To the editor:
Ever wondered who's behind all these ads in the newspaper lately with pictures of poor
children begging for money for mommy, or groups of poor children pleading for us to keep
our overtime laws the same?
In both cases it says, "brought to you by the Fairbanks Central Labor Council,
Anchorage Central labor Council, and the Juneau Central Labor Council." Did you
think, as I did, that these were groups of Alaskan workers, uniting across a broad front
to improve labor conditions for all Alaskans?
Think again. There is no listing for these "councils" in the phone books or
directories, anywhere in the state. Calling the number of the person who placed the ad got
my friend the Legal Department of the Teamsters. They disavowed the ad placement and
referred him to (among others) Mr. Smutz of the AFL-CIO, Ms.(sic) Hayes of the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and some kind of labor advisory in
Washington, D.C.
A Mr. Brown was finally found to(sic) is the "president" of this
"local" council. My friend reached him at his day job. Mr. Brown said that he
didn't do the ads, that a lady in Anchorage should be called, but unfortunately her number
wasn't available.
I would be the last to suggest that Big Labor concerns nation-wide would set up a local
"front" organization to attempt to unduly influence the course of Alaska's
future labor legislation.
But I will confess that other explanations elude me at this time.
Christina S. Tringali
Fairbanks