When 20,000 Asian Americans Demanded Garment Workers' RightsâAnd Won The 1982 strike led by immigrant women earned better working conditions and benefits for New York Cityâs garment workers. Author: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images The 1982 strike led by immigrant women earned better working conditions and benefits for New York Cityâs garment workers. It was an unlikely group to storm the streets of New York City’s Chinatown in the summer of 1982: Nearly 20,000 garment workers—mostly Asian American women—marched together in solidarity for better benefits. Clad in matching union caps, they carried signs in both English and Chinese, reading, “In union, there is strength,” and “Support the union contract.”