John, 

We understand that many of you are concerned about potential cuts to federal services, including our beloved Postal Service, and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) is taking strong action to protect USPS.

Every day, 200,000 active city letter carriers uphold the Postal Service's constitutionally mandated universal service obligation. They deliver a staggering 376 million pieces of mail and packages to nearly 169 million delivery points across the country. This is not just a service; USPS is central to a $1.92 trillion mailing industry, and U.S. letter carriers handle 44 percent of the world’s mail.

However, recent developments have put this essential service in jeopardy. A reported executive order threatens the jobs of 640,000 postal employees, including more than 73,000 veterans. These cuts could have devastating effects on our communities and the reliable service that so many depend on.

Recently, NALC rallied in Washington, D.C., where letter carriers, their families, and supporters joined forces to send a powerful message: Hands off USPS! They highlighted the dangers of privatizing the Postal Service and rallied for the protection of the jobs and services that are at risk.

Exciting news for us in Arizona! On March 23rd, NALC Branches 576, 1902, and 6156 will hold a rally at the Arizona State Capitol, specifically at Wesley Bolin Plaza. This is our opportunity to stand together in solidarity with letter carriers and all postal employees. It’s also a chance to learn more about what’s at stake and how we can collectively fight against federal cuts that threaten our vital services.

We’ll also have updates on an upcoming rally in Tucson that same day, so stay tuned!

In these challenging times, our Postal Service needs all of our support. Together, we can ensure that it remains a reliable, public service for everyone. Join us in saying, “Hell No!” to any attempts to dismantle USPS!

Fred Yamashita

Secretary-Treasurer

Executive Director
Arizona AFL-CIO

Arizona Needs Reliable Internet Service & Good Jobs

$42 billion in public funding for internet infrastructure is on the line, and we need your voice! While CWA members have fought for investments in reliable fiber broadband that create good, union jobs, satellite company CEOs are pushing to redirect these funds to unreliable satellite services. Satellite internet lacks the necessary speeds, employs fewer workers, and has a short lifespan that leads to repeated investments. 

⤵️Click on the link below and tell Governor Hobbs and the Arizona State Broadband Office to stand up to pressure to redirect funds to unreliable satellite internet service and continue to create good, union jobs by investing in reliable, high-speed fiber internet. ⤵️

UNITE HERE 11 & LCLAA Invite You to an Immigration Training

During this training, you will explore how immigration policies have often been influenced by economic interests, labor, and global history and how solidarity has been a powerful tool in fighting back against injustices.

📅Saturday, March 8th

🕕10:00 AM - 12:00 PM 

📍Unite Here Local 11 Union Hall, 1021 S. 7th St., Phoenix, AZ 

OPIN Invites You to Our Homes, Our Fight!

Organized Power In Numbers (OPIN) welcomes you to join a powerful gathering to celebrate their collective wins in the fight for housing justice and continued push for real change.  You will hear key findings from their housing justice report, reflect on the work they have done, and build momentum for the future.

Event Details:

Date: Saturday, March 8, 2025

Time: 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM MST

Location: Puente, 1937 W. Adams St., Phoenix, AZ

Please share the flyer above with your networks and encourage your community to attend. 

Flight Attendants Fight Back: Upcoming AFA-CWA Day of Action

Join United Flight Attendants on the picket line where nearly 20 airports worldwide to demand that management removes concessions from the table and delivers the industry-leading contract our hard work deserves! With United posting $3.1 billion in profits in 2024, it's time to recognize the vital role Flight Attendants play in ensuring safety and service.

Event Details:

📅Wednesday, March 19, 2025

🕕10:00 AM 

📍PHX Sky Harbor International Airport, Terminal 3, 3400 Sky Hbr Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85034

Flight Attendants Fight Back: Upcoming AFA-CWA Day of Action

As Arizona works to establish it's chapter, they invite you to join their upcoming membership meeting(s)! This chapter serves the Greater Arizona County region, including Maricopa, Pinal, Yavapai, Gila, Pima, and Yuma counties.

To ensure compliance with CLUW bylaws, they are holding three initial membership meetings. Your participation is crucial as we move forward with the nomination process and plan our March Women's Month events.

Upcoming Meetings: 

• Thursday, March 20, 2025 @ 7:00 PM 
• Thursday, April 17th @ 7:00 PM (Virtual Meeting) 
• Thursday, May 29th @7:00 PM (In-Person Meeting)

AARA Celebrates Women's History Month: Strong Union Women in Apprenticeships & Trades

Join us as we honor the resilience and leadership of union women who are breaking barriers, building fulfilling careers, and shaping the future of labor. Hear inspiring stories from tradeswomen as they share their journeys and experiences in this vital workforce. 

Event Details:

📅Friday, March 28, 2025

🕙11 AM - 1:30 PM

📍IBEW Local 640, 5808 N. 7th St., Phoenix, AZ 85014

*Lunch Provided 

For questions or more information contact Dora Vasquez at [email protected].

Arizona AFL-CIO Building Bridges: Free Citizenship Fair

The Arizona AFL-CIO is prepared to host another Citizenship Fair, where applicants will receive free assistance from dedicated volunteer attorneys in completing their N-400 applications and preparing their paperwork for submission to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). 

This is open to union members, their families, and friends. We are still accepting RSVP's for this event, so please share widely! If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Arizona AFL-CIO's Training Specialist, Esau Gutierrez at [email protected]. 

Click HERE to download, share, print English and Spanish Flyers. 

26th Annual Joe Standley Golf Tournament - May 23, 2025

The Arizona Building Trades Council (AZBTC) invites you to join their annual fundraising event that supports Labor's Community Service Agency (LCSA). 

LCSA is a nonprofit arm of the AFL-CIO, and provides human services to Arizona's most vulnerable populations since 1974. Your participation will directly support affordable housing, transportation assistance, and financial aid support to those in need.  

➡️Click HERE to download/print flyers.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Rebekah Friend at (602) 622-5361 or [email protected]. 

68th Annual Grace Carroll Rocky Mountain Labor School (GCRMLS)

Registration is now open! This year GCRMLS will be coming to Las Vegas, Nevada July 6 - July 12, 2025.

Founded in 1956, GCRMLS is the only remaining regional labor school in the nation! It is a renowned educational program dedicated to providing high-quality labor education to union members, activists, and leaders all while being able to share real life successes, challenges, and best practices around the labor movement.

For further information, you can visit the GRCMLS website at gcrmls.org.

Central Arizona VITA Network

VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) is an IRS-sponsored program that helps low-to-moderate income (less than $67,000) folks file theit tax returns for free! This program is run through non-profit organizations and cities like City of Phoenix, A New Leaf, Mesa United Way, and Tempe Community Council. All volunteers are trained and IRS-certified to prepare an accurate return that gets you every $ you deserve.  

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].

AZ AFL-CIO's Book Club: A New Chapter Begins! 

We're back—and better than ever! The Arizona AFL-CIO Labor Book Club is now  formatted as an end-of-the-month book review, offering fresh perspectives on thought-provoking reads that resonate with our movement. 

Join Our Weekly Meetings

Join us every Friday at 9:30 AM via Zoom as we prepare for the upcoming 2025 Legislative Committee Meetings. This is an important opportunity for union members to learn about the key issues and topics that will be discussed during the 1st Regular Session of the 57th Legislature.

Stay informed and engaged as we navigate the legislative landscape together and ensure that our voices are heard in the decision-making process.

This Week's Update: 

Let's Protect CT's Men and Women Who Keep the Lights On

"As a leader in the labor union which represents thousands of electrical workers in our state, let me assure you this work never stops to ensure reliable service for customers. But Connecticut may soon not be able to adequately invest in our water, gas and electric infrastructure. And without those investments, our state’s energy system will suffer, as will Connecticut’s utility workers."

Trump Is Following the Project 2025 Playbook to Destroy Workers' Rights

"The massive curbs on workers’ rights that have occurred during the first month of the Trump administration signal it’s likely that plenty more will follow during his tenure in office."

AFL-CIO President Applauds Court Victory for Illegally Fired NLRB Member Gwynne Wilcox

"AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler issued the following statement in response to a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that President Trump did not have the legal authority to fire Gwynne Wilcox from her position as a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)"

Cutting Medicaid to Pay for Low Taxes on the Rich Is A Terrible Trade for American Families

"Medicaid is, by far, the largest program in the federal government aimed predominantly at alleviating poverty. In 2024 it provided health insurance coverage for over 80 million people each month. The juxtaposition of prioritizing lower taxes for the richest families while proposing steep cuts to the nation’s largest program aimed at alleviating poverty could not be more clarifying for the economic debate in front of us."

Homeland Security Ends Collective Bargaining Agreements with TSA Staffers, an Attack on Worker Rights

"The TSA has about 50,000 staffers — called transportation safety officers — who are the ones responsible for staffing airports around the country and checking to make sure that hundreds of thousands of passengers a day do not carry any weapons or explosives into the secure areas of airports."

Barnes & Noble Workers Win Historic 1st in The Nation Union Contracts at NYC Stores

"The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) announced the ratification of first union contracts at three New York City Barnes & Noble stores. The union, which represents nearly 40 percent of locations of large booksellers in the city, raised the standard for safety, wages, and healthcare for their newest union members. These are the first union contracts for any Barnes & Noble workers in the nation and collectively cover over 200 workers across three New York City stores including the Flagship Union Square store below the corporate headquarters. The union also announced that a tentative agreement has been reached at the Bloomington, Illinois Barnes & Noble Store, also represented by the RWDSU, which they anticipate will be voted in on Saturday as well."

Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants Ratify Industry-Leading Contract

"Flight Attendants overwhelmingly approve contract with immediate, double-digit wage increases, boarding pay, and retroactive pay."

Kelly Backs PRO Act to Protect American Workers' Rights, Help Families Get Ahead

"Arizona Senator Mark Kelly backed the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025, or PRO Act, to protect the rights of American workers to organize and help working families get ahead in our modern economy. The bill will make organizing easier for employees, make more workers eligible to join a union, and strengthen enforcement of labor laws against companies that violate workers’ rights, cheat workers out of fair wages, and have unsafe working conditions."

Arizonans Slam Trump and Musk's DOGE Layoffs at Town Hall Held by State Attorneys General

"For two hours, attendees warned that federal workforce layoffs and cuts to federal funding will hurt schools, food access for the poor, health care, refugee resettlement programs and therapy for veterans. "

Rep. Ciscomani Votes to Cut Medicaid After Saying He'd Protect It

"Included in the most recent budget resolution are orders to cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid over the course of a decade in order to subsidize a billionaire tax cut. While in favor of the cuts, Ciscomani signed a joint letter by the Congressional Hispanic Conference to US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson sounding the alarm bells over the potential cuts to social services."

Arizona's National Parks and Forests Already Feeling Strain from Thousands of Federal Worker Firings Nationwide

"Grand Canyon National Park, one of the state’s 22 national park sites, reported wait times being twice as long as usual just a week after the National Park Service and National Forest Service fired thousands. The park lost four toll operators, according to The Washington Post, despite being the second most visited park in the country. The park service fired an estimated 1,000 employees."

Thank you for reading the Arizona Labor Dispatch! Can you help us grow our readership by sharing our sign-up form? 

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]