The Arizona AFL-CIO is a state chapter of the AFL-CIO, the largest association of labor unions in the United States. The state federation, which itself is divided into three regional bodies, claims to represent the interests of working people in Arizona. It also advocates for left-of-center economic policies and initiatives related to race and gender. ^{1 2}

The Arizona AFL-CIO has opposed proposed legislation to impose more stringent financial disclosure requirements on private-sector labor unions. ⁴

Organizational Structure

The Arizona AFL-CIO has three subordinate Area Labor Federations: the Maricopa and Pima Area Labor Federations, which cover those respective counties and surrounding communities, and the Nal-Nishii Area Labor Federation, which covers the Navajo territory in Arizona. ^{5 6} In addition to a president, executive vice president, and secretary-treasurer, the state federation has an executive council made up of representatives from the AFL-CIO member unions operating in the state. ⁷

Political Activity

The Arizona AFL-CIO has supported nationwide taxpayer-funded healthcare since 2007, when it joined more than twenty other state federations to endorse House Resolution 676, a federal bill proposed by former Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) that would introduce taxpayer-funded “single payer” government-controlled health care coverage. ⁸

In August 2018, Richard Trumka, then the president of the national AFL-CIO, gave a speech to the Arizona state federation in which he criticized right to work laws, which make it illegal to require fee payments to labor unions as a condition for employment. He also celebrated a teachers’ strike in Arizona earlier that year, and endorsed Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQ movement. ¹⁰

In September 2021, the Arizona AFL-CIO filed a lawsuit to block state Senate Bill 1268, a proposed law that would create new financial reporting requirements for private-sector labor unions in the state. The bill would require more detailed disclosures of revenues and expenditures, as well as member benefits. Fred Yamashita, the executive director of the state federation, claimed that this information was already available. He also claimed that one of the bill’s other provisions, which would require unions to allow members to use a health insurance plan of their choice instead of the union plan, was a violation of both the Arizona and United States Constitutions. ¹¹

Leadership

James McLaughlin is the president of the Arizona AFL-CIO. He is also an international vice president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) labor union, which draws its membership from the retail, pharmacy, healthcare, manufacturing, food processing, meat packing, and other industries. In addition, he is the president of his local UFCW chapter. ^{12 13}

Fred Yamashita is the executive director of the Arizona AFL-CIO. Like McLaughlin, he is a member of the UFCW and spent two decades working for the same local chapter where McLaughlin is president, before joining the leadership of the state federation. ¹⁴

Financials

In 2019, the Arizona AFL-CIO collected just over $500,000 in member dues and other service fees and received approximately $167,000 in contributions and grants. The state federation held total assets of approximately $585,000. ¹⁵

1. Area Labor Federations. Arizona AFL-CIO. Accessed September 25, 2021. https://www.azaflcio.org/area-labor-federations
2. About Us. Arizona AFL-CIO. Accessed September 25, 2021. https://www.azaflcio.org/about-us
4. The state federation has also endorsed universal taxpayer-funded healthcare, sometimes referred to as Medicare for All. ³ “Arizona AFL-CIO 23rd State Federation to Endorse HR 676.” Unions for Single Payer Health Care. September 13, 2007. Accessed September 25, 2021. https://unionsforsinglepayer.org/news_releases/2007-09-13/
5. Area Labor Federations. Arizona AFL-CIO. Accessed September 25, 2021. https://www.azaflcio.org/area-labor-federations
6. Carolyn Calvin. “Union groups endorse Shelly-Jim.” Navajo Times. October 14, 2010. Accessed September 25, 2021. https://www.navajotimes.com/politics/election2010/101410endorse.php
7. Leadership. Arizona AFL-CIO. Accessed September 25, 2021. https://www.azaflcio.org/leadership
8. “Arizona AFL-CIO 23rd State Federation to Endorse HR 676.” Unions for Single Payer Health Care. September 13, 2007. Accessed September 25, 2021. https://unionsforsinglepayer.org/news_releases/2007-09-13/
10. Right to Work. National Right to Work Committee. Accessed September 25, 2021. https://nrtwc.org/facts/right-work-mean/[/note] ⁹ Richard Trumka. “Trumka to Arizona AFL-CIO Labor Day Breakfast: Vote Union.” AFL-CIO. August 31, 2018. Accessed September 25, 2021. https://aflcio.org/speeches/trumka-arizona-afl-cio-labor-day-breakfast-vote-union
11. Heather van Blokland. “AZ AFL-CIO Files Federal Lawsuit To Prevent New Union Mandates.” KJZZ 91.5. September 23, 2021. Accessed September 25, 2021. https://kjzz.org/content/1718685/az-afl-cio-files-federal-lawsuit-prevent-new-union-mandates
12. James J. McLaughlin. Arizona AFL-CIO. Accessed September 25, 2021. https://www.azaflcio.org/leadership/james-j-mclaughlin
13. About UFCW. UFCW. Accessed September 25, 2021. https://www.ufcw.org/about/
14. Fred Yamashita. Arizona AFL-CIO. Accessed September 25, 2021. https://www.azaflcio.org/staff/fred-yamashita
15. AZ State American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizers, Return of an Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990), 2019. https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/866053031_201912_990O_2021051218090715.pdf