“From a living room to a basement to one of the top Associations in the State.”
Correctional Officers moved from Alaska State Employees Association (ASEA) to the Alaska Public Safety Employees Association (PSEA) in February 1998. Then, in early 2004, Correctional Officer Board members met in a Fairbanks living room and voted to separate from PSEA and to form their own Association. Correctional Officers supported this decision by submitting signed interest cards to the Alaska Labor Relations Agency (ALRA). When the dust settled following an ALRA supervised vote between ASEA, PSEA and the newly formed Alaska Correctional Officers Association (ACOA), a landslide vote allowed Correctional Officers to have their own Association and control their own destiny. On July 1, 2004, working out of a basement and with no money in the bank, your own ACOA took the reins and Correctional Officers truly took control. The rest is, as they say, history. Since then, ACOA members have won some of the best contracts in Alaska history, have gone on to be a major player in Alaska politics, have enjoyed stunning success in running independent political campaigns, and is now one of the most respected and influential employee associations in Alaska. We now own our own office in downtown Anchorage and we have financial stability.