Alaska IBEW Union Violence, Sabotage & Terrorism  www

Disgraceful history against utilities, contractors and other employers that won't enrich them with unearned monopoly profits.  Some examples:

July 1989 - Sabotage at Thompson Pass (probably from Glennallen paper) -   

1986 - IBEW UNION INTIMIDATION AND VIOLENCE AGAINST ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR - A long awaited damage suit against the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union was tried in Anchorage Superior Court in August 1996. Alaska Utility Construction, Inc. sued the IBEW Union for harassment, abuse, and illegal attempts to force them to sign an agreement with IBEW during the 1986 construction of a power line extension for Matanuska Electric Association to the Eklutna water plant.  

During the controversy, the Anchorage Police Department and the State Troopers were forced to deploy as many as 30 uniformed officers to protect employees and property and to separate IBEW pickets from the open shop contractor's job site. The IBEW and its sympathizers were responsible for numerous acts of intimidation during the conflict including snipers firing on the jobsite, deployment of a Molotov cocktail, threats against the contractor, Aaron Downing's wife and children and against employees. These actions were preludes to the disruption and violence that occurred during the 1987 IBEW strike against Chugach Electric Association.

Chugach Electric board president Ray Kreig attended the first day of the trial and was alarmed that no public observers, press or even electric utility management was present in the courtroom.  He telephoned the newspaper and TV stations but they declined to cover the trial, saying it was unimportant.  

Kreig believed the trial was crucial because if the public is ever to realize the benefits of lower cost utility construction and maintenance, ALL contractors must obviously be protected from this kind of terrorism and harassment.  With the phasing-in of new open bidding bylaws at Chugach and Matanuska Electric Associations, no non-IBEW companies would bid if this kind of activity is condoned in Alaska by the community or the utilities.  

Kreig and other volunteers for the ratepayer group acted as unbiased reporters and wrote seven CICE FAX UPDATES (totaling 23 pages) that were distributed to all news media in Anchorage until the media was shamed into starting to do its job and cover the trial.  Six newspaper articles ultimately were written and the Channel 2 TV News crew showed up and did a good story, to the shock of the IBEW that thought accountability for its evil deeds could be evaded. 

September 11, 1996 - ANCHORAGE - The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union must pay a local non-union company $425,000 in punitive damages for allowing its members to wage a violent picket in 1986. An Anchorage Superior Court jury ruled in favor of Alaska Utility Construction and its owner, Palmer resident Aaron Downing.  (from: The Frontiersman)

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