Alaska COs Hold Founding Convention

Over 30 delegates from Alaska’s 14 state correctional facilities trekked up to 500 miles to attend the April 28 Founding Convention of the Alaska Corrections Chapter of the Alaska State Employees Association (ASEA)/AFSCME Local 52.

Why were these officers willing to travel so far?

Because they just got their own bargaining unit this spring — thanks to a recent ruling by the Alaska Labor Relations Agency (ALRA). Until then, state COs were part of the 8,500-member General Government Unit.

"Alaska COs for years have wanted to have their own contract and now they have it," says Vinnie O’Connor, interim president of Local 52 and a 17-year corrections employee. "They have the best of both worlds: their own separate contract and representation by ASEA and AFSCME."

Delegates to the convention hammered out a draft of the bylaws, that was then mailed out to all of the state’s approximately 750 corrections officers for a successful ratification vote, with ballots counted on May 30.

Among other things, the bylaws determined that — given the state’s spacious geography — meetings could take place via teleconferencing.

O’Connor says priorities for the first contract include: increased staffing levels; stronger seniority language; an equitable transfer policy; and improved training opportunities.