john,

The new year creates new change and I am filled with optimism for the the Arizona labor movement. We've created a momentum in 2022 that continues to thrust us forward into 2023. 

Families here in Arizona have been struck with financial uncertainty due to raising interest rates due to inflation. Leaving families struggling to pay groceries, gas, child care, doctors appointments. Since 2009 the federal minimum wage of $7.25 and hour has not increase, although through your efforts, as of January 1st, approximately two-dozen states' minimum wage increase. 

Arizona will be one of the several cities who's minimum wage will increase from $12.80 to $13.85 based on the increase in inflation. By no means is this a livable wage for working families here in the state, but we will continue to push forward together in solidarity as we always have to fight for working people and future generations to come.

This could have not been attainable without the power to organize our members. 

In solidarity,

Fred Yamashita
Executive Director
Arizona AFL-CIO

2023 ALF-CIO Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil & Human Rights Conference

There is still so much work left to be done to advance civil and human rights, both across the country and inside our own labor movement. We hope you will join us for this engaging, inspiring and educational experience.

When: January 13-16, 2023

Where: Washington, D.C.

2023 Union Plus Scholarship

Since 1991, the Union Plus Scholarship Program has awarded more than $5 million to students of union families. Over 3,500 union families have benefited from our commitment to higher education.

This program is offered through the Union Plus Education Foundation, which is sponsored by Union Privilege.

The Union Plus Education Foundation is funded in part by donations from Capital One N.A., the provider of the Union Plus Credit Card (You do not need to be a Union Plus Credit Card holder to apply for this scholarship.)

Deadline: 12:00 PM (Noon, Eastern Standard Time), Tuesday, January 31, 2023.

Wear Blue on Jan. 11 to Raise Awareness About Human Trafficking

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) is participating in #WearBlueDay on Jan. 11 to help raise awareness about human trafficking. AFA–CWA is joining with the Department of Homeland Security on the Blue Campaign, which seeks to end human trafficking worldwide. Jan. 11 is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and DHS, AFA-CWA and others are sharing information that educates the public about the problem and what can be done to reduce and eliminate human trafficking.

Learn more about the indicators of human trafficking and the efforts of the Blue Campaign. To report suspected human trafficking to federal law enforcement, call 866-347-2423.

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].

Neither Phoenix nor Arizona Should Punish People for Being Homeless 

"Arizona lawmakers should invest in proven programs to house the homeless and provide affordable housing, not get stuck in punitive measures."

No More Band-Aids: How to Make the Colorado River Sustainable For the Long Term 

“Transforming Colorado River Basin management to mitigate the current crisis and realize long-term sustainability requires changing not only policies, but the way we think about water use and needs."

Quality Assurance Workers at Microsoft's ZeniMax Studios Establish Company's First Union with CWA, Become Largest Certified Video Game Studio in U.S.

“ZeniMax is a video game production company with studios in Maryland and Texas known for its popular games such as Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Quake Champions, and Fallout. ZeniMax Workers United/CWA is the first studio at Microsoft to secure union representation, and the largest group of union-represented Quality Assurance testers at any U.S. game studio."

Expiring Labor Contracts Across Sectors Threaten Unrest in 2023

"At least 150 large union contracts are set to expire next year, potentially heralding more worker unrest amid soaring inflation and rising corporate profits. The lapsing agreements represent at least 1.6 million workers, more than the population of Philadelphia. Among those are the Detroit automakers with 150,000 workers among three companies, UPS with 256,000 workers, and SAG-AFTRA performers with 160,000 workers, according to data collected by Bloomberg Law on union contracts covering more than 1,000 workers. Those figures are based on information available in mid-December, and are likely to rise as more contract expiration notices are filed with the federal mediation service."

Higher Ed Labor Organizing Is Just Getting Started 

"Campuses across the country today are experimenting with new models of worker organizing to confront the graduate-student-to-nowhere pipeline. In the highly non-unionized South, where public employees often lack collective bargaining rights, they’ve tried building wall-to-wall unions, where any campus employee is eligible to join. United Campus Workers isn’t seeking union recognition yet, but is trying to redefine who counts as an academic worker. It currently has chapters in Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, and Kentucky."

Delta Workers Accuse Airline of 'Culture of Fear' Amid Attempts to Unionize 

"Workers at Delta Air Lines are currently holding union organizing drives, citing tough working conditions in the US airline industry in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and stagnant wages despite the airline making hefty profits. Airline Industry Devastated By Coronavirus Pandemic, As Americans Urged To Shelter At Home<br>IN FLIGHT - APRIL 20: A flight attendant serves a snack on a Baltimore, Maryland bound Delta flight to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on April 20, 2020 in Linthicum Heights, Maryland. The airline industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing the cancellation and consolidation of flights across the globe. The unions are in the process of collecting a majority of union authorization cards to merit a union election with the National Mediation Board, announcing a joint collective effort several weeks ago. Flight attendants are organizing with the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, ramp agents with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), and mechanics with Teamsters."

California Workers Get New Protections in 2023

“Measures expanding family leave, providing for bereavement leave and mandating pay transparency are among lawmakers’ “incredibly productive” record of accomplishment, said Mariko Yoshihara, legislative counsel and policy director for the California Employment Lawyers Assn. “But there’s still a lot more work to do.”"

AZ University Workers Ask for Better Pay, Working Conditions

“Unionized workers at The University of Arizona and Arizona State University are calling for the schools to pay all campus workers $25 an hour by 2025, and for working conditions they see as more fair to contingent faculty."

2023 Arizona Inauguration Ceremony

“Public celebration of the transition of power where each statewide leader; Katie Hobbs, Adrian Fontes, Kris Mayes, Kimberly Yee, and Tom Horne were sworn in."

Undocumented Students Now Eligible for In-State Tuition at 3 Arizona Universities

"Undocumented students can now pay in-state tuition at Arizona’s three public universities after a voter-approved ballot measure went into effect.“All three universities have implemented Prop 308 beginning this spring semester, so right now,'". 

Court: Abortion Doctors Can't Be Charged Under Arizona Law

“An Arizona court has ruled that abortion doctors cannot be prosecuted under a pre-statehood law that criminalizes nearly all abortions yet was barred from being enforced for decades. But the Arizona Court of Appeals on Friday declined to repeal the 1864 law, which carries a sentence of two to five years in prison for anyone who assists in an abortion and provides no exceptions for rape or incest.”

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