FROM YOUR EDITOR

There are five weeks still remaining before the end of this year’s Legislative session. A lot of good, as well as bad, legislative bills are under consideration by our state legislators.

As a fellow state worker, I have been concerned about the issue of  "outsourcing” and “privatization” in state government. I believe all of you are keenly aware of the impact that will result from such actions.

On this subject I decided to browse the Internet and see what bad legislative bills are out there in this year’s state legislative session. This is what I came up with:
 

• HB53/ SB179/ SB308. Between these 3 bills, what is proposed is a privatized correctional facility in Delta, replacement and privatization of our 6th Avenue Correctional facility in Anchorage, and the creation of private prisons in the Matsu and Seward areas.
• HB175 seeks to privatize DMV.
• HB88/SB21 are the first steps towards privatization of our State Ferry system (The Alaska Marine Highways Authority).
• SB209 seeks to create a taskforce for privatizing state jobs. This bill is the same as last year’s SB68 (which was vetoed) except that the study is over 6 months instead of 2.
• Finally, you have bills like HB124/SB151 that wants to rewrite PERA (The Public Employment Relations Act). Between these 2 bills what is proposed is removing the issue of outsourcing/privatization from collective bargaining and a rewrite of our present collective bargaining rights.

What can you do?!

• You can write personal letters to your state legislator about these bills. Personal letters are the most effective means of getting your point of view known. A legislator will usually respond back to a personal letter…especially if you reside in their district as a voter. They will often write back to you.
• You can do an e-mail message to your state legislator. Our state legislature has an Internet WEB page, http://www.legis.state.ak.us , that allows you the ability to leave an e-mail message. Our Anchorage Chapter ASEA WEB page also has the ability to send e-mails to any combination of state legislators. The upper right hand corner of this newsletter has our chapter’s WEB page address.
• You can call the State Legislative Information Office in Anchorage (Ph# 258-8111) to leave a Public Opinion Message (POM) on these bills and to whom you would like the messages routed.

See what you can do in the next 5 weeks……..Editor.

“ONE PERSON RUNS THE SHOW”  by Genie Smith

At the last Anchorage Chapter GGU meeting, I looked around and saw one person “running the show”. There were about 20 people present from a GGU membership of about 3200 in the Anchorage Chapter.

You are probably asking “How does one person run the show?”

Well…there were 5 of the 7 Anchorage Chapter Executive Board members there. We actually have only 6 Board members at this time because  the position of Anchorage Chapter President is still vacant. No one ran for that position. These six Board members are the people you have entrusted to make recommendations and run your Anchorage Chapter.

So…20-5 equals 15 people to make decisions.

There were at least 3 statewide Board members present. These are the people you have elected to run things in your union at the statewide level. They were there to report on the statewide issues.  15-3= 12.

There were at least 4 newly hired GGU members that came to see why they are paying dues and were curious about the union. They may or may not come again.  12-4=8.

There were 7 stewards attending. These are the people that volunteer to help you out when you are having troubles. They usually attend to gather information to take back to you…so you can make informed decisions. These stewards want to be well informed in order to help you.

That leaves “one member” to make an informed decision on how to run your union. One person to give input as to what kind of issues are important and need to be addressed…especially in the next contract negotiations. One person to vote on the budget on how we spend our Chapter’s money. One person to spread the information that needs to be repeated to others.

One person! Who was that person?! Do you know the ethics of that Person?! Was it YOU?!

If it was YOU, then you were the very active and powerful person in that meeting.

Will you be there next month to wield your power?!

If not YOU, who will then represent the main body of members?….Genie.
 

YOUR CENTRAL LABOR COUNCIL REPORT  by Gordon Glaser/ CLC Delegate

On March 19th , representatives from all of the AFL-CIO unions in Anchorage met with the candidates running for the Anchorage Assembly. ASEA members are good citizens who vote, live, and work in Anchorage. The Assembly and School Board members have a dramatic impact on our homes and our lives. Each candidate  responded to a questionnaire (available for view at the chapter office). Each candidate took questions from members representing the AFL-CIO unions.

The AFL-CIO Central Labor Council endorsed the following candidates:

Anchorage Assembly
Section 3- Seat D:  Fay Von Gemmingen is a conservative who is willing to listen  to anyone who has something wise to say. She is approachable, honest, and a long term Alaskan. Fay actively attends  community groups. Her chief opponent, Bob Allen, did not respond to the questionnaire or come to the CLC meeting.

Section 4- Seat F:  The CLC made an open endorsement in this seat.

• George Winch is a conservative that keeps his word. My interactions with him have been direct, clear, and responsive. He actively attends community groups. Some union people have not had the same experience.
• Pat Fullerton is a moderate who leads local community groups. He is sincere, hardworking, and listens well. He actively attends community groupsl
• Bruce Web is a newcomer and a state employee.

• Melinda Taylor is a progressive, bright activist who is very helpful to us in the Governor’s office. She enjoys the support of the non-returning incumbent, Mark Begich.
• John Wood is a conservative, former assembly person who understands and supports labor.

Section 6- Seat J:   Pat Abney is a classy lady. Her leadership for the city and state transcends decades. She has always won by her honesty, hard work, and ability to listen and care. She is a rare and valuable voice of reason and experience in Anchorage.

Section 2- Seat J:  George Gentile is a retired law enforcement officer. He understands the problems of the citizen including government employees.

School Board
Seat A:  Betty Davis is a retired state employee. She was described as “the conscience of the legislature” when she served in the State House. She is one of our own. I wish we had a dozen like her.

Seat B:  Judy Anderson has the ability to think, handle numbers greater than two digits, and knows how to listen. These three factors differentiate her from her opponent.

ASEA is the largest single union and voting bloc in the AFL-CIO Central Labor Council. If you want to be a delegate contact any Anchorage Chapter Board member. CLC meets the third Thursday of the month at 5:30 PM. Gordon Glaser is a member of both the executive board of the CLC and the Anchorage Chapter of the ASEA.

FINALLY….AN ANNOUNCEMENT from Cynthia Madrey that there will be a Multi-Cultural Committee meeting on Monday, April 27th at 5:30 PM over at the ASEA Office. Anyone having questions or wishing to be teleconferenced into the meeting, please call the ASEA office (#277-5200) and leave a message for Cynthia.

   

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