The Executive Committee
The objectives of the Grace Carroll Rocky Mountain Labor School is to operate and promote schools,
institutes, and other educational activities for the purpose of providing training for officers and leaders of local unions,
city central bodies, state central bodies and representatives of national and international unions within
the territorial limits of the sponsoring state central bodies.
Fred Yamashita, a native of Detroit, Michigan, accepted his position at the AZ AFL-CIO in November of 2017. Prior to that Fred spent 20 years working for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 99, before which he spent 20 years as a worker on the floor in the grocery industry.
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Fred served as Chair of the Pima Area Labor Federation from 2015 until moving back to Phoenix to accept the position as Executive Director. He has five children and one grandchild.
Dennis Dougherty has been a Commissioner with the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service (FMCS) since 2007. As a federal mediator covering Colorado and Wyoming, Dennis mediated labor disputes, including collective bargaining negotiations and grievances, for the private, public, non-profit and federal sectors. Dennis also was the past president of the Rocky Mountain Labor and Employment Relations Association LERA, and still serves on the board. In addition, Dennis is the past Treasurer of the Global Education Fund.
Prior to his appointment with FMCS, Dennis completed his Masters in Public Policy with a concentration in negotiation analysis and conflict resolution at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. While at the Kennedy School, Dougherty served as the Co-Director of the Office of Public Service.
Dennis began his career as an elementary school teacher in the Atlanta Public Schools.
Joe Maloney is the President of the Idaho AFL-CIO, before he became president he served as an Executive Board member representing the Magic Valley area.
Joe has been has been a member of IBEW 449 since 2009.
Joe made a promise to his grandfather many years ago promising to join a union so, after he received his Journeyman License through the College of Southern Idaho he joined IBEW 449. Joe enthusiastically participated in his union and his Central Labor Council from day one. From 2012-2017 Joe dedicated his career to his local and became and full time organizer for them.
Joe has served as a Executive Board Member for the Filer Parks and Recreation and has also been a Comet Instructor for his local.
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Joe has been married to his wife Callie for 17 years, they have twin sons, Kynan and Kayle who are 12.
Jason Small
Executive Secretary
Montana AFL-CIO
Jason Small was elected in June of 2023 by workers across Montana as the new executive secretary of the Montana AFL-CIO, and leader of the Montana Labor Movement. A member of the Northern Cheyenne Nation and a Boilermaker, Small has been a proud member of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) L-11 for more than 20 years and has served as State Senator for Senate District 21 in the Montana State Legislature since 2017. During his time in the legislature, Small has championed important legislation for working families, including the reauthorization of Medicaid Expansion, securing prevailing wage remediation for coal-fired facilities, mental health funding, and a bill to cap the cost of insulin at $35. As Chair of the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee during the 2023 Legislative Session, Small was a leading voice in beating back anti-union and anti-worker legislation.
Susie Martinez Executive Secretary Treasurer
Nevada AFL-CIO
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Susie Martinez is a native Nevadan — born and raised in Las Vegas. In 1959, Susie’s parents moved to Las Vegas to build a better life for their four daughters. Susie and her sisters were raised to always care for their neighbors, and to take every opportunity to give back to the community that had given so much to them.
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In adulthood, Susie set to work in the hospitality industry and, just as she was raised, joined Teamsters Local 986 to join the fight to better working conditions for her coworkers. Through her union job, Susie provided an excellent life for her daughter, Victoria, who she raised as a single mother. During her 30-plus years in the hospitality industry and the labor movement, Susie steadfastly advocated for her co-workers through grievance and contract negotiations to fight for stronger wages, better benefits, and safer working conditions.
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Fighting for her labor brothers and sisters is what inspired Susie to run for office as the Assemblywoman for District 12, taking office in 2018. After serving her community in that position— and passing numerous pieces of legislation to better the lives of working families across Nevada — she decided to again focus her attention on the labor movement and threw her hat in the ring to become the Executive Secretary Treasurer of the Nevada State AFL-CIO. In August 2021, Susie made history as the first woman and first Latina to be elected to lead the state federation.
Ashley Long
President
New Mexico AFL-CIO
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Ashley Long was born and raised in New Mexico and is a proud product of New Mexico's public schools and higher education institutions. In 2014 she began her career in organized Labor at the American Federation of Teachers New Mexico as a Communications and Community Engagement Organizer. In 2017, she was appointed as Secretary-Treasurer for the New Mexico Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. In 2021, she transitioned to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers as the newly elected and first female President Directing Business Representative of Local Lodge 794 in the Local's history. In 2023, she was elected President of the New Mexico Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. Ashley is a big believer in cultivating internal cultural change in order to build a more inclusive, diverse, sustainable and overall stronger Labor movement. She considers it the honor of a lifetime to serve New Mexico's working class and their families.
Jeff Worthington was sworn in as President of the UTAH AFL-CIO On January 1, 2018, where he continues to work with the Utah State Legislature, City and County municipalities, by reaching across the isles to ensure that the rights of Utah Working Families are heard.
For 39 years Jeff Worthington worked as a Locomotive Engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad. He was also an Operation Lifesaver Presenter and sat on numerous Safety Committees. Jeff spent his entire railroad career Representing Locomotive Engineers as a Legislative Representative and then as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Utah State Legislative Board Chairman. As Chairman of the Utah State Legislative Board, Jeff also sat on the National Association of State Legislative Board Chairmen (NASLBC), headquartered in Washington D.C. Jeff worked diligently and was very passionate and determined to represent the rights of the working men and women that he represented...
Jeff sits on the following boards:
Governor’s appointee to the 150th Anniversary, Golden Spike Commission
UOSHA Advisory Board (Utah Occupational Safety and Health)
Utah State Workforce Development Board
Workforce Services