The founding voice of the Alliance of South Asian American Labor. A career-long labor leader who built ASAAL from a single chapter into a 22-chapter federation across 12 states.
"Our community deserves an independent voice at the union hall, the community board, and the chambers of elected officials. ASAAL is that voice — and it began with the conviction that no one is coming to speak for us. We have to speak for ourselves."
Convened the founding members in New York with a vision that has held steady ever since: the first and only national organization of the South Asian diaspora in America, rooted in labor, organized for political and social justice.
Built ASAAL's first chapters in Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Jackson Heights, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, Long Island, and the NY Capital region — then expanded into New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, DC, and California.
ASAAL members and chapters mobilized for Grace Meng's historic election — a turning point that proved the South Asian American vote could decide federal elections in the Eastern United States.
He testified at the City Council hearing on September 26, 2008 as the only South Asian organization calling for the two Eid holidays in the New York City school system — established on March 4, 2015. His earlier testimony, on November 16, 2009, helped establish the Adhan, the call to prayer, in New York City from August 24, 2023.
On June 13, 2017, ASAAL officially became a constituency group of the New York State AFL-CIO — a federation of 3,000 affiliated unions representing 2.5 million members, the largest state federation of the AFL-CIO in the United States.
Coordinated a multi-state mobilization that elected the first South Asian of Bangladeshi origin to the Georgia State Senate — proving ASAAL's reach extended well beyond the Northeast.
Including the first Bangladeshi-American Civil Court Judge and a new City Council Member — a single-cycle result that reflected more than a decade of organizing groundwork.
Brought ASAAL's voice directly into the New York State Asian American & Pacific Islander Commission — extending the federation's policy reach into the executive branch.
Continues to serve on the Board of Trustees, mentor the current Executive Council under National President Mohammed Karim Chowdhury, and represent ASAAL nationally — anchoring continuity between the founding generation and the leadership of today.
"Afghans, Bangladeshis, Bhutanese, Indians, Maldivians, Nepalese, Pakistanis, and Sri Lankans now have a platform to express their voices, seek demands, and volunteer to bring real results for our community." — ASAAL Founding Statement, 2008
Maf Misbah Uddin is the Founder of the Alliance of South Asian American Labor (ASAAL) and serves today as National President Emeritus and Trustee. He convened ASAAL's founding members in 2008 with a clear conviction: that the South Asian American community — the fastest-growing population in the United States — required an independent labor-based national voice. From a single chapter in Queens, the federation he built has grown to 22 chapters across 12 states with more than 10,000 members.
His leadership at ASAAL is grounded in a career in organized labor. He serves as President of Local 1407 and Treasurer of DC 37 — the largest municipal employees union in New York City, representing more than 150,000 members. That experience shaped the principle he carried into ASAAL's founding: that working people, organized together, are the engine of every just movement.
Under his leadership, ASAAL became a constituency group of the New York State AFL-CIO on June 13, 2017 — joining the 2.5-million-member state federation. He served as one of the Commissioners of the New York City Districting Commission formed after the 2020 Census — the first South Asian to hold that position in the city's history — and has been appointed to the New York State Asian American & Pacific Islander Commission, extending ASAAL's voice into state-level policymaking. He was elected a presidential delegate of the Democratic Party in 2008 and 2012, and City & State named him to its Power 100 lists in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Politically, ASAAL has been at the center of cycle after cycle of historic firsts: helping elect Grace Meng as the first Asian Congresswoman from the East (2012), the first Bangladeshi-American State Senator from Georgia (2018), three South Asian officials in New York City on a single ballot in 2021, and a deep bench of judges, council members, and assembly representatives in the years between.
[Personal paragraph — community ties, family, and what the work means personally. Please replace with details you would like included.]
As President Emeritus, he continues to anchor the federation between Conventions — mentoring the Executive Council under National President Mohammed Karim Chowdhury, serving on the Board of Trustees, and representing ASAAL in coalition with CBTU, LCLAA, APALA, and the NAACP. The independent voice he set out to build in 2008 now speaks for a community of more than 10,000 organized members — and counts every year as the next chapter of the work.
From the founding chapter in Queens to a 22-chapter federation across 12 states.
From accountants to zookeepers — every profession across the South Asian diaspora.
Led ASAAL's affiliation as a constituency group of the NY State AFL-CIO federation.
Grace Meng (2012, US House) · GA State Senate (2018) · NYC sweep (2021).
Treasurer of DC 37 — the largest municipal employees union in NYC.
Appointed to the New York State Asian American & Pacific Islander Commission.
The Executive Council members who carry the federation forward day to day.
Saturday, October 17, 2026 · DC 37, New York City. Founder, President, Executive Council, and members from all 22 chapters.
Convention details →