Questions & Answers regarding Ratification of the Tentative Agreement

Q: What if I have more questions about the agreement? Who can I ask? A: Worksite and general membership meetings are being scheduled across the State over the next several weeks just for this purpose. Members of the Contract Negotiating Committee (CNC), Statewide and/or Chapter Executive Board members, and Union staff will attend and be available to answer your questions. Flyers announcing the meeting dates and time will be posted at the worksite and the calendar of worksite meetings is posted on the union website. You may also contact your local union office to learn of these scheduled meetings.

Q: When will I be able to vote on the tentative agreement? A: Contact ratification ballots will be sent out on July 22, 2004. Ballots will be counted on August 19, 2004. Your ballot must be received in the union’s Anchorage post office box by 8:30 am on August 19 to be counted. Your ballot must be submitted in the official business reply envelope provided with your ballot.

Q: What happens when the tentative agreement is ratified by the members and approved by the legislature? A: Once ratified by the membership and approved by the Legislature , the agreement goes into effect and will be retroactive to July 1, 2004. It is a three-year agreement, which expires on June 30, 2007. ASEA/AFSCME Local 52 union members will elect a new negotiating team to begin work on a successor agreement in late summer or early fall of 2006.

Q: What happens if the tentative agreement is not ratified by the members? A: The Contract Negotiating Committee will resume negotiations with the Murkowski Administration.

Q: If the parties resume negotiations and reach impasse will the Murkowski Administration impose the terms and conditions of this tentative agreement? A: The Employer may elect to impose its “last best offer” upon impasse. This very much depends on when this occurs. The last best offer at the time of imposition may or may not be the same terms reached in the tentative agreement.

Q: What happens on July 1, 2004 when our current contract has expired? A: We have signed an implementation letter of agreement with the State extending the terms of the current agreement until the TA is ratified by the membership and the Legislature funds it.

Q: If the membership does not ratify the tentative agreement, will the Employer increase its contribution to the health insurance on July 1st? A: The Health Trust has informed the State that the health care contribution needs to be increased by $56 on July 1, 2004. However, the Employer will not increase its contribution until three things occur: a TA is ratified by the GGU membership, the new agreement is approved by the legislature, and the increased funding necessary is appropriated by the legislature. The members’ out-of-pocket contribution for each of the options will be $56 per month higher until the new contract is approved by the legislature during the 2005 legislative session. When funding is approved each member will receive a retroactive check for the $56 deducted from their paycheck. In fact, each member will be reimbursed $58 per month as agreed to in the tentative agreement.

Q. Why did the CNC agree to a 1˝% COLA for year two when other unions got 2%? A. First, not all other unions got 2% in the second year. The SU, for example, only got 1˝%. The CNC chose to move a portion of the money that was on the table away from wages and into the health care contribution. By putting the money there we were able to hold all members harmless for the first year. The money is pre-tax so it goes farther. Also, this allowed us to get money to members in year one of the contract.

Q. Overall, is this a better deal that the other Unions got? A. It is difficult to compare contracts because they are complex documents that deal with a multitude of issues. We think we did better. We have addressed money above, but there are other key components that make up an agreement. Consider the following: ASEA SU Local 71 Holidays 12 12 11 Emergency Leave Bank YES NO NO Injury Leave Account YES NO NO Employer Health Plan Contribution Year 1 $58 ? $40 Employer Health Plan Contribution Years 2/3 Percentage increase necessary to fund the State’s Select Benefits Economy Plan at the same level of benefits that it now provides ? ? Labor/Management Committee on Weekend Differential YES NO NO Labor/Management Committee on Emergency Personnel YES NO NO Labor/Management Committee on Ergonomics YES NO NO