Arizona Union Membership Soars

According to a report from the U.S. Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Arizona Union membership soared to 7.6% in union density or 197,000 union members. While the national union membership has seen a steady decline, the Arizona Union Movement has seen a steady increase.

Michael McGrath, Sec. Treasurer of the Az. AFL-CIO stated, “It’s no accident that union membership has steadily increased due to all the organizing efforts of our affiliates. The Az. AFL-CIO went through major reorganizing in 2002 & we all agreed that we would have a unified front & aggressively work to organize workers in Arizona, this is evidence that our hard work is paying off. Arizona is 1 of the only states in the country that has a “Voice at Work Organizing Agreement”. This agreement is the catalyst to build a strategic, multi-union coordinated campaign to organize several thousand workers in variety of growth sectors in the rapidly expanding Arizona economy. The goals of the organizing project are to: help participating affiliates win their respective organizing campaigns, change the climate for all organizing campaigns in Az. so that employer interference is measurably diminished & workers can exercise their freedom to form a union, & to build the labor movement’s local mobilization capacity & relationships with key allies for the political elections. The Arizona union movement has been working tirelessly to give people a voice at work.”

Arizona had the largest increase in the country, other states with gains included: Washington, Tennessee, & Nevada.

Rebekah Friend, Executive Director & President stated, “Although this is great news for Arizona & the workers that are now part of the expanding Arizona union movement, our work is far from done. We still listen every day to the stories from workers that want to join a union & to be treated with dignity & respect at the workplace. When all the workers in Arizona are able to join a union without fear of being fired, when workers are fairly compensated, then our work will be done, & we are not there yet. I am proud of all that we have done & accomplished, but I know there is still more work to do. We will not rest till this work is complete.”

The Arizona AFL-CIO also had historic success with their member to member political program. Since the election of Michael McGrath & Rebekah Friend, Arizona has picked up 3 Democratic Congressional seats, elected & re-elected Gov. Janet Napolitano, & picked up numerous working family legislators at the state capitol. In 2006, this past election cycle with leadership of the Arizona AFL-CIO 145,000 people received a raise due to the success of Proposition 202 which raises the minimum wage to $6.75 an hour with an annual cost of living adjustment. Many of the endorsed candidates won election. Rebekah Friend stated, “Our members knocked on over 24,000 doors, & we made over 1.2 million calls through the Arizona AFL-CIO Call Center. This is just the beginning; we have learned that when Congress & the state legislature fails working people, we will take the issues to the people through the ballot initiative. We are already planning for 2008 & beyond.”

A survey of union members last Nov. with 1,358 union member survey conducted revealed that: 92% of union members in Arizona voted in the 2006 election. Of the union members that voted, 89% had received info from their union or the Az. AFL-CIO about the upcoming election & the union endorsed candidates & proposition. 83% of the union members voted for the union endorsed candidates, these numbers are higher than the national average in swing states.