One of the important services the Alaska AFL-CIO provides its affiliated organizations is legislative and political advocacy in the State Legislature and Congress. As with collective bargaining, by joining forces and speaking with a united voice on working families issues, we have more impact.
There are more than 60,000 union members in the state. But with very few exceptions, the positions taken on workplace issues by the Alaska AFL-CIO affect ALL working people, not just union members.
From the minimum wage to workers' compensation, from workplace safety to unemployment insurance -- the AFL-CIO, and other labor organizations are all too often the only voice representing working people on these issues. That is unfortunate, given the number of high-paid corporate lobbyists that often fight to remove or roll back workplace standards and rights... but it is a banner the Alaska AFL-CIO and other labor organizations carry with pride.
And, it is about time that our state legislators be held accountable for how they vote on issues that affect working families.
Also, to contact your legislators to weigh in on important working family issues, go to the following links:
28th Alaska Legislature
US CONGRESS
U.S. Congressional Delegation voting records
Check out this article in Politico, featuring U.S. Senator Mark Begich (D) Alaska. Begich is leading a group of younger and recently elected Democratic senators and demanding they be heard.
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Last week, Senator Gary Stevens (R) Kodiak was asked to speak to the group Commonweath North. It was an annual meet and greet - and the group got much more than they were expecting!
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Last week we asked you to reach out to Alaska's US Senators for help on SJR 36 - an attempt to overthrow the National Labor Relations Board new rules on a quick union election. Due to the Senate rejecting the bill, workers can quickly have an election on whether they want to have a union or not. Under the old rules, a business could drag out the process for quite a while, using that time to distort the facts about joining a union. We want to thank Senator Lisa Murkowski and Senator Mark Begich for voting NO on this bill!
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Recently, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has pointed to Indiana’s economic success since passing “right to work” as a reason for Michigan to adopt similar legislation. Neither the governor nor Indiana officials, however, have been able to provide evidence that “right to work” (RTW) was the determinative factor in even a single company’s decision to locate in the state.
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Alaska's most experienced lawmakers got the jump on their colleagues Monday with the first release of pre-filed bills before the 28th Alaska Legislature convenes next week.
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JUNEAU, Alaska — A Juneau senator has reintroduced legislation that would let public employees opt in to a traditional pension program.
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We want to thank Senator Mark Begich on his proposal to fix the gap in Social Security benefits. He has introduced the Social Security Fairness Act.
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