National Native American Heritage Month Profiles: Rudy Roybal

Throughout National Native American Heritage Month, the AFL-CIO will be profiling leaders and activists to spotlight the diverse contributions Native Americans have made to the labor movement and toward expanding the rights of working people. Today’s profile features Rudy Roybal, an organizer with the Bartenders Union-UNITE HERE Local 165.

“My father always told me stories about our Native American heritage. Navajo and Abajo tribes have a strong presence in New Mexico, as we are from the Pojoaque Pueblo and are considered descendants of Tewa people. I taught my kids that unions give a voice to people with the least amount of power and shared how the Bartenders Union Local 165 in Las Vegas helped me to be able to raise my family with dignity.”