John, 

After three weeks of suspense, the GOP voted to make Re. Mike Johnson of Louisiana the House Speaker on Wednesday. Regrettably, our new House Speaker doesn't have the best interest of workers at heart. Please read the following statement; published yesterday, October 26th from AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler: 

"Now that Rep. Mike Johnson has been elected the new speaker of the House of Representatives, Republicans in the House are talking about a return to “the business of legislating.” Workers across the country have a simple question: Legislating for whom?

If Speaker Johnson’s atrocious record is any indication, his election will mean more legislating for wealthy corporations and attacking the health, safety and well-being of America’s working people. On the issues that matter most to working people, Johnson has voted consistently with the most extreme elements of the Republican Party—and been a driving force behind resolutions that would cut trillions of dollars from Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the Affordable Care Act. He has voted against infrastructure packages to put Americans back to work, and opposed legislation that raises wages and helps workers join a union, and rejected bills time and again that would compassionately protect America’s workers, including veterans and pregnant workers. Based on his track record, his election will mean legislating against working people; against LGBTQ+ rights; against reproductive health care; and against democracy. 

The “business of legislating” is only worthwhile if it serves working people. The labor movement and workers all over this country will fight every day to make sure our new speaker remembers this point—and we will stand in solidarity to keep the government open, oppose drastic cuts that hurt families and improve the lives of workers all over this country."

Statement online here. 

In solidarity,

Fred Yamashita

Secretary-Treasurer

Executive Director
Arizona AFL-CIO

2023 MALF Cornhole Tournament Fundraiser - Save the Date

 Every year, the Andy Ward Scholarship Fund offers financial assistance to individuals in the union or their dependents who are looking to further their studies. Come and contribute to this fundraiser! Sponsors have the opportunity to receive custom cornhole boards as a token of appreciation.

When: Saturday November 18, 2023

Where: NALC George T Russell, Branch 576 - 3720 W. Greenway Rd., Phoenix, AZ, 85053

Tell the Department of Health and Human Services: We Need Safe Staffing Now

The Biden administration has proposed a historic new rule that would establish a minimum staffing standard in nursing homes for the first time. The nursing home industry is spending big to prevent this rule from being finalized.

Submit your comments supporting a strong rule by Nov. 6, 2023.

We are one month away from yet another catastrophic government shutdown. And extreme Republicans in the House can’t even manage to elect a speaker. And we know that instead of proposing a budget that supports working people, creates good jobs and protects families, some extreme Republican politicians plan to push an extreme agenda that threatens the wages, health care, education and safety of workers and our families. These extremists are threatening to shut down the government—putting our economy in peril and hundreds of thousands out of work—if they don’t get extreme cuts that could heap even more hardship on our families, just to funnel our hard-earned dollars to the wealthy, big corporations and political donors.

COSHCON23: the National Conference on Worker Safety and Health

Arizona Labor Book Club Meeting- October

Unfortunately, our September Labor Book Club meeting will be postponed this month

Join us in October via Zoom for a fun and engaging conversation regarding this month's book, Dignity by Fire: Dismantling Arizona's Anti-Immigrant Machine by Randy Parraz, and also vote on December's book of the month!

NEXT MEETING: November 30th, 2023, from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Union Events and Action

We want to uplift what you are doing for our members and our community!

Please fill out all the required information to have your Local's event uploaded to our Arizona AFL-CIO website or featured in our next Labor Dispatch. If you have any questions please reach out to Alina Cordoba, Communications & Operations Director at [email protected].

Unions Make America Better!

"Words that warm my heart. For 15 years, I was a proud member of AFSCME, Local 449. We were blessed with a strong leader who trained us to stand up for our members. Compliment anyone you see wearing their Union pins."

'A Union is Basic Human Right': Chris Smalls on the Fight for Worker Power 

"In 2022, Amazon Labor Union president Chris Smalls led Staten Island warehouse workers to win the first union election at an Amazon facility in the US. Amazon is still refusing to bargain with the union. The Beacon podcast team talked with Smalls about the creativity and resiliency workers need to stand up against, and ultimately transform, the corporate power that dominates our lives. Smalls spoke about how workers in Maine and across the country must seize this moment of surging popularity for unions and to organize for significant policy changes that will allow the labor movement to grow."

One Way the UAW Strike Could Shape the Future

"That could help propel a generation of economic welfare for the working class, much like the autoworker strikes of the 1930s, said Chris Benner, a professor at the University of California at Santa Cruz, who studies the role of labor in battery manufacturing. That general prosperity has eroded in recent decades alongside the decline of U.S. union membership. "

Thousands of Las Vegas Hotel Workers Fighting for New Union Contracts Rally 

"A Las Vegas strike deadline has not yet been set as the union and casino companies return to the bargaining table this week. But Ted Pappageorge, the union’s secretary and treasurer, told reporters this month that thousands of workers who keep the Strip’s hotel-casinos humming could walk off the job in the coming weeks if the latest round of negotiations aren’t productive."

ATI Pilots Deliver; It's Time for Management to Deliver for Us 

"For nearly three and half years, Air Transport International (ATI) pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), have been in contract negotiations with management. With no meaningful progress by management on big-ticket issues including compensation and retirement, both parties filed for mediation with the National Mediation Board (NMB) in March. The last scheduled NMB session of the year will be Oct. 24–26 in Baltimore, Md."

Philadelphia Orchestra Musicians Approve a New Labor Agreement for Higher Pay, Increased Work Protections

"In addition to the base salary increase, by year three of the agreement, the new contract will raise the pay for orchestra substitutes and extra musicians to 100% of what full-time players earn. The freelancers will also receive full payment if their services are canceled with fewer than two weeks’ notice."

Freedom Foundation/ Teachers Unions Targeted

"For the past several months, public school teachers across South Florida have been receiving mail pieces attacking their union and urging them to stop paying their union dues to the United Teachers of Dade. Those flyers were then followed by a video released online earlier this month, in which a handful of teachers say they are disappointed with the union, known more commonly as UTD, and announcing the formation of a new group that will try and have UTD abolished. The mail pieces and video come from the Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank that is financed by wealthy conservative donors who have raised tens of millions of dollars over the years for what they say is a non-partisan effort to educate workers about their rights, but that critics charge is a well-orchestrated national campaign to weaken and destroy labor unions representing government employees."

Arizona IAM Members at Raytheon Vote to Approve Strong New Labor Agreement 

“The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), North America’s largest aerospace and defense labor union, has ratified an agreement with Raytheon covering approximately 1,000 members in Tucson, Ariz. The three-year agreement covers IAM Local 933 members at the Raytheon facilities, southern Arizona’s largest private employer."

Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Restaurant Employees Go On Strike 

“The contract between SSP America and Unite Here Local 11 expired on May 31 and employees say they wanted to show SSP America that they are serious about a long-term strike ahead of the next negotiations meeting on Nov. 1."

Attorney General Kris Mayes, FTC Chair Lina Khan Hear Concerns on Kroger-Albertsons Merger

“United Food and Commercial Workers 99 (UFCW 99), a private sector union representing retail employees across the southwest hosted the event. Workers from Fry’s and Safeway filled the red, white, and blue gymnasium. More than 1,000 viewers more tuned in to the group’s Facebook livestream to hear Attorney General Kris Mayes and Federal Trade Commission Chairperson Lina Khan answer questions about how the merger might impact jobs."

$5M in Legal Aid Will Help Arizona Renters Facing Eviction

“Navigating the fast eviction process in Arizona is difficult for many struggling renters. The funds can be used for eviction prevention, fixing damaged credit records so people can rent again, and helping with social security or disability income enrollment."

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