Drygas hired to represent state employee union as executive director of ASEA

By
Suzanne Downing
-
21
AFL-CIO photo: Heidi Dryas and Vince Beltrami

She may not be running Alaska’s elections as lieutenant governor, but Heidi Drygas, the former commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development under Gov. Bill Walker, is going to be running one of the biggest unions in the state.

Drygas has been named executive director of Alaska State Employees Association. ASEA represents 8,600 employees of the State of Alaska.

Drygas, who ran as the running mate for Bill Walker for governor in 2022, fills the position vacated by Jake Metcalfe, a Democrat Party operative, who had been the executive director of ASEA from 2018 to September of 2022.

Drygas, who is a labor lawyer, will work out of the Juneau office.

ASEA/AFSCME Local 52 is an affiliate of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, which represents more than 1.4 million public service workers across the country. AFSCME Local 52 is the largest union of state and municipal public service workers in Alaska.

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21 COMMENTS

  1. Unions have a demonstrable role in the American economy, arguably. The way Red China has come on the scene as an economic powerhouse, and the lack of any response by American Big Labor has put that role into question however. If the United States loses WWIII the unions will deserve a material share of the blame.

    I believe that public employee unions have no constructive role in the American system, none whatsoever. They bleed the economy and give nothing back. Whether it’s the police unions and their role in protecting law enforcement officers who beat and/or shoot black men and women to death, or its the general public employee unions who make snow plowing less efficient and less cost-effective there is no positive contribution made by public employee unions. None. Teachers’ unions are the number one reason why America has fallen so dreadfully behind other nations in educating young people. Here in Alaska there is not a legislator or a governor who doesn’t quake in his/her boots over the incessant complaints from the Big Labor lobbyists.

    • My same views. The public unions are no more than a group of blackmailers who use the kids as pawns . It’s about the money only.

    • There should be no Public Service Union. They work for us the Tax Payer and as such they answer to us.

    • You mirror my thoughts with two exceptions. You’ve left out the Union/Politician Democrat money laundering operation. And that bit about police officers shooting black people is reprehensible, ignorant, and a flat out denial of all police and FBI crime statistics. Other than that, I fully agree that public sector unions are harmful to the fabric of our society.

    • Agree for the most part. Right up to injecting race into it. There are good cops out there. Some awful cops too. More caucasians killed by officers per year. There’s just not a fake news jockey shoving a camera in all their faces.
      News flash. Don’t try to fight, grab their weapons, drive off with them hanging out the the vehicle, cry racism as to why you were stopped in the first place.
      Cops have families to go to at the end of the night too. Hesitate, let your guard down for 1/10 of a second many officers parish in the line of duty. Spit in my face, you’re probably gonna get a knuckle sandwich at the minimum.

  5. Complete loser. Off to the dumping grounds for defeated wacko Democrats……..ASEA. She should have gone to the beach with Bill …….
    another defeated Democrat.

    • I could never vote for her, just because of her ridiculous last name. “Dry gas”, LOL!
      That is almost as bad as the name of a man I worked with years ago, Todd Outhouse.

  6. Want to make the state more efficient and the workers more productive?

    Get rid of the state workers union.

  7. Well, I am not surprised. Friend of Walker. What kind of union leader will she be? Will she still be waging war on Governor Dunleavy? Easily done as head of the ASEA. She will also be able to make life difficult for legislators. Between her and Scott Kendall life is not going to be much fun for their targets.

  8. As a matter of simple logic, it makes no sense that an unvaccinated person could pose a health threat to a vaccinated person. Accordingly, why would a vaccinated person worry about others being maskless; after all, being vaccinated means one is immunized–right? However, if on the other hand, vaccines are ineffective, then I guess the vaccinated may have cause for concerns. That begs the question: why would I get vaccinated to run the risk of blood clots, myocarditis, and “death by unknown cause” while not even gaining immunity? Has big Pharma misled us?

  9. As a union “leader” she will now be able to go on boondoggles to Las Vegas with impunity from the sheep.

  14. Just curious here. What percentage of individuals such as Heidi, have ever had to work in the private sector? You know . . . earn a paycheck.

Comments are closed.