Dustin Every

What is unusual about your hometown, workplace or job?

My co-workers and I commute to our jobs at Prudhoe Bay by plane. We live in camps while working two weeks on, two weeks off, at a remote production site about 380 miles from the North Pole. It’s extremely cold. It’s dark all the time. We have to go through polar bear awareness training. 

What does this year’s theme, “Everybody’s Union” mean to you?

We’re welcoming. We want people to exercise the right to organize, and we support people’s right to do so in all industries. 

What issues will be important when your Local’s contract expires?

The local has experienced an influx of new members, many of whom never belonged to a union before. We need to engage these newcomers in the union and help them to understand that the USW had to fight for every benefit in our contract. 

What’s your go-to dance move?

The “Hokey-Pokey,” I guess. I’m not much of a dancer. 

Who would you most like to have dinner with, and why?

George Carlin because of how he bridged life and politics. 

What things have you done or hope to do while you’re here?

Network with people, something that’s difficult to do in Alaska. t’s an opportunity to get face time with leaders in the District. 

Have you yet decided how you will put the convention to work when you return home?

Talk to co-workers about the breadth of the USW’s membership and the wide array of resources available to help them on and off the job.I think the message to share with people is, we’re not alone.