When the City of Anchorage, Alaska passed an anti-union ordinance that took away collective bargaining rights for municipal workers, IBEW local 1547 in Anchorage reached out to local 1245 and requested support to help them repeal the ordinance, known as AO37. 1245 responded by dispatching a small but dedicated group of organizing stewards and staff to Alaska, and together with Local 1547 and the Alaska AFL-CIO, the team was able to successfully repeal AO37 and restore rights to the city’s municipal workers.
IBEW 1245 Business Manager Tom Dalzell pointed out that the victory was three-fold. “We got the precedent of repealing an anti-union ordinance. We got a friend in Local 1547; now if we ever need their support they will be there for us. And we got experience that can’t be replicated in a simulator … which will be invaluable if and when city councils in California attempt something like this.”
To express their gratitude for the support they got from Local 1245, the leaders and staff from Local 1547 and the Alaska AFL-CIO put together this “thank you” video.
//youtu.be/XIbozvQQNTU