John, 

Back in February, more than 100 children were illegally employed in a hazardous job at one of the nation’s largest food safety and sanitation service providers. Then, on July 1st, tragedy struck when a sixteen-year-old lost their life while working at a poultry plant in Mississippi. Not too long after, another heart-wrenching incident occurred when a Wisconsin boy was killed in a sawmill accident.

These distressing events highlight the evident reality that some workplaces continue to engage in illegal and unsafe practices, often at the expense of vulnerable young workers. The incidents serve as painful reminders of the urgent need for rapid enforcement of labor laws and heightened awareness regarding workers' rights.

In response to such challenges, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division conducted 955 investigations in 2023. The results revealed a troubling 14% increase in evidence of underage labor violations compared to the previous year. Shockingly, around 5,800 minors were found working unlawfully, representing an alarming 88% surge from 2019.

As the holiday season approaches, the pressure on workers to take on extra hours and additional shifts intensifies. Jessica Looman, the administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor, emphasized a prevalent violation: employees working more than 40 hours without receiving the mandated time and a half overtime pay.

This underscores the critical importance of employees knowing their rights to maintain a healthy work-life balance and ensure fair treatment by employers. It's a year-round concern, not confined to the holidays alone.

This holiday season, let's strive to be more than just cogs in the machine; let's aim to be respected members of the workforce. Especially during a season that should be about joy, not exploitation.

In the face of these challenges, it becomes our collective responsibility to raise awareness, advocate for change, and ensure that every worker, regardless of age, is treated with fairness and respect in the workplace. It goes beyond fairness; it's about caring for one another. Let us join forces to make sure every worker and every child has the fundamental right to come home safely after their work shift.

In solidarity,

Fred Yamashita

Secretary-Treasurer

Executive Director
Arizona AFL-CIO

Union-Made Holiday Gift Guide 

It's that time of the year! No matter what you celebrate or how, we know many of you are looking for that perfect gift for your friends and family. And we'd like to suggest - in what has become an AFL-CIO annual tradition - gifting union-made! 

Find that perfect gift, from stocking stuffers to sports equipment to a unique book or theater performance. Best of all, you can feel proud knowing your gifts are made by workers who stood together for family-supporting wages and good benefits. 

LCSA Annual Santa's Helper Program 

Labor's Community Service Agency has been planning for their annual Holiday Santa's Helper program to provide gifts to children in their affordable housing program. This year there are over 150 children on the list! 

They have made it simple to contribute: 

1. You can request a gift tag and purchase the present. They will pick up or you can deliver to their office - 3117 N. 16th St., STE 100, Phoenix, AZ 85016 
2. You can donate money and they will shop for you 
3. You can donate via check or PayPal on their website, www.lcsaphx.org- use donate button and specify "Santa's Helper"

Click on the button below to access the form to donate. 

2024 AFL-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil & Human Rights Conference

Registration is now open! The theme for the conference is "Our Voice, Our Ballot, Our Future," and will take place on Jan. 12-14 in Montgomery, Alabama. The conference will occur at a crucial moment for the labor and civil rights movements, as workers across the country are organizing at historic rates for dignity, respect and justice, both on the job and in our communities. 

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].

Let's Fight to Put Books Where They Belong, In Hands of Students

"In a guest column, three education advocates share their growing concern over censorship campaigns that target books about and by people of color and those with LGBTQ+ characters or themes."

No Democracy Without Unions: The Multilateral Partnership of Organizing, Worker Empowerment, and Rights

"Throughout history, labor movements have been protagonists in democratic struggles. Tens of thousands of marchers at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom held signs declaring union support for equal rights; the red logo of Poland’s Solidarnosc union is a recognizable symbol of the anti-Communist social movement of the 1980s; and the Congress of South African Trade Unions’ (COSATU) broad progressive alliance and strategic leverage of workers’ economic power to end apartheid in South Africa represents the power of social movement unionism. More recently, Tunisia’s UGTT union federation won the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for its role, with other civil society organizations, leading the Arab Spring in Tunisia and the democratic transition that followed."

Actors Vote to Approve Deal that Ended Strike 

"Hollywood’s actors have voted to ratify the deal with studios that ended their strike after nearly four months, leaders announced Tuesday. The approval of the three-year contract from the members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists was no certainty, with some prominent members voicing dissent on the deal for which the union leaders bargained."

Tesla's Labor Fight in Sweden Could Soon Spread to Denmark

"Mechanics at Tesla repair shops in Sweden walked off the job in October. “Sympathy strikes” have echoed across the country, and Danish workers could soon join the labor effort."

Kroger Sets Wheels in Motion for FTC Antitrust Approval Process with Albertsons Deal Notification 

"Kroger Co. has thrown the ball into federal regulators’ court by telling them it has met requirements to abide by antitrust laws in its planned $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons Cos. Inc. The move means the Federal Trade Commission should make a decision on the transaction by the middle of December."

'It Should Never Have Happened': Death of Boy, 16, at Sawmill Highlights Rise of Child Labour in US 

"Michael Schuls died after getting trapped in dangerous machinery at a mill in Wisconsin. But across the US conservative groups are pushing to loosen laws that protect children in the workplace."

How Labor Unions Help Reduce the Pay Gap for Disabled Workers 

"In November 2022, almost 48,000 workers in the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, which also represents student teacher assistants throughout the United States, went on strike at schools across the University of California system. These workers, including student teaching assistants and researchers, demanded pay raises and better working conditions, and in particular sought greater accessibility for workers with disabilities than schools provided. Ultimately, they secured in their contract a provision for accommodating disabled workers to help them do their jobs."

How to Keep Arizona Teachers In the Job? Here's What Governor's Panel Came Up With 

“According to an Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association survey of 131 school districts and charter schools, as of September 2023, nearly 30% of teacher vacancies were unfilled and around 53% of the vacancies were filled by teachers who didn't meet the state's standard certification requirements."

Taiwan Semiconductor, Union Officials Reach Workplace Agreement on Staffing, Safety

“Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and union officials representing construction workers have agreed on a framework for cooperation at the company's north Phoenix complex, cooling some tensions between the two sides. The accord, announced Wednesday between TSMC Arizona and the Arizona Building and Construction Trades Council, outlines priorities for building the facility and installing machinery."

U.S. Secretary of Labor Su Meets with Navajo Nation Speaker

“As the largest Indigenous tribe in the country, Speaker Curley said the Navajo Nation is striving to enhance its workforce capacity to ensure that every Navajo person has an opportunity to succeed, with or without a college degree. She also stated that the Navajo Nation has great interest in working with the Department of Labor to develop a Job Corps Center on the Navajo Nation."

In Battleground Arizona, A Latino Radio Station Takes on the Fight Against Political Disinformation

“The Radio Campesina network was founded by the labor activist and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez in 1983 as a way to serve the needs of the Spanish-speaking community — immigrant farmworkers, truck drivers, laborers — to get news about politics, workers' rights and immigration raids, all with a little ranchera music sprinkled in on the side. Its stations reach over 750,000 weekly listeners and is owned by the Cesar Chavez Foundation, a nonprofit."

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If you'd like to promote an event for your union in our weekly newsletter, fill out our submission form or email AZ AFL-CIO  Communications & Operations Director Alina Cordoba at [email protected]