April 16, 2014
Wednesday AM

Dear Editor(s):

We, the Citizens of Alaska, by initiative have made the effort to see a modest minimum wage increase placed on the ballot for Voters to decide in election. We believe it that important. It’s not often that the people express their desire for a change in law by petition although this year seems to be a banner year, what with SB21, the Marijuana Initiative, and minimum wage all headed for a vote of the people. AO-37 was another such issue. Over 20,000 voters made the effort to change a bad law. The Assembly majority in Anchorage and Mayor Sullivan did everything it could to frustrate Anchorage’s votes (at taxpayer expense) and successfully delayed this vote until November. Our hope is that those 20,000 voters who signed the initiative/referendum will remember this and vote accordingly whenever Mayor Sullivan’s name appears on a ballot.

HB384 on increasing the Minimum Wage passed the House on April 13. Between the railroad job Mayor Sullivan and his Assembly friends did to working families with AO-37 and the subsequent games they’ve played, coupled with this deceitful grab by the House majority, what has happened to the Voice of the People?? Over 40,000 Alaskan voters have petitioned to have a say in whether or not we should increase the minimum wage. Citizens have spoken that they, not government, believe this to be an issue that they want to vote upon. It appears that elected officials don’t care what the population wants to vote upon. They think it’s their job to decide it for us. But just on this issue. Not on SB21. Not the Marijuana Initiative. Just this one. The voice of the who? Voters?

In the case of a minimum wage increase the Legislature has had ample opportunity to address the issue over the last decade and failed to do so. In fact, as we know from history, the opposite has occurred. When last the People spoke the initiative was co-opted by the Legislature and passed. In the next session the law was gutted, removing a key piece to the initiative, its link to the CPI. It has stagnated ever since. Thus, this initiative and our desire to protect it from unwarranted interference by political grandstanding.

The Anchorage Central Labor Council (ACLC) represents over 17,000 working families in the Anchorage Municipality. In addition to our efforts to see AO-37 placed before the voters our membership helped sponsor the minimum wage initiative to see it placed on the State ballot. All cross Alaska our friends and neighbors went door to door, stood at the front of businesses in Winter weather, held rallies and functions all in our efforts to see this decided by voters. We worked hard with constituent groups and other labor organizations collecting signatures. Now that it’s on the agenda to be placed on the ballot as a result of the hard work and effort by People it’s about to be hijacked? Shame on the House Majority!!

If members of the Legislature really want to show they care about helping Alaskan’s working families then go after Medicaid expansion. Approximately 40,000 uninsured Alaskan’s earning less than $16,000 per year would gain healthcare coverage under the Medicaid expansion. Government should be helping Alaskan’s where they most have a need and where most who don’t have it can’t afford it – health care coverage. Not spending time trying to keep from Alaskan’s voters the right to have a say on this key economic baseline – minimum wage. Not a living wage, a minimum wage.

On this issue, raising the minimum wage, let the People have a vote. They’ve earned it by petition. The people have spoken by petition and initiative. Let Alaskan’s voters have a say on this issue. Any effort by the Legislature to remove this from the will of the Voters is simply wrong!

Daniel Repasky
President, Anchorage Central Labor Council
Anchorage, Alaska

Received April 10, 2014 - Published April 16, 2014

Related:

House Bill Increasing Minimum Wage Called a Bogus Bill to Deny Alaskans an Opportunity to Vote – The Alaska House of Representatives voted Sunday to increase the state’s minimum wage by $2.00 over the next two years and inflation-proof it moving forward. House Bill 384 would raise the minimum wage for 1.8 percent of Alaska’s workforce for the first time since the $.50 increase of 2007. - More...
SitNews, Tuesday - April 15, 2014

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