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Since the last newsletter, a number of comments have come from those of you in our Anchorage Chapter. Comments were both “pro” and “con” regarding our “President’s Letter”. It certainly did get the attention of our membership. In this month’s newsletter, our Anchorage Chapter President (Larry Rabideau) follows up with a message to all of you.
A number of comments also asked who is the editor of our Chapter newsletter?!
Let me introduce myself: Larry Nakata
Like all of you I am a state worker. I hold no Board position within the ASEA, but I do volunteer my time to try and make things a little better.
This Chapter newsletter is now going into it’s third year…thanks to the efforts of previous Anchorage Chapter President (Denise Yancey) who wanted a newsletter to keep all of you members informed about events and what this union is about. I worked with Denise in making this happen and have been your editor since it’s beginning.
Besides doing the newsletter, I happen to be the Webmaster of our Anchorage Chapter’s WEB Page on the Internet. Two years ago with the help of some volunteers, we put together a fine WEB Page whose URL address is listed in the upper right hand corner of this newsletter. You members should take a look at that WEB Page. You’ll see a lot of effort went into it’s development.
For five years, I’ve also been on the Statewide Elections Committee, whose job is to oversee our union elections and referendum votes. Our committee has certainly counted a lot of ballots over these past five years.
I am also one of the trustees of the Anchorage Chapter. While I hold no Board position in this chapter, as a trustee I do participate in the Board meetings and am responsible for making certain our Chapter finances are audited properly each year.
When I think about it, I have a pretty “full slate”. And I am a state worker.
I have my insecurities just like the rest of you. Outsourcing and privatization continue to remain a concern to me. Like all of you, I often wonder how secure is my job. Perhaps it’s these insecurities that caused me to volunteer my time with this union over these years.
If just one person (like myself) can make a bit of difference by doing all of these tasks, think what could be accomplished if we could get more volunteers involved to better our union, the ASEA.
So…for you members who wanted to know the identity of the editor of this newsletter: It’s ME….just another state worker like YOU. Your Editor.
YOUR ANCHORAGE CHAPTER PRESIDENT’S LETTER TO THE MEMBERSHIP
(This is the opinion of y our president, Larry Rabideau, and not the policy of the chapter).
Now that I have your attention, let’s deal with some critical issues.
We are facing yet another crisis. This one is the upcoming General Election.
Who will we be facing at the Negotiating Table? Will it be Tony Knowles
who, after promising cooperation with the union, gave us “Bust-The-Contract”
Boyer? Boyer has devastated this union by willful violation of the contract
and has said our contract is “only a piece of paper” (Tony has been told
about this by Board members and has ignored this runaway Commish). Or the
Republican Lindauer who, according to newspaper reports, has a history
of unpaid debts. Many of the employees of his failed newspaper business
worked for free, trying to get the business back on it’s feet. Now that
he has millions of dollars of mysterious money, has he ever paid those
back wages or all the old debts? No, he hasn’t, according to the Anchorage
Daily News. Some choice we have.
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You need to look at the choices and choose very carefully. I do not know which way our union will go when it comes time to endorse a candidate. I hope our union doesn’t endorse either and leaves the choice up to the individual. The AFL/CIO has endorsed Tony Knowles.
I was wrong in the manner I wrote the last Newsletter. I offended our members by cursing. I apologize. I am sorry so many were offended. People who were offended by my last letter could not get past the words to see the message. I am sad they didn’t get the message. I tried to stir things up with words, trying to overcome 13 years of apathy. We cannot afford to sleep through another cycle of contract negotiations. I thought it was worth a shot.
At this critical time in our organization’s existence, we need people to wake up and see the opportunities that are within our grasp. We need to wake up the sleeping giant that is our Union, and demand a decent contract at the bargaining table.
At our latest monthly GGU meeting we tried to bring our union’s problems to light and deal with them openly and honestly. It didn’t work too well. I want our problems out in the open. I want to expose them to the light of day and deal with them. We cannot afford the hate, deceit, and innuendo that accompanies change in our Union. Yes folks, we got troubles- right here in River City. Fortunately, we have ways in place for dealing with those troubles and they are being dealt with as we speak.
You may hear a variety of allegations about certain elected leaders of this union. Do not listen to whispered accusations. Do not put stock in unsigned, unsubstantiated charges. These allegations are being dealt with in the proper manner. Charges will be made and filed with the Judicial Panel. The Judicial Panel will investigate and deal with the problems accordingly. AFSCME will help us out by conducting an audit of our financial practices. We will deal with these facts when we have facts to deal with.
Concentrate on the big picture- the upcoming contract. Think about who you are going to vote for, think about what you want to negotiate for, and think about this organization as a whole. Face it folks, you won’t get a decent contract on your own, the union negotiating team has to get it for you. It’s in your interest to get involved.
Ask Yourself: What can I do to make my union stronger to get me a better contract?…Larry Rabideau.
AFSCME FIGHTING for the FUTURE
33rd International Convention/ Honolulu, Hawaii/ August 24-28, 1998/ A Delegate’s Perspective
Fighting for our Futures! Seven delegates and three supporters from Alaska joined over 5,000 delegates and 2,000 supporters from AFSCME affiliated locals and chapters throughout North America for the AFSCME 33rd International Convention.
Our AFSCME International President, Gerald McEntee, charged us to continue our efforts to fight privatization and organize to follow our jobs.
The AFL-CIO President, George Sweeny, complimented our growing strength within the Labor Movement and throughout the country.
Vice President Al Gore gave a strong pro-labor speech and told a joke. He gives a powerful speech.
Reverend Jessie Jackson brought the crowd to their feet with his challenge to us to continue the work of Martin Luther King. He reminds us that Martin Luther King was killed during his efforts to support the AFSCME sanitation workers in Memphis. That we honor his memory when we continue his work. That this work is hard but the work is made easier when we work together.
All of the elected Alaska delegates attended all the sessions and all the workshops. The convention adopted a higher standard for financial affairs for all locals and some chapters. The convention adopted a 50 cent dues increase per member to fight privatization and to organize the unorganized. My copy of the convention reports, resolutions, and amendments is available for any ASEA member in the Anchorage Office.
I believe the information on organizing, health benefits, the role of stewards and, in particular, the development of retirement chapters…..extremely useful.
Thank you for your trust and support in sending me to the convention. This is my personal perspective on the convention. If you have questions, please contact me at (907)276-3416 or mensch@alaska.net or look at the WEB site http://www.afscme.org
In appreciation and solidarity…..Gordon Glaser.
