Sue Ko Lee was a labor organizer in San Francisco's China Town. She helped execute the National Dollar Stores Strike of 1938 by organizing picketing shifts, making speeches, and generally being on the front lines of the strike. This marked the beginning of her involvement with the International Ladies Garment Worker's union. As a result of the strike the workers won a 5 percent raise; a forty-hour workweek; enforcement of health, fire, and sanitary conditions; and a guarantee that Golden Gate Manufacturing would provide work for a minimum of 11 months of the year to its workers. However, a year after this victory, the company closed it's doors and moved to another location, voiding the hard won concessions. However, after this strike and the resulting increase of Chinese union members and leadership Chinese workers were able to work in previously white only shops outside of Chinatown.