Kent Wong
Kent Wong | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1956 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | October 8, 2025 (aged 68–69) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Education | UC Berkeley and People's College of Law |
| Occupation | Director (1991–2023) |
| Employer | UCLA Labor Center |
| Father | Delbert Wong |
Kent Wong was a labor leader, educator, and scholar. He served as director of the UCLA Labor Center from 1991 to 2023. He died at the age of 69 on October 8, 2025 in Los Angeles.
Early life
[edit]Born in 1956[1], Wong was a fifth generation Chinese American.[2] He grew up in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Silver Lake and attended UC Berkeley[3] and the People's College of Law.[2] As a college student at UC Berkeley, Wong was a volunteer boycott organizer for the United Farm Workers.[3]
He was a son of Delbert Wong, the first Chinese American judge in the continental United States, and Dolores Wong, a social worker and community leader in Los Angeles' Chinatown.[2]
He married Jai Lee and had two sons.[2]
Career
[edit]Upon graduating from the People's College of Law in 1984, Wong became the first staff attorney of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center for Southern California (now called Asian American Advancing Justice).[4] Wong then worked as staff attorney for the Service Employees International Union.[2] He was the founding president of the United Association for Labor Education and a vice president for the California Federation of Teachers.[2] Wong also served as the first president of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (AFL-CIO) in 1992.[5] Wong was also a founding member of the academic journal New Labor Forum.[6]
He became director of the UCLA Labor Center in 1991. He established a permanent home for the UCLA Labor Center in MacArthur Park in 2021.[2][7] At UCLA, he advocated for undocumented students and their ability to be employed at the university.[8]
As a noted labor scholar, Wong was often consulted for his perspectives on a wide variety of labor issues such as unionization at Amazon,[9] Asian American unemployment,[10] the growth of labor unions in the Los Angeles area,[11][12] fast food workers' unions,[13] and unions' political influence.[14]
In 2024, Wong won the John Allen Buggs Leadership Award from the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations for his human relations advocacy and leadership.[15][16]
Select publications
[edit]- Asian American Workers Rising: APALA's Struggle to Transform the Labor Movement edited by Kent Wong, Matthew Finucani, Tracy Lai, Kim Geron, Emmelle Israel, and Julie Monroe (2021), UCLA Labor Center, ISBN: 978-0-89215-086-1
- Revolutionary Nonviolence: Organizing for Freedom by James M. Lawson, Michael K. Honey, and Kent Wong (2022), University California Press, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv2j6xfhm
- Work and Inequality in the Global Economy: China, Mexico, and the United States by Chris Tilly and Kent Wong (2010), New Labor Forum,19(3):48-50, DOI:10.1353/nlf.2010.0010
- Undocumented and Unafraid: Tam Tran and Cinthya Felix by Kent Wong and Matias Ramos (2011), Boom: A Journal of California, University of California Press, https://doi.org/10.1525/boom.2011.1.1.10
References
[edit]- ↑ "Rest in Power: Tribute to Kent Wong" (PDF). Garment Worker Center. 2025. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hussain, Suhauna (2025-10-10). "Kent Wong, a champion of nonviolent resistance in the L.A. labor movement, dies at 69". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- 1 2 Wong, Kent (2015). "A New Labor Movement for a New Working Class: Unions, Worker Centers, and Immigrants". Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law. 36 (1): 205–213. ISSN 1067-7666.
- ↑ "Obituary: Kent Wong, 69, labor and immigrant rights champion and former director of UCLA Labor Center". UCLA Labor Center. 2025-10-10. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ "In Memory of Kent Wong, Labor Leader, Mentor, and Friend | Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies - UW College of Arts and Sciences". labor.washington.edu. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ Mantsios, Gregory (2026-01-13). "Kent Wong: Educator, Organizer, Visionary 1956-2025". New Labor Forum. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ Kreidler, Mark (2025-10-23). "The Loss of Kent Wong and the Future of Labor and Immigrant Rights in California". Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ Jordan, Miriam (2022-10-19). "Students, Legal Scholars Push California Universities to Hire Undocumented Students". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ Associated Press (2021-12-23). "Amazon unionization efforts get a boost under a settlement with U.S. labor board". NPR. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ Noguchi, Yuki (2010-10-08). "Asians Out Of Work Longest Among U.S. Minorities". NPR. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ Greenhouse, Steven (2001-04-09). "Los Angeles Warms to Labor Unions as Immigrants Look to Escape Poverty". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ Reyes, Emily (2023-09-22). "More than 75,000 Kaiser workers in California and elsewhere plan to strike next month". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ Hussain, Suhauna (2024-02-10). "California fast-food workers form an unusual union in a bid for higher wages, better working conditions". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ Greenhouse, Steven (2004-11-18). "Unions Resume Debate Over Merging and Power". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
- ↑ "UCLA Labor Center's Kent Wong honored by L.A. County with award for human relations advocacy". UCLA. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- ↑ "Civil Rights Leader Dolores Huerta Among County's Human Relations Honorees – Pasadena Now". pasadenanow.com. Retrieved 2026-07-28.