Membership
Who are our members?
AWA’s members are the backbone of the economy: we work in fish processing, as subcontractors in the petroleum industry on the North Slope, as personal care attendants, service workers at restaurants, stores, cafes and throughout the tourism industry, and as “gig” workers for Uber, Lyft and other “gig” employers. We do the hardest work yet get the lowest pay and usually no benefits.
Re-Use, Recycle, Reinvest with AWA
Bring your reusable shopping bags, paper, cardstock, cardboard boxes and more!
Anchorage Workers Benefit Council (WBC)
Active members participate in weekly meetings of the decision-making membership leadership body, called the Anchorage Workers Benefit Council (WBC). Some members choose to be WBC delegates, representing their neighborhood and/or workforce on the council. WBC delegates discuss concerns to members and determine the best course of action in response, bringing input from fellow members into the planning and prioritization of AWA’s Benefit Program and organizing campaigns. It is a forum for members to bring problems for collective solutions and actions as well as membership policy enforcement. Delegates are equipped with membership signup kits to sign new members, take written benefit requests, and agree to promulgate organizational decisions, needs and demands to fellow members.
Membership House Meetings
AWA canvassers convey the message that we must become a united group to have a voice loud enough to be heard on its own behalf. Canvassers recruit interested members to host membership house meetings in their homes. They then invite newly signed members and other neighbors, family and friends to learn more about AWA and how to join with others of like mind to forge long-term solutions to problems we face collectively.
House meetings offer an opportunity for new or potential members to ask more detailed questions, raise concerns and get immediate input. Members are encouraged to invest time in learning organizing skills and are invited to attend Workers Benefit Council meetings, open to all AWA members.