By TODD PEPLOW
My 7-year-old granddaughter was very proud when I became, as she called it, “president of the union hall.”
It is more important to me that my now-12-year-old granddaughter is more proud of the stand I’ve taken than it is for me to continue as union president, although she was upset to hear I was being impeached for using my title “President, Local 71” in support of conservative Dave Bronson for mayor.
The LiUNA (Laborers International Union of North America) constitution states, “the Business Manager is the voice of the Union.” The business manager has unrestricted communications with all 2,500 members. As president, I only have access to the 15 to 20 who show up at a union membership meeting.
Use of my title in a previous op-ed, “Labor is not a partisan issue,” published in multiple newspapers around the state, was not a problem because it fit their narrative.
The business manager had sole authority when he donated $1,000 to the Forrest Dunbar for Mayor campaign. At the next executive board meeting that authority was rescinded, requiring executive board approval prior to all donation.
As a retired combat veteran, and as a big supporter of law enforcement, I took an oath “to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” When Dunbar publicly said that our constitutional law is shot through with race, and that he was proud of the “wall of moms” and his sister for participating in the “defund police riots in Portland,” I had to take a stand.
It was a very unpopular stand with all the ultra-liberal union leadership in Alaska. The only thing they care about is total and unquestioned support of union contracts. It doesn’t matter the destructive path a political candidate is on. That is the path Anchorage is currently on. Do we want the homeless defecating on the street corners, protesters destroying our businesses? That is the path Forrest Dunbar and the Anchorage Assembly have us on, to be more like San Francisco, Portland, or Seattle.
Janus V. AFSCME was a good decision for rank and file working union members. No union boss will admit it, but it forces the public sector unions to be more receptive to the concerns of their membership. I am a working member, part time president, and my recent impeachment and removal from office only serves to increase the power and control of the business manager.
However, because of “Janus,” I can opt out and it doesn’t affect my job, and the union doesn’t control my retirement. Private sector unions can silence their members, since the union controls the retirement and even if and when they work. “Toe the line or you’ll never work.” Will the Local 71 Executive Board be a rubber stamp for the business manager or will the membership take control of their union?
Local 71 is currently in contract negotiations with the State of Alaska. The business manager’s status reports to members has been abysmal. The first wage proposal from the business manager offered to give up longevity/merit raises, changing from every two years to three years at eight years of service. Then no more longevity raises after 23 years of service while only gaining pennies of the front end and for the current workers.
As president, I was not included in the two meetings the negotiating team had to come up with this terrible proposal. After three months with no response from the State of Alaska, a counter offer was 0%, 1%, and 1% for a 3 year contract.
I was the only one to accuse the State of stalling so a contract wouldn’t get in front of the Legislature this year. An unfair labor practice has a high standard to prove, but when your business manager just rolls over and takes it, he says there is nothing we can do.
I am proud to have served as president of Local 71 for the last five years. It has been a long hard but futile battle. Members always ask where their dues go. For LTC members, 1⁄2 of your monthly dues goes to the LiUNA, which is spent almost exclusively on electing Democrats.
As a conservative, I see two options, join with other likeminded members, attend every meeting, and demand change or opt out. I’ll be doing the latter and I invite others to opt out with me. I refuse to allow any of my dues to continue to be used on the destructive path this country is on that our union supports.
Todd Peplow is a lifelong laborer, electrician, and now foreman with conservative values, who has served his country through eight deployments. He is a constitutional rights advocate who supports firearms ownership, free speech, the right of the people to affiliate and assemble, and the right of people not to affiliate with a union.
