A.L.I.V.E. tickets and donations
A.L.I.V.E. (Alaska Labor Independent Voter Education)
As even the most casual study of labor history would confirm, the importance of political action by organized labor has been apparent for hundreds of years. Labor unions have adopted political action as a legitimate tool to secure and protect the rights and benefits for which we have fought so hard. Through the use of political action, labor unions have demanded, and won, new laws to protect the working men, women, and children of this country. The battles were long, hard, and bloody, but the results were revolutionary. Child labor laws put an end to children ten or twelve years of age working in coal mines, steel mills, etc. It became mandatory for employers to carry workers' compensation insurance. The forty-hour workweek became the standard, down from the seventy-hour week your grandfather worked.
Through political action, labor unions secured other laws such as the Minimum Wage Law, Unemployment Compensation, Equal Pay for Equal Work, Davis-Bacon, Affirmative Action, and a host of others. These laws made the American worker one of the best paid, best protected workers in the world. Don't think for a minute that because these battles were fought ten, thirty, or sixty years ago, that the war is over. Labor unions are in a constant battle to keep what has been won over the years. There are political forces at work that would turn the clock back fifty years if they had their way and it is our responsibility, as a labor union and as individual union members, to fight them at every turn. Local 959 accomplishes this through its political action committee, ALIVE (Alaska Labor Independent Voter Education). Take some time to get acquainted with the ALIVE committee, make sure you are registered to vote, and do your part as a union member to ensure that you, your children, and grandchildren enjoy a safe work environment and decent wages.
If you are interested in serving on the ALIVE committee or would like more information, please contact ALIVE Representative Tim Morgan at: (907) 565-8248 or you may E-mail Tim at tmorgan@akteamsters.com
For information regarding legislation or candidates, contact Legislative and Government Affairs Director Barbara Huff Tuckness at: (907) 565-8236 or E-mail Barbara at: bhuff@akteamsters.com
We encourage you to contact your elected representatives and ask them to support labor friendly bills and oppose legislation that could harm working men and women. The following links will put you in touch with your elected representatives Web sites and allow you to track current and pending legislation:
ALASKA CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION
Senator Mark Begich: begich.senate.gov
Senator Lisa Murkowski: murkowski.senate.gov
Congressman Don Young: donyoung.house.gov
To contact your State Senator or Representative, go to the Alaska State Legislature page at w3.legis.state.ak.us To E-mail a State Senator, click on State Senate then the senator's name. You will find an E-mail link near the bottom of the page. To E-mail a State Representative, click on State House of Representatives then the representative's name. Again, you will find an E-mail link near the bottom of the page. To track current or pending legislation click on BASIS or ALECSYS.
Rick Boyles
Secretary-Treasurer
Events and Meetings
- 29th Annual Retirees Reunion The Alaska Teamsters 29th Annual Retirees Reunion is being held February 27th through March 1st in 2012.
- Membership Meeting Schedule
Monthly:
Anchorage:
February 2, 2012Fairbanks:
February 7, 2012Quarterly:
Clear - TBD
Healy - TBD
Kenai - TBD
Kodiak - TBD
Juneau - TBD
Valdez - TBD
Current News
- Teamsters Press Unionization Of Toll Drivers The Teamsters Union, as part of its national strategy to organize harbor truck drivers, has taken on Toll Global Forwarding, charging that the company is using national labor law to delay a vote among drivers to join the union.
- Bus Drivers For Alameda County Special Needs Kids Speak Out About Safety, Low Wages Bus drivers who transport special needs students in Alameda County spoke out Thursday about safety concerns, low wages and lack of benefits.
- School Bus Drivers Speak Out About Safety, Human Rights Concerns School bus drivers with Durham School Services in Hayward and Livermore, Calif., joined today with Teamster, political, religious and other community leaders at a "Driver Speak Out" to demand better working conditions.
- Teamsters Warn Hostess Not To Misuse Bankruptcy Process The Teamsters Union on Thursday warned Hostess Brands Inc. not to misuse the bankruptcy process in an attempt to bully its way to unnecessary operations changes, saying a consensual resolution with sacrifices by all stakeholders is what is required.
- Correctional Officers Say For-Profit Prisons Won't Save Money Turning prison facilities over to for-profit companies won't save Florida taxpayers any money and will probably cost them more, said Teamster correctional officers, their families, their neighbors and union officials who came to the Statehouse Monday.
- Labor Radio Program Interviews Jim Hoffa Teamster Rick Smith of the Rick Smith radio show interviews General President Hoffa about working families, stopping the war on workers and more.
- BLET Engineers Ratify Amtrak Contract Today, Amtrak engineers represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, a division of the Teamsters Rail Conference, ratified by a 4 to 1 margin a new, five-year agreement. The contract calls for wage, benefit and work rule improvements.
- Hunts Point Market Teamsters Overwhelmingly Ratify New Three-Year Agreement Today, workers at the Hunts Point Produce Market represented by Teamsters Local 202 in the Bronx, overwhelmingly voted to ratify a new three-year agreement that provides financial security and affordable health care for the nearly 1,300 members and their families.
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