A Fair Contract

• Fair Wages
• Fair Health Benefits
• Fair Working Conditions
• Fair Treatment of Our Union

Fair Wages—The Administration is denying you a COLA adjustment two years in a row.

The State made a written proposal to us on February 11: a one-year freeze in merit steps, no wage adjustment for year one, and a two-percent wage adjustment in both years two and three. The State has not budged from this offer.

The Union made an initial proposal of five percent in each of the three years of the proposed contract. Our last counter is a $1200 lump sum payment in year one and a three percent wage increase in both years two and three.

Keep in mind that the purchasing power, in real dollars, of Alaska’s state employees has decreased between 15% and 20% in the last ten years. Moreover, state employees did not receive a COLA last year, so this proposal is two years without one. Other public sector unions have recently negotiated wage adjustments; for example the Alaska Community Colleges’ Federation of Teachers just signed a three contract that includes a 2.6% increase in year one and a 4.6% increase in both years two and three (that is 11.8% over three years).

Fair Health Benefits—The Administration wants you to trust them with your health plan.

The State is proposing that we tie the amount of our health contribution to the Economy Plan of the Select Benefit System used by those employees who do not have a health trust. This is a conceptual offer only. The State estimates that this amount will be about $40 in year one. It has no estimate for years two and three. It cannot be over emphasized that the offer we have received in writing has no dollar figure attached.

The Union offer is based on the health cost projections provided by your Health Trust. We have asked for the minimum amount from the State that our members need to continue contributing only $162 monthly from their pockets. This amount will increase the State’s monthly contribution to the health plan by $56 in the first year for a total state monthly contribution of $761, $99 dollars the second year for a total state monthly contribution of $860, and $122 for the third year for a total state monthly contribution of $982. These amounts would allow you to maintain the level of benefits that you currently receive.

Fair Working Conditions—The Administration wants you to work 40 hours for straight time and won’t even guarantee you a weekend.

The State would redefine the workweek so that there is no guarantee of two consecutive days off. The weekend is one of the first things that early union activists secured for workers. It is now something that everyone takes for granted: everyone, that is, except the Governor of Alaska.

The Administration also wants the option of requiring you to work forty hours whenever it fits the needs of the boss. They don’t want to pay overtime for this work, either. This proposal will have an immediate and direct effect on many workers, but it is really aimed at those folks who work in 24/7 institutions. Members there regularly work long weeks and right now they get paid overtime after 37.5 hours of work. This proposal would cost our members three million dollars a year in lost overtime.

Fair Treatment of Our Union—The Administration doesn’t want you to have any union rights.

Article Three of your contract says that the state will not in any manner attempt to interfere between any member and the Union. The State has proposed to insert language that would indicate an economic benefit for not joining the union. It has also proposed deleting the option for payroll deductions to the PEOPLE campaign and has proposed that at the end of the contract all dues authorization forms become null and void. This would have the effect of diverting union staff into being bill collectors, and inconvenience members by requiring them to fill out new authorization forms at the end of each contract or risk being in arrears and having a large payback. The state team has also proposed limitations on release time for Stewards and it wants to define the purposes for which we can use our own business leave.

It is clear that the focus of these proposals is to interfere in the business of the Union. The Administration does not believe that unions are beneficial to either businesses or the government and he is doing what he can to get rid of them.