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 Abe Lagrimas Jr. of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM).

“When I played at the local as a kid, it was just a gig,” Abe Lagrimas Jr. said. “Much later in my career, I see the importance of being affiliated with the AFM union, and the community that it creates and brings together. Regulars at these performances tell their friends, and word of mouth brings more people in. It’s unlike anything I’ve felt anywhere else I’ve lived. Hawaii has a tight-knit community in general, and we need to keep this special relationship between patrons and musicians going because we need each other.”

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II and the Poor People’s Campaign are uniting with the AFL-CIO and other economic justice organizations to fight poverty by launching efforts to empower voters, including the June 29th Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington, D.C. and to the Polls.

Poverty currently ranks among the top five leading causes of death in the United States, with child poverty specifically more than doubling over the last year. Barber and coalition leaders are working to further pro-worker agenda items like higher minimum wages, expanded child tax credits and better funding for anti-poverty programs by mobilizing low-income Americans to the polls.

“This [march] is an offensive move, we are calling people to come by the thousands. This is a mass mobilization of consciousness not based on poverty but on principle,” Barber said.

“The American labor movement is committed to registering and mobilizing union members and union families to elect lawmakers who will advocate for workers and poor people,” said AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond, who participated in the Poor People’s Campaign launch event. “Together, we can put an end to poverty, and create a more compassionate nation.”