FROM YOUR EDITOR

Things will be in a bit of turmoil as we are relocating our Anchorage Chapter office. The ASEA Statewide HQ office is moving to a new address:  626 “F” St. in the downtown area. Unfortunately space in the new facility will not allow for a Chapter office or meeting place for our Chapter functions.

With the move going into effect on September 1st, it has resulted in a situation where your Chapter Board is looking at alternatives.

For the time being our September 8th Anchorage Chapter membership meeting will be held at the Loussac Library Auditorium at 5:15 PM.

Our Shop Stewards Meeting, scheduled for September 15th at 5:15 PM, will be held at the Frontier Building  (located at 3601 “C” St.) Conference Room (Rm 1210).

Your Board met on September 1st/ 5:30 PM at Felicity’s Expresso (located at the Russian Jack Plaza/ 6307 Debarr Road).

Our October meetings will likely be held at these same locations until permanent arrangements are made. Please bear with us in the meantime.

Ballots for our “Strike Authorization” vote have been mailed out at this time. This is going to be the most important vote in the history of our union. How you vote will dictate the future course of what will follow.

It is important that you VOTE!!!!

ANCHORAGE CHAPTER’S PRESIDENT’S LETTER

(This is the opinion of your Chapter president, Larry Rabideau, and not that of the Chapter).

This is it….”crunch time”. The ballots have gone out by the time you read this.

The decision of what the union is to do is in your hands. You determine the fate of the union and contract negotiations.

You vote “YES”…to authorize a Strike if we have to, and you are voting to go on with negotiations.

You vote “NO”…and you are telling the State that you will accept another losing contract.

Simple as that!!  We get the vote and go on… or essentially we accept the contract offered.

Every vote we do not get back is a “NO” vote. We must get 50% + 1 of the votes being “YES” votes in order to get a “Strike Authorization”. There are approximately 6200 ballots going out. For a “YES” we need 3101 votes in the affirmative (at a minimum).

The bigger the “YES” vote, the stronger the message to the State and our Legislature. The stronger the message, the more serious they take us. The more serious they take us, the less likely they will force us to Strike.

BUT...we must be willing to carry out the threat if  the State still refuses to bargain.

Since this is my column and my opinion….let me give it to you straight.

This is “DO or DIE”!!

If you do not stand up to the State now, you will never do it. You will be paying more and more for health care and losing more benefits.

If you do stand up …you have the chance to change things. Just a chance. There are no guarantees.

If you want a sure thing, vote “NO”. You can be sure to be abused again and again for the rest of the time you hold a state job.

As for me, I am tired of living on my knees. I would rather stand up and be counted with you, my fellow members, and lose….rather than give in again and fail through not trying at all.

If not now- when?! If not us- who?! If we don’t fight for ourselves and our families- who will fight for us?! If we are unwilling to stop the abuse- will the abuse stop?!…Larry R. Rabideau.
 

FROM YOUR ANCHORAGE CHAPTER SECRETARY

Ballots will be mailed out this week. Make sure you vote, whether it is “YES” or “NO”.

In my opinion we need to vote “YES”.  If the membership votes not to strike, negotiations will end. We will get whatever the State wants to give us. We will be at their mercy. A “NO” vote could have all kinds of ramifications. One thing that a “NO” vote could do is kill the union. Whether you like what is happening in the union or not, we need to be together in order to get a contract and the way to do that is through our union. If you are unhappy with the things that are going on in the union….get involved. You can make a difference. It takes work, and usually lots of it, but you can make a difference.

If you want to keep your jobs, get decent pay and benefits…then you need to vote “YES” to a “Strike Authorization”.  If you don’t vote “YES” and the union crumbles because of your “NO” vote, you can start looking at which private company will be taking over your job. You can bet that the job you are “thankful to have” will be contracted out. Don’t think that there isn’t a company out there that could do your job, because there is. They may NOT do it the same…or as well…or at a lower cost…but they would get it done. We have all watched it happen around us the past few years.

This is very serious business. I think we have two choices. One is to vote “YES” and stand up for ourselves…..or vote “NO” and lose everything we have.

If you have questions get hold of a negotiator, steward, executive board member, or a member at large who has been keeping up with what is happening. Talk to your fellow employees. This isn’t just a vote to strike or not, it is a life decision that we are making with this vote……..Janetta Pritchard.