Dose of Reality: Teamsters Tango with Alaska Regional Hospital

In the latest in his investigation of Wells Fargo, the State of Alaska, and the sudden status of a for-profit hospital as preferred provider, Davis delves in to Alaska Regional Hospital's history.

…the present hospital was actually built and owned by Teamsters Union Local 959 in 1976. It is easily understandable why the hospital’s website does not dwell on this chapter of its history that took place during pipeline construction days.

The era of construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, 1973 to 1977, was a wild time in Alaska, and during that period the Alaska portion of the Teamsters Union, Local 959 with its 23,000 members, was making money hand over fist, taking into its pension trust funds $1 million each week. Head of Local 959 was the notorious Jesse L. Carr who in the late 1960s was charged with extortion, embezzlement, and making false claims to secure a government loan.…Under Jesse Carr’s leadership, the Teamsters Union chose to build an empire by investing in real estate and construction.