December 23, 2009
Wednesday

WHAT do the Ketchikan telephone division employees think?? Last year I ran for city council. I went to several forums with telephone division employees at these meetings. I asked about the sale of the division and none of them spoke up. I told them I would stand with them, but not for them. They would not express their likes or dislikes about the pending sale -- in confidence I was told they feared for their jobs. This made no sense what so ever to me. Grown men and women (THEORETICALLY) represented by some phantom union that supposedly protects their interests, scared to lose jobs?? Guess what guys,, you're going to anyway if the utility sells so what have you got to lose? (Speak Up)

I am 1,000 percent against the sale of our publicly owned utility . By Van Abbott's own reports and responses from Amylon in public reports, KPU is doing pretty well in the phone division. And Van Abbott's wife while defending her husband's reputation stated these facts, "KPU IS FAIRING BETTER THAN MOST COMPANIES IN ALASKA IN TERMS OF LOST MARKET SHARE,AND IS LEADING THE STATE IN FIBER TO THE HOME , AND IP TECHNOLOGY."

HUH? Sounds pretty competitive in this highly competitive market. What do Amylon and his closest confidants seem to be so scared of? I got some news for the city telephone CZARS, Life is competitive you compete or you don't. Our people here in Ketchikan can compete if they wanted to, that is what is confusing me, do the phone division people want to compete, are they being allowed to compete? There are a lot of opinions floating around and if it comes to a vote I will vote no.

What would a KPU telephone division employee vote? That is the question. I would like to hear at least one union represented adult make some sort of comment on this issue. KPU Phone division employees' silence is what bothers me the most about this whole discussion. If it has gotten so bad you cannot even speak on the issue cause you fear for your jobs as reported to me, your union let you down, your shop stewards let you down, and maybe selling the company is the best way out for you. I am still against it even if KPU phone division employees are for it.

Conversely, I don't like some of my supervisor's opinions at KIC and I tell her -- sometimes we even have 'god forbid' debates over issues. One thing I don't fear is reprimand when I do have disagreements with people I work with, and I don't even pay in a bunch of money for union representation.

Charles Edwardson
Ketchikan, AK

About: " Lifelong Ketchikan resident amused, upset, concerned, baffled, about Ketchikan concerns"

Received December 21, 2009 - Published December 23, 2009

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