The Alaska AFL-CIO is a labor union federation representing labor unions active in Alaska. As of 2026, it was the largest labor union in Alaska, representing 50 labor unions reporting approximately 50,000 members. The group is a state-level chapter of the AFL-CIO, the principal labor union federation in the United States. ¹ While primarily funded by program services, including payments from union members, the Alaska AFL-CIO has also received charitable grants, including from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a left-of-center dark money nonprofit that was managed by Arabella Advisors until November 2025. ^{2 3}

Activities

The Alaska AFL-CIO recruits workers to form new labor unions in Alaska. ⁴ The Alaska AFL-CIO makes grants to ideological allies advocating for left-of-center economic policies. In 2024, the group made a $136,290 grant to Winfluence Strategies, a for-profit political consulting group; $80,000 to the 907 Initiative, a left-of-center advocacy organization focused on state and local governments in Alaska; $75,000 to the Putting Alaskans First Committee, a union-aligned super PAC; $40,915 to Teresa Ghilarducci, a left-wing professor best known for promoting Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs), a proposal to establish federal retirement accounts with mandatory contributions and defined payouts; $24,559 to Pension Trustee Advisors; and $18,000 to the Hays Research Group, an Anchorage-based for-profit market research firm. ⁵

In 2022, the group established the Alaska AFL-CIO Allman Labor Candidate School to train pro-union political candidates. As of March 2026, the school had ran 12 candidates, eight of whom had won their races. ⁶

The Alaska AFL-CIO endorses candidates during each election cycle. In the 2024 cycle, candidates endorsed by the group included then-U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola (D), who lost her reelection campaign. ⁷

Policy Goals

The Alaska AFL-CIO opposes alleged wage theft by employers against employees, claiming that employers steal $15 billion per year through wage theft against minimum wage employees. ⁸

The Alaska AFL-CIO advocates against perceived income inequality, pointing to high salaries paid to business executives compared to their employees. ⁸

The Alaska AFL-CIO opposes “right-to-work” laws, which prohibit mandatory union fees as a condition of employment. ⁸

The Alaska AFL-CIO claims to support the Second Amendment and gun-ownership rights. Every year, the group celebrates “Month of Guns” with a raffle that awards union members a free firearm. ⁹

The Alaska AFL-CIO is a member of the Alaska Public Pension Coalition, which advocates for the restoration of a defined benefit pension for all government employees, which was terminated in 2006. ¹⁰

In 2025, the Alaska AFL-CIO denounced the federal government shutdown prompted by the failure of the Trump administration and the U.S. Congress to come to a budget agreement. ¹¹

The Alaska AFL-CIO supported a decision by the Alaska Supreme Court to reject rules proposed by Governor Mike Dunleavy (R)’s administration that placed new requirements on state employees seeking to join a union. The state was also ordered to pay legal fees incurred by unions fighting the rules. ¹²

In 2022, Alaska AFL-CIO opposed Proposition 1, a ballot measure that called for a state constitutional convention. ¹³

Leadership

As of 2026, Joelle Hall was the president of the Alaska AFL-CIO. She had sat on the organization’s board since 2006 and previously worked as the group’s political director. At the time, she was also a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Local 1496. Hall is a veteran of the U.S. Army. ¹⁴ In 2024, Hall earned a $178,771 salary from the Alaska AFL-CIO. ⁵

As of 2026, Kim Hays was the political director of the Alaska AFL-CIO, a position she had held since 2021. She had worked for the organization in some capacity since 2012. At the time, she was also a member of UFCW Local 1496. ^{14 15}

Funding

In 2024, the Alaska AFL-CIO reported $1,682,890 in revenue, with $444,831 coming from charitable contributions and $1,116,475 coming from program services, including $305,847 coming from union dues. ⁵

The Alaska AFL-CIO has received funding from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, including a $65,000 grant in 2020. The Sixteen Thirty Fund is a left-of-center lobbying and advocacy “dark money” organization that until November 2025 was administered by Arabella Advisors, a Washington, D.C.-based philanthropic-consulting firm that “manages several ‘dark money’ funds that support Democrats and the progressive movement.” ^{2 3} When questioned about the donation in 2022, Alaska AFL-CIO president Joelle Hall denied being involved in “dark money” since the group disclosed the source of its funds. ¹³

1. “About Us.” Alaska AFL-CIO. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://www.akaflcio.org/about-1.
2. “Sixteen Thirty Fund.” ProPublica. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/264486735/202103169349311225/IRS990ScheduleI.
3. Thayer, Parker, and Robert Stilson. “Donors to the Arabella Advisors Network.” Capital Research Center, April 24, 2024. https://capitalresearch.org/article/donors-to-the-arabella-advisors-network/.
4. “The Union Difference.” Alaska AFL-CIO. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://www.akaflcio.org/uniondifference.
5. “American Federation of Labor and Congress Of Industrial Orgs Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/920010498/202543119349303434/full.
6. Abbott, Jared; Guastella, Dustin. “One simple way to heal American politics: run more union members.” The Guardian. March 10, 2026. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/10/politics-union-members.
7. “Alaska AFL-CIO November 2024 Endorsements.” Alaska AFL-CIO. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://www.akaflcio.org/vote.
8. “Trending National Issues.” Alaska AFL-CIO. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://www.akaflcio.org/national-news.
9. “Month of Guns November 2025 Winners – Check Back Daily for Results.” Alaska AFL-CIO. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://www.akaflcio.org/month-of-guns-2025.
10. Local Issues.” Alaska AFL-CIO. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://www.akaflcio.org/local-issues.
11. Quinnell, Kenneth. “‘Put Working People First’: Unions Respond to Government Shutdown.” Alaska AFL-CIO. October 1, 2025. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://aflcio.org/2025/10/1/put-working-people-first-unions-respond-government-shutdown.
12. Maguire, Sean. “Alaska Supreme Court rejects Dunleavy administration’s plan to change union dues rules.” Anchorage Daily News. May 26, 2023. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://www.adn.com/politics/2023/05/26/alaska-supreme-court-rejects-dunleavy-administrations-plan-to-change-union-dues-rules/.
13. Sabbatini, Mark. “Big bucks back constitutional convention opponents.” Juneau Empire. October 10, 2022. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://www.juneauempire.com/2022/10/10/big-bucks-back-constitutional-convention-opponents/.
14. “Staff.” Alaska AFL-CIO. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://www.akaflcio.org/staff.
15. “Kim Hays.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 11, 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-hays-330aa882/.