Jim McLaughlin

Jim McLaughlin | President, UFCW Local 99 & AZ AFL-CIO | UFCW Int'l Vice President 

Jim McLaughlin is the President of the Arizona AFL-CIO, which represents 100,000 union members through over 150 local union affiliates. The son of an Operating Engineers Local union president, McLaughlin has had a lifelong passion for worker justice. In 1992, while working at a Ralph's grocery store in Orange, California, McLaughlin was recruited by UFCW International to move to Phoenix, AZ, and help organize workers with UFCW Local 99R at Smitty’s grocery stores. After helping more than double Local 99R’s membership through the successful campaign, McLaughlin worked his way up through the Local in various positions before his election to serve as President in 2001. Under McLaughlin’s leadership, UFCW Local 99 has expanded to become Arizona’s largest union, representing more than 25,000 workers in retail grocery, food processing, healthcare, non-profits, cannabis, and many industries across the Southwest.