I’ve spent years fighting for the people who keep our public schools running: educators, support staff, school nurses and classroom aides. Now, in my role as executive director of the Arizona Federation of Teachers, I fight every day to make sure these workers are treated fairly and that Arizona students have the strong, well-supported schools they deserve.

Throughout my career, I’ve learned to recognize when someone is trying to take advantage of workers, and that’s exactly what big box retailers like Walmart, Target and Home Depot do.

These retailers have spent decades perfecting their anti-worker playbook. Target is known to have an aggressive anti-union program that includes mandatory anti-union meetings and training managers to look out for signs of workers wanting to organize. Walmart also maintains an aggressive anti-union playbook that includes targeted firings and flying in anti-union teams at first sight of its workers’ attempting to organize. Home Depot’s founders have openly supported anti-worker politicians, including Donald Trump.

Sadly, their hostility toward workers doesn’t stop on the job. These same companies are hurting families at the checkout line by taking advantage of economic uncertainty to quietly raise prices on everyday goods.

At the height of the Covid pandemic, while Arizona teachers were figuring out how to teach kids through that crisis and essential workers were keeping our communities running, the big box stores were quietly raising prices. While they blamed the higher costs on supply chain disruptions, a report by the Federal Trade Commission found that retailers used the pandemic “to come out ahead at the expense of their competitors and the communities they serve.” Let’s call this out for what it is: price manipulation.

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich also took notice and called out Walmart for raising the prices of products of its Great Value brand. He pointed out that the price hike led to the retailer’s revenue soaring to $10.5 billion near the end of 2023, which the company used to reward shareholders to the tune of nearly $6 billion. This, Reich said, is a prime example of price manipulation being responsible for inflation.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that price manipulation during the pandemic was just the prequel to what we’re seeing now.

As Trump’s erratic tariff policy unleashes economic uncertainty on working people, the retailers are plotting to raise prices once again. Walmart and Target employees have already shared pictures of the retailers’ increasing prices.

Even when stores appear to be lowering prices, there is a chance big box retailers are just playing pricing games. NBC recently completed an investigation of Walmart, Best Buy and other retailers where they tracked prices on more than 100 items. Dozens of these items experienced price hikes weeks before they were put on so-called “sale” with discounted price tags. That’s not a deal. It’s another trick.

Arizona’s leaders should pay attention. In May, Sen. Ruben Gallego signed onto a letter urging the FTC to keep a close eye on the retailers, but sadly, we know consumers can’t count on the Trump Administration to look out for them. Arizona’s lawmakers at the state and federal level need to continue to sound the alarm on the retailers’ behavior and demand pricing transparency. Big box retailers shouldn’t get away with manipulating prices at the expense of consumers.

Time and time again, big box retailers have shown that they will always put profits ahead of people, and they’re getting ready to do it again. It’s time for our elected leaders to stand up for us.

Misty Arthur is a lobbyist and the executive director of the American Federation of Teacher’s Arizona chapter.