James J. McLaughlin

Jim McLaughlin is the President of the Arizona AFL-CIO, which represents 185,000 union members from over 200 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 Ralphs grocery store in Orange, California, McLaughlin was recruited by UFCW International to move to Phoenix, AZ, and help workers at Smitty’s grocery stores organize with UFCW Local 99. After helping more than double Local 99’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 private-sector union and today represents over 25,000 members in various industries across the Southwest. McLaughlin was elected to serve as President of the Arizona AFL-CIO in 2017, after having served as the state federation’s Executive Vice President since 2011. McLaughlin currently resides in the metro Phoenix area with his wife, Tara, and their three children.