Fight Back! interview with the president of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 937 Alex Terrazas.

Fight Back!: How have negotiations with Asarco gone so far?

Terrazas: After ten years without a raise, and four years without a new contract, our members voted overwhelmingly to strike. Day 1 began at midnight on October 13 and only after a full month of shutting down the majority of production did Asarco decide to come to the table on November 14. They did not bring a new proposal, nor change their stance. They are unwilling to actually negotiate. They are not taking us seriously. After the one day of so-called negotiations, there haven’t been any further negotiations and no date set. It was super clear that they only did this to try to make themselves look good. All we want is a fair, equitable contract, but this is a very greedy company.

Fight Back!: What has given the strike its longevity?

Terrazas: Our members understand exactly the importance of this fight. They are willing to do what it takes to win. Some people think that striking workers are lazy. Well, this is exactly the opposite. Some members and officers are sacrificing 12, 13 hours a day to help out. They are working jobs and still coming to the picket line to help out. There’s nothing lazy about them they are working three times as much as before the strike. They are so dedicated.

Fight Back!: What kind of support have you all received?

Terrazas: Our union’s strike defense funds have helped our members a lot. There has also been support from the AFL-CIO and Pima Area Labor Federation in terms of connecting our members to food donations collected at the city ward offices, donations from the Community Food Bank, donated dental services, resource fairs, and wood for fires. State Representative Andres Cano helped members get connected with state healthcare benefits. Another huge piece for us has been the connection with One Stop that has found jobs for our members so that they can have some income and more importantly not cross the picket line. We have had great community support, RedForEd has been down here a couple of times. We are starting a campaign to get local businesses to support us by putting signs in their windows. We have had good coverage in the media so far to expose Asarco’s greed.

Fight Back!: What kind of leverage do you have in a unfair labor practices strike?

Terrazas: So of the four mines in Arizona, the Hayden site is a smelting operation and we had that shut down by week two of the strike and the Amarillo, Texas smelting site is shut down as well. This has forced Asarco to load up railcars and sent them to Mexico, which we know if costing them lots of money in transportation costs. We have shut down operations and crippled production by more than half! We also know that we have the majority of skilled labor out on strike and that costs Asarco a lot of money because the scabs don’t know how to fix the machines and how to operate all the equipment. At the north mill at the Mission mine, there aren’t even one-quarter of the shovel drivers, so this too is causing the company to lose a lot in profits. As I said before, this is a very greedy company and we’re gonna screw them by hitting them in the pocketbooks.

#Arizona #AZ #OppressedNationalities #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #Strikes #Asarco #USWLocal937 #AlexTerrazas

Tucson, AZ – Around 40 people chanting “No wall, never,” joined a protest here January 10 in response to President Trump’s bid to finance his racist border wall. Protesters’ signs reading “Refugees welcome here!” drew many honks of solidarity from traffic in front the federal building.

Plans continue to build mobilization against the deployment of thousands of troops to the Mexico border and the threat of a border wall. The Tucson protest was organized in response to a call from by the Legalization for All Network for national actions.

#TucsonAZ #PeoplesStruggles #Immigrants #Arizona #Antiracism #Antifascism #DonaldTrump #wall

Organized by the Tucson Anti-War Committee and the People’s Defense Initiative, the protest had politically powerful speakers. Sara Mae Williams, a member of the Tohono O’otham Nation, shared how Border Patrol routinely violates the sovereignty of their nation and harasses tribal members in the pursuit of crossing immigrants. Gabriel Sleighter, a military veteran, shared his experiences “as a soldier of an empire that terrorizes the planet.”

As the troops on the border continue their preparation for the arrival of the caravan, Tucson organizations continue to prepare demonstrations to protest the wasteful, racist and illegal deployment of the military for civil law enforcement. On December 1, from 9 to 11 a.m., demonstrators will be outside the gates of the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to demand: “Troops Off the Border! Asylum for the Caravan!” The groups organizing the protest include Derechos Humanos, Alliance for Global Justice, Tucson Anti-War Committee, LUPE, Nuclear Resister, People’s Defense Initiative, and School of the Americas Watch.

#TucsonAZ #AntiwarMovement #US #PeoplesStruggles #AntiRacism #immigrantRights #Arizona #Antifascism #Trump #DonaldTrump

Tucson, AZ – Outraged educators took to the streets in both Phoenix and Tucson Sept. 5 to protest the removal of Proposition 207 from the November ballot. The actions took place at the Arizona Chamber of Commerce in Phoenix and at Chamber members Tucson Electrical Power (TEP) and Wells Fargo in Tucson. These places were targets because it was the Chamber of Commerce that funded and filed the lawsuit against the InvestInEd ballot initiative that would have raised income taxes on the top 0.07% of Arizonans, some 15,000 people, and generated an estimated $690 million. This amount would provide a significant boost to missing $1.1 billion from public schools over the ten years.

The Arizona Chamber of Commerce is led by the utility monopoly APS, which funded TV ads promoting Governor Doug Ducey as the “Education Governor.” The lawsuit filed by the Chamber was driven by a distorted analysis made by the Koch brothers-funded group Americans for Prosperity. What’s more, the lower court of Arizona did not want to touch this lawsuit believing that for one, there was nothing to the analysis and two, that it is up to the voters to decide this. Some 270,000 Arizonans signed the initiative hoping to restore funding levels closer to 2008 levels. Instead of dying at the lower court, the Chamber pushed Governor Ducey to make sure his stacked Supreme Court tried the case.

In 2016 Ducey convinced the Republican-dominated state legislature to increase the Supreme Court from five to seven justices. Ducey then appointee two more justices, one of whom is a member of the conservative law association, the Federalist Society. Another Justice, Clint Bolick, appointed by Ducey in 2016, is a conservative ideologue. Before joining the Supreme Court, he served as director of litigation for the archconservative Goldwater Institute. And before that, he was the director for the pro-charter school Alliance for School Choice. His political connections with the right-wing offensive led by the billionaire Koch brothers began in 1991 when Charles Koch helped Bolick with startup money for the Institute of Justice. Bolick, like Ducey, is up for election in November.

In Phoenix, the Osborn Education Association organized the protest at the Chamber of Commerce. Organizer and educator Alexis Aguirre stated “It is an outrage that the Arizona Chamber of Commerce has taken it upon themselves to defund our children's education and bankrupt our public schools. Governor Ducey has stacked the Arizona Supreme Court to maintain his agenda of putting profit before the well-being of our students. As an educator and parent who worked tirelessly all summer alongside my kids to gather the signatures needed to put InvestInEd on the ballot, I am even more committed now to assure that Arizona schools get the funding they deserve through the ballot box and beyond.”

In Tucson, nearly 50 educators and allies received supportive honks from downtown traffic as they chanted “Red for Ed!” and “Wells Fargo you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side!” Corporate targets will continue to be the focus until the legislature fully funds public schools.

#Tucson #Arizona #TeachersUnions #ChamberOfCommerce #Proposition207

Tucson , AZ – More than 2000 people joined a protest here, June 30 to oppose the Trump administrations attacks on immigrants.

#TucsonArizona #ImmigrantsRights #PeoplesStruggles #Arizona

Tucson , AZ – More than 2000 people joined a protest here, June 30 to oppose the Trump administrations attacks on immigrants.

#TucsonArizona #ImmigrantsRights #PeoplesStruggles #Arizona

Phoenix, AZ – The historic statewide educator walkout entered its third day Monday, April 30. Tens of thousands filled the capitol once again in order to talk with legislators and pressure Governor Ducey to fully fund public schools.

Last Friday, Ducey said he had a deal after a special session with a few Republican legislators. But the #RedForEd movement was suspicious and rejected his proposal based on rosy projections and “robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

After Thursday’s monumental public demonstration of support with nearly 75,000 people at the capitol, Republicans shut down the Senate and left for the weekend. Where did they go? Many in the movement suspect they flew to Grand Rapids, Michigan for the ALEC Spring Summit. It is believed that many Arizona legislators who are ALEC members attended in order strategize how to defeat the walkout and #RedForEd.

Monday also saw the arrival of American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten and other national union presidents.

The capitol area is surrounded by educators under tents prepared for a long day and night in order to keep vigilant watch over how the legislature discusses and votes on funding. There is no apparent mood to end the walkout at this time.

#PhoenixAZ #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #teachers #strike #Arizona #TeachersUnions

Phoenix, AZ – A red tidal wave is washing over downtown Phoenix, April 26, as the #RedForEd movement takes its demands to Governor Ducey and the Republican-dominated legislature. A week ago, 78% of the 57,000 educators who voted chose to walk out as a response to the lack of a realistic proposal from Ducey. His proposal, what he called last night his “final offer” uses a lot of unverified projections and moving monies from important programs such as health care and funds for the disabled and veterans.

Dubbed “DoubleTalk Ducey,” educators do not trust him, as he says there’s an economic boom in the state and that there’s money to meet the teachers’ demand of a 20% raise. These are contradictory statements because Arizona lawmakers have approved huge corporate tax cuts for years. For example, from 2016 to 2017, state revenue increased yet corporate income tax dropped $200 million. Moreover, the tax exemption loopholes in the state allow for an annual $14 billion in corporate profit. That amount is roughly the size of state revenue.

It is clear that education workers in Arizona are fed up with the extremely low pay and the criminal denial of funds to public schools. Behind all of this are the enemies of the labor movement, unions and public institutions: the Koch brothers, ALEC, and the DeVos agenda to crush public sector unions, slash corporate taxes and privatize education.

A decision will be made very soon as to whether or not the walk out will continue in the face of Republican betrayal of Arizona students and educators.

#PhoenixAZ #PeoplesStruggles #teachers #strike #Arizona #TeachersUnions

Tucson is one of around 50 cities holding protests against Trump’s attack on Syria.

Trump’s missile strikes came into response to the claim that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against civilians. There is no evidence to support this.

The Tucson Anti War Committee, joined by the AZ Peace Council, vowed to continue organizing to stop Trump and U.S. military aggression around the world.

#TucsonAZ #AntiwarMovement #PeoplesStruggles #Syria #Arizona

Tucson, AZ – On Sept. 30, Tucson’s immigrant rights action committee L.U.P.E (Spanish acronym for United Struggle of Parents and Students) held its monthly Cultura Nights event.

The event presented the movie State of Arizona, a PBS documentary which chronicles the devastating effects of the racist SB1070 state law passed in 2010. The film exposes how the politicians who supported this oppressive law were guided by white chauvinism and anti-immigrant hate. At the same time, it is a very emotional movie, as it shows how immigrant families have since been subjected to racial profiling, indefinite detentions, family separation and a collective state of constant fear and persecution.

Local activist, Josue Saldivar commented on the importance of these types of events, “It is important to educate ourselves on these historical and political matters, and for spaces like these to be available to discuss laws and legislation that affects directly our immigrant communities in Arizona.”

PUENTE organizer and activist Carlos Garcia introduced the film as well as the Phoenix based Bazta Arpaio campaign. The campaign is currently boycotting Discount Auto Tire – owned by one of the richest capitalists in Arizona – due to its open support and contribution to the re-election campaign of Joe Arpaio, the most hated sheriff in the country.

After the screening, the discussion focused on L.U.P.E.’s eagerness to join the Bazta Arpaio campaign in order to bring awareness about this endorsement and take action as a means to fight back.

Gloria Valadez, member of L.U.P.E and organizer of the event added “Tonight’s Cultura Nights reminds us of what we are living through day after day and seeing it on the big screen relives those moments and continues to light the fire to continue la lucha. We have to organize ourselves so that whoever wins does right by the people.”

L.U.P.E action committee will continue to stand in solidarity with working class immigrant families in their struggle for justice and equality.

Legalization for All Now!

#TucsonAZ #PeoplesStruggles #immigrantRights #Arizona

Tucson, AZ – On Aug. 2, Donald Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, held a town hall meeting at the historic Fox Theater in downtown Tucson. With little public notice and time, the immigrant rights action group L.U.P.E quickly rose to the challenge, organizing an emergency protest through social media, in order to counter the Republican Party’s agenda of hate.

On a rainy afternoon, about 15 people of the progressive community of Tucson bravely stood up against Mike Pence and Donald Trump’s message of racism, sexism, anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim hate.

Eduardo Tolentino, a member of L.U.P.E., said, “Tucson is a border town; there is a strong culture of struggle here for immigrant, Chicano and indigenous rights. We opposed trump and his xenophobe rhetoric when he came to town and we are doing the same with his chosen vice president.”

The crowd held signs that read “Hell no Pence must go,” and “Dump Trump.” Local and national media were also present covering the event and were able to interview a couple of the protesters.

#TucsonAZ #US #PeoplesStruggles #Protest #Arizona #Antiracism #Antifascism #Elections #DumpTrump #MikePence

Tucson, AZ – More than 1000 protesters converged on a Tucson Trump campaign rally, March 19. “We were not going to allow for Trump, a promoter of racism, hate and xenophobia to come to Tucson and be unchallenged by the social movements of justice,” says immigrant rights activist Edwards Cott.

Marching from a nearby park to the Tucson Convention Center, some protesters confronted pro-Trump bigots waiting for the rally to begin.

Members of many organization participated, including L.U.P.E, Tucson SDS, Centro CSO of East LA, Milwaukee Y.E.S, MIRAC of Minnesota, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and many from MEChA chapters around the country.

“To strengthen our message of support for Mexicans and other immigrants who Trump is set on attacking, I was among the dozen protesters who made it in to disrupt and it worked. People couldn't hear him. But the rabid mob of bigots worked with security to physically force us out,” says Bryan Orozco of Pima MECha.

Orozco continued, “Trump supporters yelled really racist things at us, but we successfully continued interrupting Trump whenever he opened his mouth. Trump and his supporters looked like the fools that they are, and we managed to outnumber their smaller numbers.”

Trump backers gouged the arm of a teenage girl because she was speaking Spanish and wearing a Mexico jersey.

After kicking protesters out of the convention center, riot police were called to protect the reactionaries as they came out. One racist even tried spitting on the protesters, but the crowd started chanting, “Viva Mexico!” and she bowed her head – outnumbered by the protesters.

“Trump stands for backwardness and ignorance. He has used every opportunity to spew racism and hate and we are here to tell him and his supporters that he is not welcomed in our city and in our state,” said Stteffanny Cott of L.U.P.E.

“To the haters wearing shirts with the slogan 'Leave socialism in Europe', we socialists are already here and stand united with all those who were loud and proud today, and confronted Trump,” says Sol Marquez of Freedom Road Socialist Organization. “We are building a movement that is capable of defeating Trump and all that he stands for. In the long run we need a revolution and socialism, and when that happens, and it will happen -we Chicanos, we workers, we women and all of the oppressed will win full equality and liberation.”

#TucsonAZ #PeoplesStruggles #Racism #Arizona #Antiracism #Elections #Trump

At the onset of the campaign event, more than 1000 people assembled to oppose Trump’s message of racism and reaction.

Earlier today in Phoenix, protesters blockaded the road leading to a Trump rally.

Trump, has been met by a growing tide of protests while on the campaign trail. In Chicago, Trump chickened out and canceled his rally rather than face a militant demonstration. On March 18, thousands came out to oppose him in Salt Lake City.

#TucsonAZ #AntiRacism #Arizona #Trump

Tucson, AZ – Protesters are gathering here, March 19, at a campaign rally of the right wing billionaire Donald Trump. More than 500 people have assembled to oppose Trump’s message of racism and reaction. Earlier today in Phoenix, protesters blockaded the road leading to a Trump rally.

Trump, has been met by a growing tide of protests while on the campaign trail. In Chicago, Trump chickened out and canceled his rally rather than face a militant demonstration. On March 18, thousands came out to oppose him in Salt Lake City.

#TucsonAZ #US #PeoplesStruggles #Arizona #Elections #DonaldTrump #DumpTrump