THE
APEA/AFT
REPORTER
May 2016 START NOW PREPARING FOR AFT’S CONVENTION & APEA’S CAUCUS
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It may seem
early, but this
is an excellent
time to begin
preparing for
your Local’s
attendance
and participation in AFth
T’s
100 Anniversary Convention and APEA’s Biennial Caucus.
The Convention is 18 – 21 July 2016
in Minneapolis and Caucus is 20 – 23
October 2016 at the Captain Cook Hotel, in Anchorage. These are very intensive, in depth, business events,
where our organizations establish their
future agenda, consider constitutional
amendments, set goals and priorities
and elect their respective organizational officers. There is also excellent
training, informational presentations,
wonderful fraternity and reinvigoration of everyone’s commitment to our
movement and our struggle to make
the American workplace one which
values dignity, civility and fair treatment of every participant.
Both AFT and APEA are democratic,
member directed organizations, with a
commitment to fair and equal treatment for all members, so there are
rules and procedures. Except for those
elected officers whose duties include
delegate status, each delegate to both
the convention and the caucus must be
elected by the membership of the Local.
This is a formal election, with typical
notice, nomination, balloting and procedure, so please inform yourselves
about the process and make sure your
Local satisfies that process. If you have
questions, please feel free to consult
your representative member of the
APEA Board of Directors, APEA management staff or even the APEA Caucus
Committee (Cecily Hodges, APEA &
FNSBEA President; John White, SU
President & BOD alternate; Sharon
Baker, TOTEM President & BOD Member; Lynne Anne Carter, KBEA BOD
Member; or Business Manager Pete
Ford) or Corinne McVee, APEA BOD
Member, Executive VP & Credential
Committee Chair, and we will insure
that you are provided whatever assistance you need to assure your Local’s
compliance with procedure and ability
to participate in these important, enjoyable and invigorating events.
We hope to see you at both Convention
and Caucus!
JESS wins the AFT Helping Hands Award
Headquarters 211 Fourth Street Suite 306 Juneau, AK 99801 907.586.2334 Fax 907.463.4980 800.478.9991 South Central Office 3310 Arc c Blvd., Suite 200 Anchorage, AK 99503 907.274.1688 Fax: 907.277.4588 800.478.9992 Northern Office 825 College Road Fairbanks, AK 99701 907.456.5412 Fax 907.456.7478 800.478.9993 Over the last 10 years, JESS has contrib‐
uted a total of $13,650 to the Juneau School District's breakfast programs. This year, JESS members went a step further and collected nearly 900 pounds of food for Helping Hands, a local organiza on dedicated to maintaining a food pantry for needy children and adults. JESS was recognized at the AFT 2016 PSRP Confer‐
ence for this wonderful program. Photo: PSRP PPC Chairperson Ruby Newbold (right) presents AFT’s Helping Hands Award to Juneau Educa on Support Staff members Jennifer Johnson, Jerome Kristjanson, and Cricket Curtain (leŌ to right). PAGE 2
MAY 2 016
APEA‐AFT B
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Negotiations & the Legislature – what a combo!!
Negotiations, which never conclude, and the Legislature, which never ends, continue to dominate our efforts.
There is good news: JESS Local 6096 and the Juneau SD have reached a tenta ve agreement, which was ra fied by the mem‐
bership as this newsle er goes to press. The district will schedule a Special Mee ng for their ra fica on before the end of this month tentative agreement for a 3-year agreement. (See, SOA, successful, good faith bargaining, and a new contract, is possible!) Kenai Peninsula Borough EA Local 6055 ratified its new contract, and the Borough Assembly also ratified (albeit after a
bit of drama); CEA Local 6133 ratified its new agreement, and the contract is included in the Operating Budget, if the Legislature will ever get around to adopting a budget and going home!!
Meanwhile, SU Local 4900 came close, but could not grasp the ring, so SU and the state are seeking assistance from a mediator…yet to be scheduled.
On the legislative front, although no budget has yet been passed, the House Finance Committee did pass HB 379, out of committee to the House Floor, where it continues to pend a vote. This is a really nasty proposed law which would freeze and prevent award of any state salary schedule merit steps or pay increments (except for contracts in effect before 1 July 16), granting
step/increment award on a pro-rated basis defined by the price of oil. An utterly unnecessary, mean-spirited, punitive proposed law, which will be destructive to state employment and to the state’s general economy if enacted. We and other public
employee unions and the state AFL-CIO are working very hard against this bill, and, so far, we seem to have sufficient votes to
deny passage. But, we must be diligent, alert and ready to forcefully renew our do-not-pass lobbying efforts at a moment’s notice. (NOTE: “We” in the foregoing sentence, really means “YOU”, our involved, dedicated, activist members, who are the
ones that really get the attention of legislators when they are considering this kind of really bad legislation.
Thank you!!! And keep up the struggle.
APEA/AFT Training
Photo: APEA/AFT Members from around the state a end an Arbitra on training by Assistant Business Manager Dennis Geary at Alyeska Hotel in Girdwood. Photo: Anchorage Field Rep Jennifer Madsen facilitates InvesƟgaƟng the Grievance to a full class of APEA/AFT Members at the annual training in Alyeska. PAGE 3
NEWS
FROM THE
MAY 2 016
INTERIOR
2018.
An update from Northern
Regional Manger, Michael Koskie:
Alaska Higher Education Crafts
& Trades Local #6070
6070 Members working at the University Power Plant should be praised for
their quick handling of an emergency
early April 21st. Through their quick actions, employees such as Danny Heselton and Jeff Culley (both plant employee reps) and the other members on
duty, avoided a major catastrophe as
well as serious injury when a boiler
tube failed at the University of Alaska
Fairbanks power plant, filling the plant
with steam, sending burning coal out
of the boiler and causing a temporary
shutdown of the entire facility.
The Atkinson Heat and Power Plant at
the University of Alaska Fairbanks was
built in 1964 and was given an estimated 50-year life span. Fifty-two years
later, it’s already suffered through one
near-catastrophic failure and a handful
of other worrisome maintenance issues.
6070 Members work diligently to keep
the plant operational and safe, while a
new plant is being built.
This malfunction was similar to one that
occurred in December 1998 when a
pipe burst and electricity went down
for 10 hours. Then, the university nearly
experienced a campus-wide freeze up.
In October 2013, an electrical fault triggered another power plant shutdown.
In that instance, the campus was without electricity for about 30 minutes.
Contractors have broken ground on a
$245 million power plant that will replace the current plant’s two original
coal-fired boilers with a 17 megawatt
coal and biomass-capable boiler. The
current power plant’s oil and gas/oil
power plants will remain in use. The
new plant is expected to be completed
and commissioned hopefully by early
In this most recent incident, a complete disaster
was
avoided
largely
through skill and quick reaction of our
members. A 50 plus year old valve failure appears to be the reason. Members work daily to ensure the safety of
the plant and its employees while looking forward to the new plant becoming
operational.
Fairbanks North Star Borough
Employees Association
FNSBEA and Animal Control will be
losing an employee representative when
Lisa
Stoffel
leaves.
Lisa
should be congratulated
in
becoming the
new
Animal
Control Director in Saginaw County, Michigan. Lisa
will be missed and we thank you for
your years of service to APEA!
Northern SU Local #4900
Northern Supervisory President Michael
Lund is a
TV
star!
Mike can
be
seen
prominently in a recent episode of the
new
Science
TV
Channel series “Alaska Mega Machines”. Mike, as the Construction Project Engineer of the Dalton Highway,
lends his engineering expertise to a
recent episode. The TV series highlights
machines that are specialized to overcome extreme Alaskan weather con-
ditions.
Hello APEA
members,
and
thank
you for this
opportunity
to work with you! I am the new Membership Engagement Coordinator,
based out of Fairbanks. I will be working primarily with the United Academics
Adjuncts Local 6054 in Fairbanks and
Anchorage. I recently moved from Seattle, where I worked as an Investigator,
invaluable experience that I plan to put
to work for the membership.
Organizing is in my blood! I grew up in
a community and political organizing
household, my Grandfather started a
union while employed with United Airlines and I have defended my coworkers’ legal rights for years.
In the month I have been here, I have
participated in the campaign to speak
with, and listen to each and every
member at the University of Alaska on
both the Anchorage and the Fairbanks
campuses. I have had the amazing experience of meeting and learning with
several of you at Alyeska, and I have
been on the ground meeting with local
union leadership.
The campaigns on the University of
Alaska campuses were successful in
reaching out to members, and continuing our commitment to ongoing member engagement. It was one of many
campaigns to meet each member within the Adjunct union, and all of APEA.
I look forward to working to empower
people to work together and fight for
fair pay and representation. I am honored and thrilled to be a part of the
APEA mission, and I can’t wait to meet
and work with you all!
Sandra Toussaint
Membership Engagement Coordinator
[email protected]
MAY 2 016
PAGE 4
Changes at UAS Photos: UAS Adjunct Claire Fine, from the Ketchikan campus, teaches students Michael LaBarge (above) and Clifford Squartsoff (below) in her Towing Appren ce Mate (Steersman) Class. The students are prac cing handling a towing vessel while it pulls a fuel barge alongside, a skill not easily mastered. At the University of Alaska, the United Academic-Adjuncts,
Local #6054, led by President Fran Polumsky, South Central
Region Secretary/Treasurer Paul Thomas, and South Central Region Vice-President Ann Spohnholz, are pulling together members and communities to bring awareness to the
possible fallout of the university’s financial difficulties. In
February, after joining forces with the University of Alaska
Federation of Teachers, Local #2404, and the Alaska Higher
Education Crafts and Trades Employees, Local #6070, over
530 staff signed a petition requesting the President and
Board of Regents share governance with faculty and staff regarding the upcoming hard fiscal decisions, particularly concerning the future structure of the University. This was presented to university management on February 18. In addition to the petition, members are going to worksites and
homes to get member input and involvement. If you are an
APEA member and have not been contacted yet, please call
your local union representative, or APEA staff, to see what
you can do. Change and protection can only come from a
strong union of active members. A union only gets its power
from strength in numbers, community involvement and political clout. How are you helping your union?
Dezarae Deraimer, Southeast Field Associate
TOTEM Spring Conference 2016
J
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, TOTEM is the APEA Union that represents instructional and non-instructional supS
C
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R port staff at the Anchorage School District. TOTEM held their 40th annual Spring
Conference on March 14 & 15. The union plans, organizes and runs this professional development conference
for all of their members. This year TOTEM saw 500 members participate in 42 different classes over the two
days. The classes offered ranged from Beginning Google Forms & Spreadsheets, First Aid/CPR certification, Nonviolent Crisis Intervention, and Teaching Children with Brain Based Disabilities, to Child Abuse Reporting. Besides all of the learning, the union holds their annual meeting over the lunch break with nominations for officers,
door prizes and a silent auction to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Photos: Lunch and conclusion of the TOTEM mee ng (leŌ).
Classes were well a ended by TOTEM members (right).