|
|
John, |
|
Labor Day is almost here, and this year, working people are rising up and taking our power back. Across Arizona and the nation, union members are standing together to demand what we deserve: freedom, fairness, and security on the job and in our communities.
We’ve got an exciting week of events lined up to celebrate the power of working people and our movement. I hope you’ll join us: National AFL-CIO Virtual Labor Day Kickoff Webinar📅 Thursday, August 28 | ⏰ 4:00 PM MST Arizona AFL-CIO’s 13th Annual Labor Day Luncheon📅 Friday, August 29 | ⏰ Program Begins @ 11:00 AM Keynote Speaker: Everett Kelley, National AFGE President
🔗 Purchase tickets & sponsorships 🎶 Pima Area Labor Federation’s Labor Day Picnic📅 Monday, September 1 | ⏰ 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM We’re thrilled to announce that PALF’s Labor Day Picnic is back! Bring your family and friends for a free community celebration featuring:
This Labor Day, let’s connect, celebrate, and keep organizing for the freedom, fairness, and security that #WorkersDeserve. Together, we are building a better future for all working people — and we’re just getting started. |
|
|
Fred Yamashita Secretary-Treasurer Executive Director |
|
|
UPCOMING EVENTS & ACTIONS |
|
|
Exclusive Union Member Discount on Cardinals Tickets
Thanks to our union siblings at UFCW Local 99, you now have access to exclusive discounted tickets for Arizona Cardinals games - available to union members!
To purchase tickets, simply call UFCW Local 99 at (602) 254-0099 |
|
|
Save on Your Utility Bills - Learn how Aug. 26th
The Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans and the Governor's Office of Resiliency invite you to a special event to learn about the Efficiency Arizona rebate program for home upgrades
You could qualify for up to $14,000 in rebates for appliances and HVAC equipment!
Capacity is 50 people, RSVP required. |
|
|
Join a CWA District 7 Lumen & AT&T Partner Briefing
On May 21, Lumen announced plans to sell parts of its Quantum Fiber Network to AT&T, a deal that could harm service quality, cut off rural communities, and threaten union jobs. While AT&T would take over urban fiber, Lumen plans to keep outdated copper lines in rural areas—and shut them down within 7–10 years—without deploying fiber replacements. AT&T also intends to spin off these assets into a new company, likely with private equity partners, raising further concerns.
This coalition effort is pushing back to ensure communities and workers aren’t left behind. Join our partner briefing to learn more.
📅 August 26 at 2 PM |
|
|
Workers' Labor Day Week of Action Webinar Thursday, August 28, 2025, at 4:00 PM MST
Join AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, union members and leaders, and our community allies for a look at what’s happening across the country this Labor Day in support of working people.
It truly is Workers’ Labor Day. At hundreds of events across the nation, we’re standing up for the freedom, fairness and security America’s workers deserve. |
|
|
AZ AFL-CIO's 13th Annual Labor Day Lunch - Registration closes Monday!
You are cordially invited to this year's Labor Day Luncheon with the theme, "It's Our Time: Standing in Solidarity." Event Details: 🗓️Friday, August 29, 2025 📍Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak, 7767 N. 16th St., Phoenix, AZ 85020 ⏰Program Begins @ 11:00 AM 👚Attire: Business Casual Ticket Prices & Sponsorship Options:
🎥 Want to see what last year’s luncheon was all about? |
|
|
Celebrate Labor Day with the Pima Area Labor Federation (PALF)
Join PALF for a fun-filled Labor Day Picnic at the Georges DeMeester Performance Center in Reid Park! Come connect, celebrate, and join the movement for freedom, fairness, and security that comes with a union contract!
Free Admission, Live Music & Folklorico Dancers, Kids Corner, and Community Partners!
Do you want to table at the event? Contact PALF Chair Cecilia Valdez at [email protected]. |
|
|
Labor Day Resistance: Sidewalk Protest
Join Prescott Indivisible, Yavapai County Democratic Party, and Democratic Women of the Prescott Area for Labor Day Resistance: Sidewalk Protest. Thousands of communities across the country are taking a stand on Labor Day, Monday, Sept 1st. The way to stop the takeover is with collective action, not just through the ballot box or the courts, but through building a bigger and stronger movement. Together, they will demand a country that puts workers over billionaires. |
|
|
Thank You for Supporting the Protect America's Workforce Act
President Trump signed an executive order in March that ripped the right to collectively bargain away from hundreds of thousands of federal workers.
Now, the EPA, the FEMA, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Department of Agriculture have abruptly canceled at least 27,000 more government workers' collective bargaining agreements
There is a bill in Congress to restore those workers' union rights, and our calls of support have made a difference! Will you take a moment to thank your representative for standing with workers and signing the Protect America's Workforce Act discharge petition? |
|
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. 📖 August's Book of the Month: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson About this book: In 'The Devil in the White City,' Erik Larson masterfully brings to life the events of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair by intertwining the experiences of architect Daniel H. Burnham and serial killer H.H. Holmes. Burnham faced immense challenges, including the death of his partner, while successfully creating the iconic "White City" for the fair, featuring notable figures like Buffalo Bill and Thomas Edison. Meanwhile, Holmes, who constructed a sinister hotel near the fairgrounds, exploited the event and his charm to lure numerous victims, showcasing the contrasting allure and darkness of 19th-century Chicago. |
|
|
|
OPINION |
AFL-CIO Sec-Treasurer Fred Remond: Black Workers Being 'Played' by Trump's Economic Games
"Fred Redmond, the highest-ranking African American in the history of the American labor movement, is sounding the alarm on what he calls a full-scale assault on Black workers under President Donald Trump’s second term."
|
'I Regret That I Didn't Fight Harder,' Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich Says
"This is FRESH AIR. I'm Tonya Mosley. Former labor secretary Robert Reich opens his new memoir with something unusual for a public figure - an apology. An apology on behalf of his generation, the baby boomers, for failing, as he puts it, to build a decent, sustainable and just society."
|
|
|
NATIONAL NEWS |
|
'It's Better in a Union' Bus Tour Comes to Hudson Valley
"The AFL-CIO made its 39th bus tour stop in Croton-on-Hudson Tuesday as part of "It's Better in a Union" nationwide bus tour."
|
|
Dodgers Stadium Tour Guides Leaflet Padres Game Amid Contract Negotiations
"The workers, who unionized last year, are ramping up the pressure during contract negotiations that have stalled over wages and benefits."
|
"Fight the Trump Takeover" Protests Spread Nationwide
"Leonard Aguilar, the secretary-treasurer of Texas AFL-CIO, attacked Abbott for doing the president’s bidding even as people in central Texas are still struggling in the aftermath of the deadly floods last month that killed at least 136 people."
|
|
How an Act of Defiance by Air Canada's Flight Attendants Was A Win for Labour Rights
"The union and its thousands of striking Air Canada flight attendants refused to go back to work after the federal government invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code. As a result, Air Canada returned to the bargaining table, and overnight the two parties came to a tentative agreement that the 10,500 flight attendants in the union will soon be able to vote on."
|
|
Unions Aren't Just Good for Workers - They also Benefit Communities and Democracy
"Unions don’t just improve workers’ paychecks—they shape the social and political fabric of the communities they operate in, lifting standards for union and nonunion workers alike."
|
|
|
|
|
AFSCME Members Vow to Protect Social Security
"Members of AFSCME and the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA) came together with Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona’s 4th Congressional District at a forum to discuss the new law’s cuts to health care, nutrition assistance and other life-saving programs. The event was held last Thursday, the 90th anniversary of the signing of the Social Security Act."
|
|
Journalist Say 'No Tax On Tips' Helps Restaurant Owners, Not Workers - and Arizona Proved It
"It’s an idea that’s often referred to as “no tax on tips,” and both President Donald Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris touted it as a way of appealing to working class voters who rely on gratuities as part of their income. Now, in the wake of Trump’s spending bill, “no tax on tips” is no longer just an idea — it’s part of the tax code. But there are lingering questions about whether or not the policy is actually designed with worker interests in mind."
|
|
Biden-era Rule Designed to Protect Workers from Extreme Heat is in Jeopardy
"'The general suspicion is that they won't move forward,' said Maxwell Ulin, a staff attorney with Unite Here Local 11, a union representing hotel and food service workers in California and Arizona. 'But we don't know, and we hope that we're wrong.'"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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] |
.png){kind=small}
