john, 

Fred Yamashita

Secretary-Treasurer

Executive Director
Arizona AFL-CIO

Take Action: Tell Lawmakers to Restore Federal Bargaining Rights Now

On March 27, the Trump administration took its most blatantly anti-worker, anti-union action yet: an executive order stripping the right to organize from hundreds of thousands of federal workers at more than 30 agencies. Now representatives in Congress have introduced the bipartisan Protect America’s Workforce Act, which would overturn Trump’s executive order.

We are asking every single American who cares about the fundamental freedom of all workers to join a union to call their member of Congress right now. Click the button below or dial 844-896-5059.

Collecting Stories About Heat

The Heat Standards Coalition, is collecting stories about how Arizonans are affected by heat. Rising temperatures in Phoenix makes it harder to do our jobs, get to the places we need, and access valuable resources. We want to launch a heat ordinance offering more protections for workers and residents alike. Please help us by sharing your story of how you are affected by heat!

⤵️Click on the button below and fill out the form or Email [email protected] or [email protected] with any questions.  

Urge Congress to Stand with Transportation Security Officers

Take action to urge Congress to immediately call on the Trump Administration to reverse its decision to rescind the collective bargaining agreement for TSOS and to cosponsor and pass the Rights for the TSA Workforce Act (H.R. 2086 and S. 997). This legislation would give frontline TSOs the same workplace rights and protections afforded to other federal workers under Title 5 of the U.S. Code.

⤵️Click on the button below and use the form to send a message to your member of Congress to cosponsor and pass the Rights for TSA Workforce Act

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. ⤵️

FREE State-Registered Apprenticeship — Line Cook Training for Your Members & Community

The Hospitality Training Academy (HTA), in collaboration with UNITE HERE, is offering an 8-week, no-cost Line Cook Training Program in Phoenix, which leads directly to union jobs with benefits. This program is now officially recognized as an Arizona State-Registered Apprenticeship Program.

HTA has a strong history of preparing individuals for success in union jobs, offering fair wages, dignity, and opportunities for career advancement in the hospitality industry.

Who is this for?
✅ Anyone aged 18 or older
✅ Proficient in English with a reading level of at least 10th grade
✅ Interested in starting a career in a growing industry

Why it matters:
This apprenticeship serves as a vital pathway to help workers escape poverty and secure stable, union-backed careers. With your support, we can reach individuals in your community and membership who are ready for this opportunity.

Next steps and details:
UNITE HERE will be hosting informational sessions soon, and only those who attend will be eligible to enroll. Please share the attached flyer with your members, their families, and neighbors to help spread the word.

Hands Off Our Unions!

This Saturday, workers are joining with our allies and community members across Arizona and across the country to tell President Trump and Elon Musk: Hands Off our Unions! 

On Friday, the Trump administration took its most blatantly anti-worker, anti-union action yet: an executive order stripping the right to organize from hundreds of thousands of federal workers. Take a stand for our federal workers, the government services that we all rely on and our fundamental freedoms—including the freedom to join a union.  

Upcoming Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) Meetings & Events

📅 Next LCLAA Meeting
Date & Time: April 9 | 6:00 PM

Location: 1021 S 7th Ave, Phoenix AZ 85007 Time: 

May Day—International Workers’ Day—is a time for action! Across the world, workers take to the streets to demand justice, dignity, and fair wages. This year, LCLAA is mobilizing to stand up against anti-immigrant policies, fight for worker protections, and demand a better future for all working families.

Join us as we march in solidarity with unions, worker organizations, and community allies. We need every voice, every worker, and every ally to make our message clear: Arizona will not stand for attacks on our communities!

📅 LCLAA Annual Cinco de Mayo Mixer
Date: Friday, May 9, 2025

Location: UNITE HERE Offices, 1021 S 7th Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85007

 Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Join them for our Annual Cinco de Mayo Mixer, a chance to celebrate their culture, strengthen your relationships, and continue building power together. This is an opportunity to connect, strategize, and enjoy good company as we prepare for the battles ahead.

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. 

📖This Month's Book: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

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:

Congress Must Stand Up to Elon Musk's Dangerous Anti-Worker Agenda: Brian Pearson

"Federal workers are the backbone of our nation, ensuring Social Security, Medicare, and the Department of Veterans Affairs function properly. They inspect our food, protect infrastructure, and deliver essential services. These aren’t faceless bureaucrats — they are our neighbors, friends, and family members."

Working People Deserve A Voice, Fair Negotiation

"Public-sector unions have long supported American workers, championing fair wages, reasonable hours and safe working conditions. While recent challenges — such as Utah’s repeal of collective-bargaining rights for government employees — may seem daunting, they also are an opportunity to unite, educate the public and strengthen our resolve."

Unions Sue Trump Administration Over Move to Bust Federal Employee Unions

"Lawsuit alleges union-busting executive order is retaliation against labor unions that have challenged the administration's illegal workplace actions."

AFL-CIO President Condemns Gutting of Core Worker Health and Safety Agency

"Every worker should be able to go home safe and healthy at the end of their shift—but the Trump administration is gutting NIOSH, which will have devastating and irreversible effects on workers’ lives. Each year, more than 5,000 workers die from injuries on the job and 135,000 workers die from occupational disease, and millions more are injured. These numbers will only increase now that the government is firing the federal workers who make workplaces safer."

At Delta Air Lines, A Labor Union Gets A Foot In The Door

"The union, which has about 65,000 airline industry workers, said last week that it had organized about 100 bus operators and supervisors who provide shuttle services for Delta at John F. Kennedy International Airport. TWU said it won about 80% of the vote."

Slaughter Lane Alamo Drafthouse Employees Unionizing Amid Cost of Living Struggles

"Workers at Alamo Drafthouse's Slaughter Lane location are striving to unionize following unexpected layoffs."

How to Power Good Union JObs in the Clean Energy Economy

"The New Flyer community benefits agreement was the bridge for workers to unionize in Alabama, a so-called right to work state where just 7.5 percent of wage and salary workers have a union. Once New Flyer agreed to adopt a neutral position on unionization and to voluntarily recognize unions with majority support, workers had a clearer path to joining the International Union of Electronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers, an industrial division of the Communications Workers of America (IUE-CWA)."

500 March in Tucson to Defend the Department of Education and Federal Workers

"Union educators from Sunnyside and Flowing Wells spoke about the catastrophic impact that the dismantling of the Department of Education would have on Title I funding for low-income schools and Title III funding for English Language learners and the loss of special education rights."

On Cesar Chávez Day, Farmworkers Remember a Leader Who Rose 'between the field furrows'

"For tens of thousands of migrant farmworkers, the memory of labor leader Cesar Chávez brings pride and strength to fight for better working conditions. On March 31, those workers and millions of other people in the U.S. will mark Cesar Chávez Day on what would have been his 98th birthday."

Sen. Ruben Gallego Demands RFK Jr. Reverse Health Agency Layoffs

"Among the downsizing actions in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, federal officials are closing the department's Region 9 office, which includes Arizona."

Immigrant Rights Group Seeks to Nullify 'Secure Border Act' Over Missing Funding

"An immigrant rights group is asking the courts to overturn the Secure Border Act, the ballot measure voters overwhelmingly approved last year that made it a state crime for migrants to illegally cross the Arizona-Mexico border, because it violates a provision in the state constitution that voters approved more than 20 years ago.  Living United for Change in Arizona, a progressive organization that was among the most vocal critics of the act while it was being considered by lawmakers last year,” filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court Wednesday arguing that the sweeping anti-immigrant law should be struck down because it violates funding source protections in the Arizona Constitution."

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]