Statement from Acting President and Secretary-Treasurer Liz Schuler
Our brother and leader, Rich Trumka, passed away last week at the age of 72. He was doing what he loved: spending time with his family. Rich cared deeply about working people. He wanted to create a better life for every single working person. He dedicated himself to that mission, and he never stopped pushing forward. He is a legend in the labor movement and will be remembered in every fight to better the lives of working people. He gave the labor movement everything he had, and so will we.
I know what we're capable of, and I'm hopeful for the future. We can grow, inspire and experiment, harnessing our collective power to reach into workplaces all across the country. I believe in my bones the labor movement is the single most powerful vehicle for progress, and this is a moment for us to lead societal and cultural transformations. It's time to leverage our power to bring women and people of color from the margins to the center at work, in our unions and in our economy. And we need to be the center of gravity for incubating new ideas that will unleash unprecedented union growth.
As we mourn the loss of Brother Rich, we must also come together to finish the work. We will pass the newly renamed Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. It's what workers need and it's what Rich would have wanted from us. We'll take time to grieve, but we won't slow down in our pursuit of a better future for all of America's workers. We are going to get through this together.
Statement from Executive Director Fred Yamashita
Last week, Arizona's labor movement was saddened to learn of the passing of Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO. President Trumka devoted his life to the betterment of working families across the country and the labor movement as a whole. During a visit to Arizona in 2018, Rich said "We're the true American patriots. We're fearless. We're strong. We're powerful. We're united. We're rising in solidarity... real solidarity... where your picket line is my picket line, and my picket line is your picket line."
To honor the lifetime of dedication from President Richard Trumka, the Arizona AFL-CIO and the labor movement will continue the fight by pushing forward for workers rights, for safer work conditions, for higher wages and true equality in the workplace, and for the passage of the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right (PRO) Act.
Upcoming PRO Act Events
The Arizona AFL-CIO is hosting PRO Act phone banks in Phoenix every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in-person at the Painters Union Hall (IUPAT - 210 N 24th St, Phoenix, AZ).
The Pima Area Labor Federation is hosting PRO Act phone banks in Tucson every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in-person at their offices (PALF - 5630 E Pima St, Tucson, AZ).
Arizona AFL-CIO, 3117 N 16th Street, #200 Phoenix AZ 85016
Phone (602) 631-4488
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