Voters overwhelmingly reject state's prison plan

The success of the FPE/AFT-affiliated Alaska Public Employees Association's (APEA) campaign challenging the Legislature's approval of a 1,000-bed private prison in the Kenai Peninsula Borough can best be measured by the 3-to-1 defeat of the deal when the question was asked of voters Oct. 2.

Through radio ads and targeted mailings to union members and "super voters"--people who consistently participate in elections--the APEA, working in conjunction with other labor groups in the state, turned the tide of public opinion about prison privatization in their backyard.

Bruce Ludwig, APEA business manager, says the union effort focused on educating the community about the potential economic side effects the prison, the third one in the area, would have, including its impact on tourism. But the linchpin issue was safety. Specifically, Ludwig notes that the bill passed by the Legislature lowered the bar for the private prison company by exempting it from compliance with state corrections standards regarding employment eligibility and training.

"We started off about even, maybe even a little behind," says Ludwig. "In September, we blitzed, and turned it around."

The outcome of the APEA's campaign resonated through the Legislature. Ludwig says that for five years the union has fought for expansion of existing facilities, only to be met by Republican lawmaker support for privatization. Since the October vote, however, Ludwig says the Legislature is supporting construction of a state-run facility, to be owned by the municipalities, in the Mat-su Borough, as well as supporting expansion of five existing jails.