MESA, Ariz.,—Today, the Arizona AFL-CIO named U.S. Representative Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., its Elected Leader of the Year in recognition of his steadfast support for Arizona’s working families and consistent advocacy for policies that promote workers’ rights. Stanton accepted the award ”not only in recognition of the work we’ve done together, but also in acknowledgment of the work ahead of us.”
Full text of Stanton’s remarks as prepared for delivery is below.
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Thank you, Jim, for that kind introduction and for your leadership. And thank you all for this incredible recognition. And I know you don’t give out participation trophies in organized labor – you gotta work for it! So this is special.
I can’t accept this award without first thanking everyone in this room for the work you do every single day as brothers and sisters in the labor movement. I’m especially grateful to the Arizona AFL-CIO for being such a valuable partner to my office and me. I’m proud of the work we’ve done together and even prouder of the partnership we’ve built.
I cherish this recognition for personal reasons too. Because it recognizes a commitment to the values my parents ingrained in our family as they raised four kids in a working-class home in west Phoenix. My mom, Mary Ann, was a part time English instructor at Glendale Community College. My dad, Fred, sold shoes at J.C. Penney at Park Central Mall
We didn’t have much money growing up, but my parents had a strong work ethic, plenty of love, and rock-solid values. They taught the four Stanton kids that our faith is demonstrated, not by judging other people, but by serving others, such as feeding the hungry and making sure neighbors never faced hard times alone.
Almost every day, volunteers from our church would deliver food, clothing, diapers and shoes to our home. Our living room became a storage facility until we delivered these items to seasonal agricultural workers in the west valley working hard to put food on our tables.
Only after I started on city council did I realize my childhood home was in violation of the city of Phoenix zoning rules. And on weekends, you could find mom and dad at Cortez Park down the street serving meals to families who had fallen on rough times. They did this without fanfare and in quiet compassion.
Their lesson was clear though: actions speak louder than words and none of us in this world makes it on our own. We rise or fall together. That is the heart of the labor movement, and why I know mom and dad would be proud.
These are complicated and challenging times. Some days the news cycle is overwhelming and other days this fight feels like a game of whack-a-mole.
My office gets calls every day from constituents who are scared and anxious about the future. And who can blame them? It’s easy to read the news and wonder what kind of country we’ll have left in three years or whether the safeguards we’ve spent decades building, like Social Security and Medicare, will still be there when we retire.
There is a lot we don’t know. But here’s what we do know: the American worker will not go down without a fight. And their champions in labor certainly won't go down without a fight. And neither will I.
This year marks 25 years in public service for me. From City Council, Deputy Attorney General, to mayor of Phoenix, and now to Congress, I’ve stood with you every step of the way. And you’ve stood by me…I wouldn’t be serving in Congress today if 25 years ago, the family of labor didn’t work hard to elect a pro-union Democrat in the most Republican city council district in Phoenix. So thank you.
As we press forward, I promise you this: as long as Arizona’s Fourth District keeps sending me to Washington, I will keep standing up for workers and supporting the work you’re doing here in Arizona.
Labor Day reminds us that every protection workers have was won the hard way—through organizing, sacrifice, and solidarity. The eight-hour day, the weekend, workplace safety, the chance to retire with dignity…none of those gains came because corporations were generous. They came because workers stood together and demanded them.
And now, many of those hard-fought advancements face a test unlike any in modern times. President Trump is carrying out the most aggressive assault on unions and workers’ rights in our lifetime. Across the government, he has been ripping up collective bargaining agreements—at FEMA, at USCIS, even at the agencies that inspect the food on our tables.
Yesterday, he went even further. With the stroke of a pen, Trump ordered even more federal agencies—including NASA and the National Weather Service—to cancel their union contract.
He has now stripped two-thirds of the federal workforce of their right to organize. He invoked “national security” as his excuse. But let’s be clear: this isn’t about national security.
It’s about weakening the rights of public servants, which makes it harder to recruit and retain the most talented, experienced professionals we need in public safety and public service. It drives away expertise, hollows out agencies, and leaves American families less protected when crises hit.
It also makes it easier to silence anyone who speaks up – creating a culture where loyalty is owed to one man instead of to the Constitution.
Case and point: just this week, the White House suspended FEMA employees simply because they signed a public letter warning that Trump’s policies were putting lives at risk. This is the kind of stuff we expect out of the Kremlin, not the White House.
So I flew back to Washington to stand with those workers. As the lead House Democrat overseeing FEMA, I told them I’ll have their back and I won’t stop fighting until their voices are restored and their expertise respected.
As workers across the federal workforce are under attack, I want to recognize AFGE President Everett Kelley, who is here with us today.
Everett has been on the front lines of this fight—taking Trump to court, mobilizing his members, and making sure federal employees are never without a champion. Everett, thank you for your leadership.
The way forward is clear. We have to work like hell over the next year to return a pro-worker majority to Congress in 2026, then elect a pro-worker president in 2028, and finally pass the PRO Act into law.
That’s how we restore balance, protect the rights generations before us fought to secure, and ensure the American Dream is shared by the many—not hoarded by an elite few.
Look, I’m a pragmatist. I know these battles won’t be easy. But no great fight ever is. And so this morning, I accept this award not only in recognition of the work we’ve done together, but also in acknowledgment of the work ahead of us.
Labor has always been the engine of progress in America, and it still is today.
If we stand united in our neighborhoods and workplaces, on the campaign trail and in the halls of Congress, there is no power and no president that can stop us.
Thank you. God bless you, and God bless the United States.