ASEA/AFSMCE Local 52 Women’s Issues Committee
Executive Board Report September 2008

The first night of the AFSCME Convention there was a meet and greet for Women’s committees co-hosted by Council 75. As a voting delegate and chair of ASEA Women’s Issues Committee, I was introduced and asked to speak about our rural outreach efforts and successes.

I spoke about our Local 52 website and the PINK LINK and what it has to offer. I gave them a rough estimate of the number of hits the site has gotten since it was put up. Larger councils appreciated the concept and execution of our PINK LINK and will look into it to fashion their own web pages. They were very impressed with the number of hits our pages have gotten over the past couple of years.

AFSCME leaders and trainers are particularly excited about the WIC suggestion of leadership training in Alaska this fall or after the general election. AFSCME leaders and trainers are excited about coming to Alaska and leaders want to know of our progress. Among our supporters for this program:

• Tam Tosher, Area Field Services Director
• Yvonne Syphax, Assistant Director of the Education Department is particularly interested in our efforts and offered to be of some assistance.
• Amy Galation, Regional Field Administrator
• Carol Justice, AFSCME Local 189, Organizer
• Gerald F. Fidler, Political Action Representative
• Strader AFSCME Trainer 

Attendee, Michelle Kaminski, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the School of Labor & Industry Relations at Michigan State University studying union women and would like to visit ASEA WIC in Alaska or learn more about us. Perhaps the WIC could invite her to join us at our next face to face meeting to be scheduled for this fall.

We have tremendous support from our sisters and brothers in the Pacific Northwest and they would like to strengthen that bond including visiting us in Alaska. These supporters include:

• Kay Halspain, Washington Federation of State Employees Local 1221 Spokane
• Rhonda Holder Polk County Oregon
• Counsel 75 Oregon and Counsel 2
• International Vice Presidents: Ken Allen and Greg Devereaux.

The WIC continues to work towards potential solutions to the lack of childcare across the state. At a recent Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Juneau, Commissioner Krietzer was the guest speaker. I was able to ask her if aid that she would take a meeting with ASEA and the local agencies who are working on this issue. She said we don’t feel that we owe you childcare. I responded that we are not asking for childcare to be provided by the State of Alaska, we want to discuss accessibility and locations. She gave me her business card and said she would take a meeting. This meeting has not yet happened.

WIC is nearing completion of an online childcare survey to be posted to the ASEA/AFSMCE Local 52 website with a broadcast email from Headquarters encouraging membership participation. We would like to present 10 questions to the membership to better understand the problem by region, by children’s ages, and hours of need. The survey target time frame for posting is after the Progressive Dues vote and after the Health Trustee vote.

We will review the findings from this survey and present those findings to the Executive Board at their December 2008 meeting. We encourage the Executive Board to review the survey results and consider childcare solutions as possible points in our next contract negotiations.

Thank you for your time and support and for your consideration of these suggestions.

Respectfully submitted,
Nadine Lefebvre, Chair
ASEA/AFSMCE Local 52 Women’s Issues Committee