Tucson marked International Women's Day with a labor panel, a march through downtown and calls to action on everything from workplace heat protections to U.S. military policy abroad.

Salt of the Earth Labor College, named after a 1950s film about a landmark New Mexico mining strike, hosted a panel on workers' rights Sunday at its Tucson home base.

Chairperson Linda Bohlke noted that the strike was won largely because of women — the miners' wives, not being union members, were not subject to a company injunction against picketing and took over the line themselves.

The group's "Rising Together: Women, Unions and Power" panel on March 8 included Cecilia Valdez, chair of the Pima Area Labor Federation; Martha Reyes, a Jobs with Justice organizer; and Vonda Wilkins, vice president of the Greater Western Arizona Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women.

"Labor rights and human rights go hand in hand," said Wilkins, who has been a labor organizer for three decades and is also vice president of Phoenix's Communications Workers of America Local 0719. "I have found myself not only addressing labor issues and disparate treatment within the workplace, but also human rights violations (against) the LGBTQIA+ community, our veterans, our women in the workplace, and saw that they were being treated differently."

In 2019, Wilkins' employer announced it would observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day only for non-union employees and management.

"We had town halls and we petitioned," Wilkins said. "We got a seat at the table where we got an agreement to meet with the company to address diversity, equity and inclusion topics and to try to talk to the company about how to dismantle workplace racism and discrimination."

The effort not only won unionized workers the holiday, but brought together women from unions across the area, forming the basis of the Western Arizona Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women.

"Collective thinking is so powerful," Wilkins said.

Jobs with Justice's Reyes said her path to labor activism was personal.

"My dad, even though he had to be a landscaper, I remember seeing him out in the heat, working long hours and almost getting sick from heat," said Reyes, who was appointed to the Arizona Task Force on Heat Protection by Gov. Katie Hobbs.

Jobs with Justice is part of the Arizona Heat Standards Coalition, a group of unions and worker advocacy organizations pushing for state legislation on heat safety protections for outdoor laborers.

Every year, 2,000 workers die from heat exposure while working, and many more are injured or fall ill, according to a letter the coalition sent to Hobbs.

"One worker in Yuma, they were working outside," Reyes said. "He (sat) down right behind a car, because they didn't have protection. They didn't have a canopy, (or) anything. He went and sat down, and later he wasn't moving. He did die because of heat exhaustion."

The coalition collected more than 1,200 signatures calling for heat protections and delivered them to the governor. A Yuma laborer noted the irony of working miles from California, a state that already has heat safety standards for workers.

"He (said), 'How come California has protections for extreme heat, but we don't? Is California more important than Arizona?' That's something that makes you question," Reyes said. "We need (heat) protections."

The Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health provides general safety guidelines, but there is no specific temperature limit or required rest-break rule statewide.

Valdez, who also serves as chair of the Pima Area Labor Federation, is a member of Communications Workers of America Local 7026 and has held positions as union steward, area vice president and secretary treasurer. A mentor she met through the CWA Minority Leadership Institute in 1993 encouraged her to pursue opportunities within the union.

"I had a mentor who was a woman who didn't leave me behind, who pulled me when she had an opportunity," she said.

Valdez was appointed to CWA's National Committee on Equity from 1992 to 1998, where she learned the importance of getting involved with local legislation. With her extensive union work, Valdez was recommended by Hobbs to fill a vacant seat on the Industrial Commission of Arizona, which oversees the welfare of the state workforce.

"There were three of us," Valdez said of the candidates for the open position. "I was the only one that was asked any questions. The other two were males, and they didn't get any questions. Why are women always questioned more than the men? But I never gave up, and I passed."

Valdez is the first woman of color to serve on the commission. Her term is set to end in 2029.

Reyes said the day's events reflected a broader truth.

"The real change happens when people come together and recognize that their struggles are connected, when workers start sharing their experience and support each other, speaking about stories," she said.

That same day, the Party for Socialism and Liberation's Tucson branch hosted a pre-march gathering at Veinte de Agosto Park, where organizations including Planned Parenthood of Southern Arizona, the Tucson Anti-War Committee, Democratic Socialists of America-Tucson, Tucson Brown Berets and the Pima Community College Black Student Union tabled for their causes.

Musician Priscilla Rodriguez, who performs as Nefftys, opened the gathering with songs drawing on her experience as a woman in hip-hop and growing up in Nogales.

"I think that if you have more privilege, you have more of a chance of putting your message out there," Rodriguez said. "I wouldn't say my music is political as such, but it does carry the message of all the causes that are very politically active. They start connecting the daily life as a woman, as a mother, and I like it because (people of) all ages come to me and they're like, 'Wow, you know, this made me think.'"

After the performance, speakers addressed a variety of issues including the war in Iran, the overrepresentation of women and children among civilian casualties in Palestine, ICE and fuel shortages in Cuba.

"We stand with the girls and the women across the world who suffer from and struggle against U.S. imperialism every single day," said Maria Stone Hasman, a member of the Tucson Anti-War Committee.

She pointed to recent examples, including a strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school that killed at least 168 people, 83% of them civilians.

"Women being deprived of medical attention in these detention centers, that's not anything that's brand new," said PSL Tucson member Samantha Papareedes. "That's something that people have been speaking about and fighting for it for years, the sexual abuse that goes on within them. It's really horrible."

Protesters gathered in front of the federal building before taking to the streets downtown, calling for justice for sexual violence survivors, women's rights and humane and lawful enforcement of immigration policies.

"I wanted to be part of something on International Women's Day here in Tucson and when I saw there wasn't anything organized, I decided to get together an event," said Sarah Bodine. "We still have a lot of work to do to gain equal access in all elements of society but we're getting there."

U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva also addressed the crowd

"We have to fight back this administration's push on trying to claw back the right to vote, the right to assemble, the right to exist and our reproductive rights," she said. "I think reminding people on International Women's Day that women come in all shapes and sizes, all ethnicities, all socioeconomic backgrounds and statuses, and we have to protect all of us."

She also addressed U.S. military action abroad.

"There is a process when you're going to declare war on another nation and you have to come through Congress to do it. This administration thinks that they can unilaterally drop bombs without any consequences and we need to unite as a Congress to say that we are a co-equal branch of government for a reason. And going into a war needs to come through Congress. And this administration doesn't do that," Grijalva said. "He's pulling in troops into a war that hasn't even been declared by Congress."

Topacio “Topaz” Servellon is a reporter with Tucson Spotlight. Contact them at topacioserve@gmail.com.

Marlon Bedoy is a Pima Community College student and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact him at marl.star.nn@gmail.com.

Tucson Spotlight is a community-based newsroom that provides paid opportunities for students and rising journalists in Southern Arizona. Please consider supporting our work with a tax-deductible donation.