Arthur A. Almon Labor Candidate School
The Arthur A. Almon Labor Candidate School is a political candidate training program for labor union members who plan to run for public office. 1 It is operated on an annual cohort basis in Anchorage, Alaska by the Alaska AFL-CIO. 2
Contents
Background
The Arthur A. Almon Labor Candidate School was created in 2022 by the Alaska AFL-CIO as a training program for union members who are interested in running for public office. 1 It teaches the fundamentals of political campaigning and campaign management to its participants. 2
It is named after late International Brotherhood of Teamsters member Arthur Almon, who died in 2014 and left his Anchorage home to the Alaska AFL-CIO in his will. 3 The union federation sold the home in 2020 with a listed price of $349,000. 4
Candidates
As of the spring of 2026, an article in the socialist, pro-labor union publication In These Times reported that eight of the 26 Almon Candidate School graduates to that point had been elected to public office. 5
As of May 2026, graduates of the Almon Candidate School were regularly supported by unions and union-aligned organizations with endorsements. In the 2025 Fairbanks municipal elections, three of the four candidates endorsed by the Alaska State Employees Association’s ASEA/American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 52 PAC were Almon Candidate School program alumni. 6