Unity and civic engagement defined the March 11 Day of Action that brought together union members and political activists to both lobby and rally at the Arizona State Capitol Monday.
The event, organized by the Arizona Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization, focused on supporting the rights of workers. There was a special emphasis on both the rights of immigrant workers and on immigration reform as a whole.
“We’re here on this Day of Action to try and let legislatures know that we’re watching them,” David Mendoza, a political action representative for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union. “We’re interested in how they’re voting on our issues. They should focus on jobs, creating jobs, and getting this economy moving forward.”
Mendoza volunteered with AFL-CIO to instruct participants on Arizona’s legislative process. The training sessions taught civic engagement tactics necessary for lobbying, from the process in which a bill becomes law to how to contact state representatives and senators.
“This is their house. We paid for it, we’re taxpayers,” Mendoza said. “Once a representative or state senator calls them back and talks to them, they feel engaged in the process. And then we got an activist.”
Union members drawn to Phoenix from across Arizona said they found the lessons valuable.
“I’m hoping to become more familiar with the legislative process. I hope to influence legislatures in favor of legislation that’s favorable to working people,” said Gerald Knox, secretary-treasurer of the Surprise lodge of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
Yolanda Parker, a lead union steward for the Communication Workers of America union for Tucson, said that such lobbying knowledge would help people beyond working families.
“There are several bills on board that are threatening working families,” she said. “It hurts your paycheck with you have a family or whether you’re single. It affects everybody.”
With these training sessions, the union members and political activists were given the remaining amount of time before the afternoon’s rally to begin contacting their representatives. Each participant was provided with call scripts and phone numbers as well as letter and postcard templates and envelopes.
The event’s immigration reform emphasis emerges from collaborating with political activists recognizing March as “National Coming Out of the Shadows” month.
“It’s a top issue at the federal level, and Arizona is ground zero,” Mendoza said. “We want to put some focus on this issue. We believe they should have the right to work and a path to citizenship.”
For Unite Here! member and Arizona State University student Melissa Garcia, the issue of immigration is a personal one. She is the child of immigrant parents and will be the first to graduate from college.
“I encourage everyone that comes here trying to make a better future for themselves, whether it’s the right way or just trying to make it one way or the other,” she said.
Immigration was the focus of the rally, which featured speeches seven union and reform leaders.
Union leaders included Arlene Holt, the executive vice president of the National ALF-CIO, and Larry Cohen, the president of the national Communication Workers of America.
A few of the immigration leaders included Rep. Raul Grijalva and Erika Andiola, one of the original founders of what would become the Arizona DREAM Act Coalition, which promotes education for young immigrants or children of immigrants.
Holt said it is her belief in equality for all people that drives her work.
“Every worker should have the right to a voice, and not be afraid to use that voice,” she said. “It’s time for 11 million to come out of the shadows.”
Andiola’s speech retold the story of losing her five scholarships during her senior year due to immigration legislature, inspiration for the DREAMer movement.
“We’re unapologetic. We have nothing to apologize for,” she said in her speech of the students at ASU and those nationwide that helped to build the movement.
Andiola also recounted the story of narrowly stopping her mother and brother’s deportation, bringing her mother onstage as she spoke.
Unity on the union-level and the state-level was repeatedly emphasized.
“We can’t be divided. The higher powers, the bosses or the corporations you could say, want us to think that we are,” Holt said. “We’ll be stronger if we join together. We can reach shared prosperity.”
The mood during the rally grew increasingly lively following each speaker. The energy remained as the sea of people, colored brightly from the many-hued t-shirts of various unions or immigration groups, left the capitol.
“I really hope people go back and really take action,” Andiola said.
Contact the reporter at alexandra.scoville@asu.edu
