Empire Archives is a series printed every Saturday featuring a short compilation of headline stories in the Juneau Empire from archived editions in 1985, 1995, and 2005. The stories include names, AP style, and other content of their eras.
This week in 1985, after nearly three months on the picket lines, striking machinists at Alaska Airlines this morning accepted the exact contract terms they had rejected a month earlier. Under the agreement, signed in Seattle this morning, members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local 2202, will report back to work on a seniority basis as new jobs at the airline open up.
It could, however, be a long wait for some — possibly taking two to three years for strikers who want to return to the airline to get their jobs back. Systemwide, with some votes still to be tabulated, workers had approved a new 41-month contract with the airline by a 70 percent margin. May 2, 74 percent of the workers rejected the same pact. In Juneau of the 21 mechanics, ramp workers, baggage handlers and janitors still honoring picket lines at the strike’s end, almost all of them rejected the weekend settlement offer, said Ken Mill, Juneau shop steward and head of the former strike committee. About 10 workers locally had crossed picket lines and returned to work before the settlement was announced.
Original Story: “Alaska Airlines strikers settle,” by Chuck Kleeschulte. 6/03/1985.
This week in 1995, the National Park Service wants to set aside the north end of Glacier Bay National Park’s East Arm for kayakers, banning motorized vessels and floatplane landings from the area. The ban is included in a set of proposed Park Service rules that also would increase the number of large cruise ships allowed in Glacier Bay from 107 to 184 ships per summer. The long-awaited draft vessel management plan was released Thursday.
Park Superintendent Jim Brady said the ban on motorized vessels and floatplanes in the East Arm will be controversial —generally national park waters are open to motorized use around the country. Glacier Bay sees several thousand kayakers each summer.
“There ought to be some sections in the park where they don’t have to compete with motorized vessels,” Brady said Friday from park headquarters at Bartlett Cove, about 40 northwest of Juneau.
The ban would cover park waters in the East Arm north from Point McLeod, just south of Wachusett Inlet. Though the number of backcountry visitors to the park is increasing, most of the people visiting Glacier Bay do so from the deck of a large cruise ship.
Original Story: “Park Service wants motorized vessels out of East Arm,” by Jeanine Pohl. 6/04/1995.
This week in 2005, the Juneau School Board will consider reducing class sizes in kindergarten through grade two thanks to the recent increase in state funding. The board, which will vote Tuesday on next school year’s budget, held a work session Friday to look at the latest revenue figures. Board members also said they may look for a way to lessen staff reductions, caused by declining enrollments, that cut some electives at the middle schools.
The Legislature raised next school year’s funding statewide by $70 million, including a $2.6 million increase to Juneau.
It’s nearly $300,000 more than the Juneau School District would have received from Gov. Frank Murkowski’s proposal, on which the district built its preliminary budget.
Moreover, the added state money means the city can give the schools nearly $70,000 more than before. That figure will be included in the budget the city administration is recommending to the Juneau Assembly, said Gary Epperson, the district’s business manager.
In all, the district is looking at a nearly $48 million general fund budget for an expected 5,300 students.
About half of the new state funds will go toward higher payments into workers’ retirement funds; about half is taken up by increases in salaries and benefits.
Original Story: “Funds could cut class size,” by Eric Fry. 6/06/2005.
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz.garrett@juneauempire.com or (907) 723-9356.
