John, 

In a compelling address in a newsletter titled "The Daily Brief," AFL-CIO President Liz Schuler unveils the alarming state of the U.S. economy through two reports that expose a troubling narrative of how corporations capitalize on the pandemic-induced market to exploit workers, driving 53% of inflation. The second exposes a 114% surge in fortunes, suggesting the rise of the world's first trillionaire.

Quote from Liz Shuler:

"Two reports came out this week that I wanted to highlight because they tell a seriously troubling story about the state of our economy. One found that corporations used the market chaos of the pandemic as an excuse to price-gouge working families to pad their profits. Even as supply chains returned to normal, corporate greed drove 53% of inflation for the second half of last year. While working people struggled to put food on the table, fuel in our cars and clothes on our kids’ backs, greedy CEOs upped their prices to increase their bottom line. Why? Simply because they could. The second report (PDF) said the fortunes of the five richest men have shot up by 114% since 2020 and that we’re well on our way to having the world’s first trillionaire within the next decade.

These statistics are maddening. Especially when you consider that 63% of workers in this country don’t even have a rainy-day fund big enough to cover the average cost of an ambulance ride. Or that the federal minimum wage in this country hasn’t budged since 2009. Or that 50% of workers do not earn enough during a 40-hour workweek to afford a modest one-bedroom. I could go on and on.

Elon Musk was recently quoted as saying that he didn’t like unions because they create a “lords and peasants” relationship between bosses and workers. Well I have news for him and the rest of the 1%: Unions didn’t create that dynamic—we’ve already been living in it.

An unbelievably small number of people in this country control so much of the wealth while a majority of us are forced to tighten our belts every year, beg for scraps and live paycheck to paycheck. And if history has taught us anything, it’s that the surest weapon against unchecked corporate greed is a union card, a well-negotiated contract and a healthy labor movement. So, while I know these reports can be scary and make us feel like we’re fighting an uphill battle, we have to remember that we know how to rebalance the scales so the people who make this extreme wealth possible get our fair share of the pie. The answer is we just have to be brave enough and organized enough to take a bigger piece ourselves." 

In solidarity,

Fred Yamashita

Secretary-Treasurer

Executive Director
Arizona AFL-CIO

2024 Legislative Committee Meeting Alerts - AZ AFL-CIO 

Join us every Friday at 9:30 AM via Zoom to get updates and alerts on the 2nd Regular Session of the 56th Legislature. Click on the button below and complete the form. 

For additional questions, contact our Political Director, Joe Murphy at [email protected].  

2024 AZ AFL-CIO Day of Action at the Capitol - Monday, February 19th! 

Join us! This event allows union members to make their presence known in the legislature and advocate for the issues that matter most to working families in Arizona.

We will have special guest speaker, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the California Labor Federation,  Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, and offering two informative workshops.

• "Empowering Advocacy Through Labor-Led Wins" facilitated by AFSCME's Arizona Political & Legislative Director Briona Parkinson  
• "Common Sense Economics" facilitated by AZ AFL-CIO Staff Esau Gutierrez, Rasean Clayton, and Ryan Kelly

*Lunch Provided*

If you would like to participate as a volunteer and make this event a success, please please click on the following link and fill out the Google Form. You will be contacted with more information: https://bit.ly/3voc1aZ

AFL-CIO MLK Conference, "Our Voice, Our Ballot, Our Future" 

The 2024 AFL-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference was this past weekend. More than 800 union members, activists, organizers and leaders gathered in Montgomery, Alabama to learn and strengthen the bond between civil rights and the labor movement. 

Click on the button below to watch the recap video on aflcio.tv.

Cookbook Seeks Recipes to Benefit Striking Journalists

Striking Pittsburgh Post-Gazette journalists and labor allies are seeking recipes for a Seasoned With Solidarity dessert cookbook, proceeds of which will go to the Pittsburgh Striker Fund.

Journalists represented by the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, an affiliate of The NewsGuild-CWA, have been on strike since October 2022. They have been striking since the Post-Gazette cut their wages, took away earned vacation time and forced them onto a more expensive health insurance plan with less coverage. The cookbook is an extension of a bake sale held last year by United Steelworkers (USW) Local 3657’s fundraising and organizing committees and USW District 10.

🚨 FINAL CALL: 2024 Union Plus Scholarship - Deadline January 31st

For it's 33rd year, the Union Plus Scholarship Program is gearing up to review thousands of applications from inspiring current prospective college, university, and technical or trade school students. The program has awarded ov er $5.4 million in educational funding to more than 3,800 students from union families since 1991. Last year, the program awarded $200,000 in scholarships to 205 students representing 41 unions! 

Click the button below to learn more and access the application. 

Join us on Tuesday, February 13, at more than 30 airports for a worldwide day of action and picketing event.

More information to follow! 

Flight Attendants across the industry are fighting to raise the standards for our career. More than two-thirds of the U.S. Flight Attendants are in contract negotiations right now, including red-hot contract fights at American, Alaska, Air Wisconsin, United, Omni, Southwest, Frontier, PSA, Mesa, and more.

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].

Elon Musk Says Letting Workers Unionize Creates 'Lords and Peasants'. What? 

"Musk is the world's best accidental salesman for unions, even as his Tesla workers make 30% less than UAW automakers."

The Cannabis Industry and Labor Unions

"These organizing drives have brought to light the ways in which, to its workers, the cannabis industry is not all that its consumer brand would suggest. This organizing has also illustrated how unions and labor law can be powerful countervailing forces when employers do not treat their workers well."

Nearly Half of SoCal Hotels Involved in Local Strike Have Reached Tentative Deals with Workers 

"Unite Here Local 11 this week secured tentative agreements with four more properties in Los Angeles County. The union announced a deal with the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica on Monday. The union said Friday it had also secured deals with Sheraton Universal, Line Hotel and 1 Hotel West Hollywood."

Which Costs More: Shoplifting or Wage Theft? The Answer Might Surprise You 

"Washington workers celebrated major labor wins in 2023. Starbucks workers unionized in over 25 locations across the state. United Farm Workers in Yakima won $3.4 million in a discrimination lawsuit. Researchers at the University of Washington won fairer wages and improved working conditions. In December, they notched one more victory – one which underscores a dark truth about about our service economy and, specifically, wage theft."

Starbucks Sued for Allegedly Using Coffee From Farms with Right Abuse While Touting it 'Ethical' Sourcing 

"In Brazil, labor officials have cracked down on several reported Starbucks suppliers over abusive and unsafe labor practices in recent years, including garnishing the cost of harvesting equipment from farm workers wages, not providing clean drinking water, personal protective equipment and bathrooms, and employing underaged workers."

'There Won't Be any Beer Come March': US Anheuser-Busch Workers Threaten Strike

"Workers who make Bud Light and other top-selling beers are threatening to strike in demand of significant wage increases, job security and improvements to retirement and benefits in the first big union contract battle of 2024. Five thousand workers, represented by the Teamsters at 12 Anheuser-Busch breweries in the US, are threatening to strike after voting 99% in favor of a strike authorization last month. Their current union contract is set to expire on 29 February. “Without a contract by February 29, there won’t be any beer come March,” the Teamsters warned on X."

Millions of Workers Could Get More Benefits Under New Biden Policy

"Companies often misclassify workers as independent contractors to avoid having to pay for the benefits and protections that employees are entitled to receive. Workers categorized as employees are entitled to benefits like overtime pay, the minimum wage, unemployment insurance, and Social Security benefits, and protection against wrongful termination. Independent contractors are not guaranteed any of these rights or benefits."

Whistleblower Complaint: Airport Contractor Violated TSA, National Security Regulations During Strike Picket Line 

“Airport workers employed by SSP America, Inc., with the help of their union UNITE HERE Local 11, filed a complaint with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Thursday alleging multiple violations of federally mandated Airport security regulations by their employer, SSP America, Inc."

Hobbs Releases Her Plan to Renew Prop 123, Increase School Funding and Teacher Pay

"Arizona voters approved Prop. 123 in 2016, increasing from 2.5% to 6.9% the distribution from the State Land Trust that goes to K-12 education. As of November, the trust had an approximate value of $7.88 billion and was set to distribute $424 million to K-12 education in the 2024 fiscal year, according to the State Treasurer’s Office.  If the changes that Prop. 123 implemented aren’t renewed, the trust’s contribution to K-12 education would drop back down to its previous 2.5% at the end of 2025. Hobbs proposed increasing the distribution to education to 8.9%, with a guarantee that 2.5% of that would go to general school funding; 4.4% would go to increasing pay for teachers; 1.5% would go to pay increases for school support staff; and the remaining 0.5% would fund school capital projects for safety and security. The proposal would extend the increased distributions to education funding for another decade."

Kroger-Albertsons Merger in Arizona Delayed Amid Lawsuit, Concerns From Regulators 

“C&S Wholesale Grocers has committed to recognize the union workforce and maintain all collective bargaining agreements, in addition to a pledge to retain front-line employees and further invest for growth."

'Every day, they inspire us': AZ Fire Officials Honor Firefighters Killed In Line of Duty

“The Arizona Fallen Firefighters Memorial brought together representatives of fire departments from across Arizona Sunday morning to remember the 166 firefighters and paramedics killed in the line of duty."

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