion. 1965’s legislation changed a key piece of this by abolishing the “quota” system, which used race and country of national origin as key pieces of information in limiting legal visas. For more on AANHPI immigration in the twentieth century, we recommend you explore fellow LHP Youth Researcher Ravi's exhibit, found here.
As a result of the loosened restrictions, the demographics —and scale — of New York City’s Chinatown immediately shifted. The Lower East Side’s garment industry was once heavily staffed by working-class Jewish and Italian women. But by 1980, 25,000 Chinese women were employed in the garment factories lining Canal Street. The shops paid poorly and were rife with workplace hazards, but they had no language or minimum education requirements. Working in a Chinatown garment factory also meant joining a community. Many Chinese women working in the garment industry joined unionized — or soon-to-be-unionized — shops under the ILGWU banner. While this was the first experience with labor organizing for many, union organizers and community activists built real power under difficult conditions. Their efforts culminated in the successful Chinatown garment workers’ strike of 1982, in which 20,000 strikers — almost all women — marched through Chinatown with union buttons and picket signs, demanding ratified union contracts and their rights as workers.
The garment industry was distinctly gendered. Management and bosses were largely male, while women almost entirely staffed the shop floor. But working-class Chinese men who were not bosses or businessmen were also trying to find their way in New York City. As a new wave of immigrants arrived in Chinatown from the late 1960s onward, new arrivals and new money circulating in the neighborhood led to the creation of more community spaces and businesses, including Chinatown’s large-scale banquet halls. The sprawling dining rooms that could hold hundreds at a time required a small army of staff to function, too. And the men who were hired to work there, typically as waiters or kitchen staff, had neither a staff union nor the luxury of choice of employment.