Working Families United for Change Rally: ‘Labor United Will Never Be Divided!’

Dana Kennedy, communications director for the Arizona AFL-CIO, describes a recent rally in Phoenix where nearly 800 union members highlighted the struggles of working families and their fight to unionize. As Arizona AFL-CIO President Rebekah Friend said: “The Arizona Labor movement is united in making sure that we walk and talk to union members about the candidates that support working family.”

In one of the largest union rallies the state of Arizona has ever seen, more than 800 members from AEA, AFA-CWA, AFGE, AFT, APWU, ARA, ATU, BAC, BLE, BMWE, CWA, IAM, IATSE, IBEW, IBT, Iron Workers, IUEC, IUOE, IUPAT, LIUNA, NALC, NATCA, OPEIU, Plumbers and Pipe Fitters, SMWIA, UAW, UMWA, UNITE HERE and USW joined forces to commit to get Sen. Barack Obama and every pro-labor state legislator and congressional candidate elected Nov. 4.

The mood was electrifying from the start.  With the DJ playing music and the children and some adult batting balloons, there was camaraderie between all members.  Almost every union, no matter how big or small, joined in the fun.  The audience was a sea of many colors from various shades of blue, red, orange and yellow with banners and posters showing their support for Obama and the union they represent.  A slide show was on the screen showing the many unions and their leaders in action from pickets to labor walks, phone banking and mailings.  Cheers of appreciation could be heard for those who were recognized by their union for doing their part.

The speakers finally took the stage after the crowd was on a unity high, starting with Rebekah Friend, executive director of the Arizona AFL-CIO.  She stated what the labor movement has done in the state since 2002:

What we have done collectively since 2002 is elected and re-elected a governor.  You have elected and re-elected a Democratic attorney general.  You have brought minimum wage to this state that now will be $7.25 on January 1st because you have indexed it. You raised unemployment insurance, from bringing us from below Mississippi to about mid-range.  You have done that! 

The crowd went wild, stomping their feet and chanting, “Labor united will never be divided!”

Friend, however, had to change direction and discuss Sen. John McCain’s inabilities to represent us:

While he’s out there destroying the country promising he will fix things, he voted against minimum wage in this state, which you all passed.  He wants to reduce [the Occupational Safety and Health Administration] even further.  It takes 30 years right now to get any investigation on a company that has willfully hurt or killed a worker and he wants to reduce it further!

She brought the crowd back up with how we have to unite for change and unite for our livelihoods and a video on Obama was played, showing workers like us backing Obama and why they are doing it.

Rep. Harry Mitchell came up on stage next to a standing ovation. He said:

This is the kind of thing we all need to bring us to the finish line. Thirty days until the election, in fact, this is Oct. 4th and we have until Nov. 4th.  We don’t want to look back on Nov. 5th and have any regrets… and with the spirit I feel in here and the spirit I see in here, I don’t think we will.

Randy Parraz, of LINUA and one of the primary organizers of this event, said:

You cannot tell me that Arizona is not a battleground state because for the first time in 40 years, we can take back the House!…Arizona will change if we decide to make it change.  When will Arizona no longer want to be a right to work, when LABOR DECIDES it no longer wants to be right to work. When we decide to make it happen.

The crowd erupted, nearly blowing the roof off the building.  The sound was deafening as he continued:

A certain high-ranking official was talking about certain jobs.  She was talking about good jobs, jobs with benefits, jobs with security, but she didn’t say the ‘U’ word. She couldn’t say UNION jobs. Well I say, if it looks like a union job, sounds like a union job, WE’RE GONNA CALL IT A UNION JOB!

John Wright took the stage next speaking out on behalf of Arizona’s Education Association and as president of that association his speech on education and who will decide that course is very important to not only education unions but also the children these members are here to support. He said:

Let me give you a Kindergartners view of this election. The Kindergartners view of this election is this, the person elected to the White House could very well set education policies for 16 years to come.  The next person in the White House will determine that my schools are like until I graduate college.

His counterpart, Lori Burns, the local president of the Deer Valley School District continued:

Let’s not forget what we need to take care of at home. Don’t forget about your school board elections. Please don’t forget about your bonds and your overrides and please work and advocate for these state legislators that are friends and are willing to give workers the rights they deserve! 

This put our educators in a frenzy of chants and screams of approval until our next speaker took the stage.

After the crowd died down a little bit, Todd Schwarz, an economist for the state, discussed how important it is to get out there to organize our movement to get the people we need elected.

We need to organize, we need to make sure every voter is registered and we need to make sure we work our butts off for the next four weeks getting them out to vote.  We need to leverage our power the old fashioned way; hitting the streets, knocking on doors taking our message to the voters and electing pro union legislators, pro union congress people and a pro union president.

The next guest speaker was Nicki Kirkeby from AFA-CWA 27066 talking about the plight AFA-CWA members have faced trying to get a Technical Correction Act passed on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which would make things fair and equal for full time flight attendants and pilots across the country.  She spoke about a personal experience in dealing with McCain’s office:

I personally delivered over 500 letters from our members to Sen. McCain’s office in D.C. Two months later, when our legislative committee went out to lobby at the CWA Convention, they visited Sen. McCain’s office and they had no idea that any letters had been delivered. Not one….[A]s constituents of John McCain, we have been ignored. John McCain has not only been absent in congress during the election but he has been neglectful of his duties to represent his Arizona constituents. Enough is enough, thanks, but NO THANKS, John! 

The crowd erupted in applause and cheers in support for the unique circumstance that revolves around this very important protection that the aviation industry needs.

Chris Rossie, CWA Local 7019 president, spoke next on how the unions are the middle class and how we are the ones to protect this group.

We are the middle class. The unions for med the middle class. The unions are going to maintain the middle class and the unions are going to elect Barack Obama president of the United States!

He then described the plight of the Qwest workers, who just recently rejected a tentative agreement.  The group is looking for respect, something all unions are looking for now and by electing a pro union group of representatives and national leadership we will finally get back on track.

Next were speakers from the Building Justice Campaign. First time speaker Juan Martien and Ray Branchford discussed the injustices they have been facing through law enforcement and within the company they work for, Great Western Erectors.  They have been on strike for more than two years and only see a change happening if we elect Sen. Obama into the highest office in the country.

The event ended with a cookout outside the gymnasium where everyone began to mingle and carried that energized emotion with them to the labor walks that took place the following day.

If everyone there keeps their energy high from this event, labor will be unstoppable at the polls on Nov. 4!

Print This Article | E-Mail This Article |Comments (0)