Municipal History Lecture: Labor Relations, Unification, and Parks – August 27, 2025
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Municipal History Lecture: Labor Relations, Unification, and Parks – August 27, 2025
On August 27, 2025, the Municipality of Anchorage hosted a historical lecture featuring Heather, a former school board member, assembly member, and labor relations director. She shared her firsthand experiences from the 1970s and 1980s, covering the unification of the city and borough, the labor wars, the development of Anchorage's parks and trails, and the challenges of the 1986 oil crash.
Public Comments & Testimony
- An audience member asked Heather about her experience as the only woman on the Anchorage Assembly. She responded that she "worked harder and knew more than all the other ten" and prepared meticulously, reading every packet line by line each Sunday.
- Another question concerned her compensation: she earned $300 per month on the school board, but spent $600 on babysitting, making it a financial sacrifice.
- A question about Project 80s asked how the projects were selected. Heather explained that the process involved community councils, legislators, the school district, public hearings, and internal staff. The first year was rushed due to the legislature's timeline, but most projects (e.g., schools, convention center, library) were needed. She noted that Mayor Knowles insisted on including maintenance funding—a novel concept at the time.
- A final question touched on the old borough days and the sewer system. Heather recalled Mayor John Asworth and engineer Bob Morse championing sewers, and noted that Anchorage still only has primary sewage treatment.
Discussion Items
- Heather detailed her role in writing the labor ordinance after unification, working on a committee with Tom Fink, Mark Sullivanberger, Doug Stark, and Municipal Attorney Rich Husman. The process took about a year.
- She described seven years of "labor wars" with the city, including unfair labor practices, three elections, and a case that went to the Alaska Supreme Court. She negotiated with Mayor George Sullivan, who had been her former boss as a temporary secretary in 1968.
- The formation of the Federation of Community Councils, the involvement of the Teamsters (Jesse Carr) and IBEW (Ike Moldric), and the IBEW's heavy equipment protest surrounding City Hall were recounted.
- After Tony Knowles became mayor in 1982, Heather was appointed as his first appointee to foster trust between labor and management. She helped negotiate agreements within months.
- She initiated a classification and pay study to address gender pay equity, but it was never funded due to cost.
- The 1986 oil price crash (from $30 to $8 per barrel) forced a $500 million budget reduction. She worked with Governor Sheffield and Ken Bishop to manage the crisis, cutting leases and laying off staff.
- Heather discussed the development of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, overcoming opposition from property owners and highway proponents. The trail became a highly valued asset. She also highlighted the Chester Creek Trail and the role of the League of Women Voters.
- The Park Foundation, established under Mark Beckage, contracts with the municipality to do small projects at 9% overhead, making parks barrier-free. She emphasized the need for community bonds to fund infrastructure, such as the park bond that repaired the West Chester bridge after a truck accident.
- She advocated for an income tax, personal responsibility, and bonding for large projects. She also noted the senior citizen tax exemption of $225,000 in property value.
- Heather recalled Mayor Tom Fink, who issued 160 vetoes in six years, overridden 85 times.
- The construction of the Loussac Library was a community effort; Wilda Marsden and others raised funds for furnishings and books when public money ran out. The Ann Stevens reading room was entirely donated.
- Project 80s, funded by $81 million in state money, built 10 schools, a convention center, and other facilities without land acquisition costs. However, ongoing maintenance funding was initially overlooked.
Key Outcomes
- No formal decisions or votes were taken during this lecture. The event was part of the MOA 50 lecture series. Upcoming sessions include Deputy Chief of Staff Barbara Jones with former Mayor Rick Mystrom on September 3, and Municipal Manager Becky Wynn Pearson with former Mayor Mark Begage on September 3. Also, a September 5th evening event at Town Square Park from 5 to 8 PM featuring live music, a night market, local vendors, and an art tour.
Meeting Transcript
Oh, you gotta go around the speakers. Maybe not with mayor. It's kind of loosey because it was a new government and not a lot of tradition, but people were just kind of making it up as we went along and making things work. And I had been working with Lane Fleischer for a little bit and um forming the Federation of Community Councils, which I hold dear to my heart and my slave and still serve in my community council in South Edition. So unification happened, and I realized that I was going to be fighting for trying to represent people in this new government, which to me made so much sense. Why did we have a city and a borough and services that ended on one street? And maybe there was a gap in between and you didn't have services. So I was really, really hopeful. As soon as the election happened, Mayor Sullivan appointed me and four other people to write to labor orders for the meeting. And AS 2340 had already been passed for the state of Alaska. You can have another labor ordinance that holds your jurisdiction. They cannot veer too much for the state ordinance. You can't go. And so we pretty much patent after that because I was the only one that knew about the state ordinance, and I've been working under it for Steve World City. School District uh non-certified people for about a year. So this committee was me, Tom Fink, Mark Sullivanberger, who was the city employee head of the city union, Alaska, you know, Anchorage Municipal Employees Association. Doug Stark and Municipal Attorney Rich Husman, who's a pretty straight-lace type person. You know, he wasn't like some municipal attorneys, which were weren't flexible and listened a lot. So like Mr. Falsey. Yes, my kids. Yeah, he's on the get things done side. And so it took us about a year, but we got this ordinance written. And so we started figuring out how are we going to form this new government and merge employees. Well, on my side, there was me. And on the cities, there was everybody that George Sullivan could put in place to make things happen for the city's benefit. And I remember my two nemesis, uh Stan Stone King and Lynn Doherty, who had absolutely no involvement previously with labor relations, but they wanted the city to win on every point that they were assigned to. So we battled for years. We had unfair labor practices, we had three elections because they kept messing things up. And I can't remember the specific case, but John Hedman was representing APEA and me at that time. And he's recently passed. And uh we had a case go to the state Supreme Court that supported our position. So finally, um, during the last two years of this struggle, AMEA decided they needed more help. So they went to the Teamsters. So they had Jesse Carr in AMK against me. So Ike Moldric called me up. Ike was uh the head of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and my former husband had been an electrician, so I kind of knew him. He said, Girl, you need some help down there. I can't have carr taken over the city. So I went and met with Ike and he said, Whatever you need for resources and just back up. And it was really great to know that. But he said, if you ever have to negotiate with Jesse, I'll tell you what he told me the first time I sat down. He showed, he had this really long conference table and the Teamsters Hall with a giant picture of Jesse Carr in the room. Wherever you sat, you had to look at his BDIs and ah that looks and he said, take this jar of Vaseline, you might need it before this meeting's open. Well, do a mind for these youngsters in here. Jesse Hawke was Alaska's version of Hoffa. He was a mafia guy. He just he just was. That's how he rolled in, you know, during the pipeline days that Fairbanks people were disappearing, and a lot of stuff happened at the warehouses. I had a lot of respect and fear for Mr.
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