APEA/AFT

JESS Contribution to School Breakfast Program

APEAAFT — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:38:58 +0000

Every year, the Juneau Education Support Staff (JESS) generously contributes to the school district’s breakfast programs. Last week, JESS donated $2,100 between six schools who sponsor a volunteer program before school begins for hungry students. The recipients are pictured from left to right: Tom Milliron (Floyd Dryden Middle School), Cricket Curtain (JESS President), Brenda Edwards (Gastineau Elementary School), Pam Tippets (JESS Treasurer), Sarah Marino (Yaakoosge’ Daakahidi Alternative High School ), Sharon Avenson (Riverbend Elementary School), and Molly Yerkes (Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School). Not pictured: Ted Wilson (Glacier Valley Elementary School). JESS is a small union affiliated with APEA/AFT and includes the custodians, para-professionals, nurses and administrative staff employed with the school district.

“RPEA member Gary Miller of Juneau holds a sign showing support for Alaska’s existing oil tax structure in Juneau, Alaska.”

APEAAFT — Sat, 11 May 2013 00:39:33 +0000

Alaska Gambles With Major Oil Tax Cut

By Jim Malewitz, Staff Writer

Gary Miller of Juneau holds a sign showing support for Alaska’s existing oil tax structure in Juneau, Alaska. The legislature ultimately passed Gov. Sean Parnell’s tax plan and gave major oil companies a multibillion-dollar tax break. (AP)

Call it Alaska’s great gamble. The state will forgo billions of dollars in tax revenue in hopes of reversing sour economic fortunes.

Alaska, whose economy runs almost solely on oil, has fallen from its perch as the nation’s oil king at a time when energy production is surging across the lower 48 states, fueling budget surpluses in North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. This new boom puts the U.S. on track to become the world’s largest oil producer and a net exporter of natural gas by 2020.

For a variety of reasons, Alaska is losing ground in this expansion. On the last day of its session this week, Alaska’s Republican-led legislature approved a massive tax cut for top oil producers that supporters say will jumpstart a production lag threatening the state’s long-term ability to provide services.

It was a major victory for GOP Gov. Sean Parnell, a former ConocoPhillips lobbyist who has spent years trying to overhaul a progressive tax championed by former Gov. Sarah Palin in 2007 at a time when few Americans recognized her outside of the state.

“We are signaling to the world that Alaska is back, ready to compete, and ready to supply more energy once again,” Parnell said.

Whether that will be the case remains to be seen.

In a state that derives 90 percent of its revenue from oil and has no income or sales tax, this much is certain: Parnell’s experiment could make or break Alaska’s economy, providing an example for lawmakers elsewhere of how energy companies respond to dramatic changes in a state’s business climate.

Huge Tax Cut

Parnell and his supporters say the answer to Alaska’s woes is simple: Cut taxes.

Under the governor’s plan, oil companies will be taxed at a flat 35 percent rate, while a series of incentives could drive the effective rate as low as 14 percent. It will replace Palin’s progressive tax structure, called Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share (ACES). That rate began at 25 percent and eclipsed 50 percent when oil prices were high.

“This is Alaska’s most important decision in the last half of the century,” said Dan Donkel, owner of Donkel Oil and Gas, an independent producer.

On Wednesday, ConocoPhillips said it will add activity on the North Slope, spurred by the overhaul. It plans to bring another rig to Kuparuk, North America’s second largest oil field, and work with co-owners to fund a new drilling site in the area.

But a host of critics fear the worst. They call the tax plan an overt gift to Alaska’s “Big Three” oil producers — Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips and BP. Those companies have an outsize influence on a citizen legislature that includes two senators who moonlight for ConocoPhillips (the Senate bill passed 11-9, with both of them voting yes). Critics say the tax cut will do little to spur production and starve the state of billions in revenue that could help weather the economic storm.

“It effectively gives away Alaska’s oil,” said Ray Metcalfe, a former Democratic legislator who is spearheading a petition effort that would let Alaskans vote on the tax break on the 2014 ballot.

Production lag spells trouble

One line on a graph has worried Alaskans for years. Call it the North Slope’s southward slope, a nearly smooth curve showing crude oil production has plunged almost every year since 1988, when it peaked at nearly 2 million barrels per day. It has fallen to about 500,000, allowing Texas, North Dakota and California to surpass Alaska.

Between 2008 and 2012, production in the lower 48 states soared from about 4.3 million barrels per day to 5.8 million.

Alaska’s lag has meant trouble for its budget, and a threat to its permanent fund, a 37-year-old account meant to ensure the state guards its oil wealth for future generations. Last year, its revenue remained 19 percent below its peak the year before the recession, when oil prices were higher. That was the fourth biggest dive in the country, according to the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government.

Alaska isn’t the only energy state that’s struggling. Wyoming’s tax revenue has fallen almost 17 percent from its pre-recession peak, partly due to increased competition and the nose dive in natural gas prices that has accompanied the surge in activity.

But an even more troubling possibility looms in Alaska: the shutdown of the TransAlaska Pipeline System, its lifeline to the West Coast. If too little crude courses through the 800-mile- system, the pipes could freeze, corrode or experience other issues that could ultimately close it down. Under the least optimistic scenario, that could happen as early as 2026, the U.S. Energy Information Agency projected last year.

“The goal is more investment, as soon as possible, to get more oil in that pipeline,” Lance Pruitt, the state’s House Majority leader said at a press conference last month. “We can’t wait any longer.”

Tax Overhaul

Top 5 Oil Producers

(in barrels, 2012)

Texas – 721 million
North Dakota – 242.5 million
California – 195.7 million
Alaska – 192.4 million
Oklahoma – 89.6 million

Source: U.S. Energy Information Agency

The Palin policy helped the state sock away billions of dollars even as production declined. In 2008, for instance, a time of high prices and profits, it generated $6.8 billion in tax revenue, $2.4 billion more than it would have under the previous taxing policy, according to a 2010 Alaska Department of Revenue report.

But critics, led by Parnell, argue it has eroded Alaska’s competitiveness with other states, shrinking companies’ investment and ultimately driving down production.

The primary argument was that compared to other states, investors in Alaska faced a much higher “take,” the share of resources that go to the government over a project’s lifetime — a measure that can be calculated in different ways. Alaska’s average stands at 76 percent, according to a2011 report commissioned by the U.S. Department of the Interior. That’s far above Wyoming’s take (66 percent), but the same as Texas and far below Louisiana (85 percent).

Tough to assess

But relying too heavily on that statistic to compare fiscal regimes can be misleading, experts say, because it may not capture large differences in the states’ structures and, in essence, compare apples to oranges.

Alaska, for instance, owns the mineral rights of its most tapped lands, meaning it nets royalties on top of profits. That could inflate some calculations of government take, because companies would have to pay private rights holders in other states.

“Those who are unfamiliar with the shortcomings of the government take as a criterion tend to overuse it,” the Interior-commissioned report says.

Also overlooked is that producers can fetch a much higher price for North Slope oil than they could for oil produced across much of the lower 48, netting higher profits. North Dakota oil, for instance, currently sells at $25 per barrel less than what’s produced in Alaska. That is partly driven by the glut of oil in the Bakken and a lack of pipelines to send it out —an issue that’s improving, but slowly.

“[Alaska is] an extremely different market to break into,” said Bill Wielechowski, a Senate Democrat and key critic of the overhaul. “But once you do break into it, it’s an extremely lucrative place to do business.”

Some economists argue that lowering production taxes does little to spur more investment. “I don’t even think the question is really hard,” said Shelby Gerking, a professor of environmental economics at the University of Central Florida, who examined the issue for Wyoming’s legislature in 2000. “State production taxes just cut into the profits a little bit.”

Gerking says producers typically respond slowly to changes in production taxes because it can take years and millions of dollars to lay down roots in one location.

Parnell’s office did not respond to repeated questions about his legislation.

Evaluating ACES

So how has ACES affected Alaska’s economy?

That’s a tough question, largely because it’s hard to control for other market variables. The Interior-commissioned report highlights a sharp drop in new licensing in the two years after passage — despite rising oil prices — as a sign that ACES drove down investor confidence.

Parnell’s critics, however, point out the rate of Alaska’s production decline has slowed slightly in recent years, while oil and gas employment has increased as signs that Alaska’s fate under Palin’s brainchild is not all doom and gloom.

Meanwhile, several new, mostly small companies have recently entered a market that can be costly to break into because of harsh weather and environmental permitting. It appears that happened largely because of generous upfront tax breaks available under ACES, which cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars.

In the first three years of Palin’s policy, the number of companies filing production tax returns more than doubled, according to the state Department of Revenue.

That surge may soon end, however. Parnell’s policy eliminated a credit for capital investment that he said was too costly and put the state at risk of shelling out more money than it takes in during a particularly slow year.

That worries smaller companies still looking to break into the market, along with lawmakers who hope to break the big three’s oligopoly. “We’re fighting for our survival,” said Donkel of Donkel Oil and Gas, which has leased 200,000 acres in the state. He contends state regulators favor the Big Three when doling out permits.

“Basically what we’re doing is wiping out the competition,” said Rep. Chris Tuck, a Democrat.

Meanwhile, Wielechowski remains optimistic that improvements in technology and new discoveries of unconventional oil and gas open up taps on the North Slope, helping Alaska refill its coffers and keep its permanent fund permanent.

Last year, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the Slope could hold as much as 2 billion barrels of technically recoverable shale oil, along with 80 million cubic feet of shale-extracted natural gas. If the high end of the estimate proves true, it could fuel decades of development.

“With or without a tax cut,” Wielechowski said, “you’re going to see production ramp up.”

Issues:

Oil, Natural Gas

AO 63 S

APEAAFT — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:12:07 +0000

Anchorage Assembly – Please attend Tuesday 5/21!

If you are in Anchorage, please consider coming down to the Loussac Tuesday May 21. The meeting starts at 5pm. We would like to see a full audience so the Assembly knows the public is watching. If you’d like to say a few words, we hope you will, but it’s most important to make sure our Assembly members know the public is watching.

Below are some talking points on AO 63. If you would like to see the ordinance in its entirety, it is posted on the main Assembly page, you will need to scroll down just a bit.

http://www.muni.org/departments/Assembly/Pages/default.aspx

Monday 5/6/13 at an Assembly work session, Chair Ernie Hall released his newest version of a bill designed to codify the rules for public testimony.

Ironically, this bill is just as arbitrary as the current process it was seeking to ‘fix’.

Here are a couple highlights:

Currently, the Chair is in charge of determining the number of public hearings and whether or not public testimony is cut off. In the last few years, different chairs have handled it various ways.

Chairman Hall closed the public hearing before allowing all the people present the opportunity to testify (AO 2013-37 regarding labor union negotiations.)

Chairman Hall proposed to restrict testimony to those who signed up to speak on a particular night (AO 2012-124 the Title 21 land use law rewrite.)

Chairwoman Ossiander decided to hear all who wished to testify, even allowing residents from the Valley to speak, as the ordinance may have effected their workplaces (AO64)

The proposed process in AO 63 does not reduce or eliminate potential arbitrariness; it just shifts the job to the Assembly.

Under AO 63, the Assembly could decide to hold the public session open for more than one hearing and hear all testifiers, but by majority rule they could change it to a list-only option for future public hearings.

In this scenario, Assembly would be able to decide without prior public notice, that they will use a sign up sheet and also be able to limit future testimony to only those who signed the first night.

The clear intention is to limit the public’s input and make sure that the Assembly has the ability through a majority vote to silence citizens.

This situation is not an improvement over the current process. The Assembly needs to scrap this ordinance, get the community groups together without the threat of silencing our voice over our head, and work together on a process that is fair to everyone.

2013 End-of-Session Legislative Update

APEAAFT — Sun, 05 May 2013 22:57:37 +0000

By Cindy Spanyers, Legislative Liaison/Classification Coordinator in Juneau.

Although the oil companies’ pressure to reduce taxes dominated the session, education issues swirled underneath the radar as several legislators spent considerable time trying to help private and religious schools. They began with attempts to change Alaska’s Constitution to allow the nonpublic schools to receive tax money but faced formidable opposition from numerous groups and individuals, including APEA. Although SJR 9 moved from the Senate Judiciary to the Finance Committee, the measures never quite got the support they needed to pass both bodies this year. When the constitutional amendments began to fade, private school supporters switched gears and sponsored legislation to allow corporations up to $25 million in tax breaks when contributing to education including private or religious schools. Yet another bill would grant correspondence students allotments to purchase services or materials from a private or religious organization. According to Legislative Research, there are 10,000 students outside the public school system.

Where does this leave public education? The base student allocation will again remain flat this coming year, forcing school districts to absorb inflation costs beyond fuel and pupil transportation. One-time monies did pop out of House Finance on the last day of the session to help with safety and security concerns. The $21 million appropriation – more than $6 million for Anchorage – will be spread across the state for school districts to use for security cameras and miscellaneous upgrades. The appropriation was made in consultation with several school superintendents with wide latitude for the determining the best use of the money.

The budgets contain individual appropriations for individual Anchorage schools for a myriad of projects including equipment upgrades, school cafeteria tables, intercom system upgrades, furniture and a host of items personalized for each school. Most of these are found in the final version of SB 18 while SB 57 authorizes more money for pupil transportation. None of these expenditures, though, will directly help with continued loss of jobs.

The Legislature also appropriated $250,000 to establish an Education Task Force to examine 1) the ability of public schools to prepare students for rewarding careers and to examine 2) all aspects of public education funding. Chaired by Representatives Lynn Gattis (R-Mat Su) and Tammy Wilson (R-North Pole), the committee will look at numerous issues including determining the effectiveness of the allocation of administrative and instructional staff; alternative methods of addressing energy, health insurance and personnel costs; and a determination of the appropriate uses of the base student allocation.

One bill already exists pertaining to health insurance. SB 90 would force all school district employees in every school district into the state’s health insurance plan in order to expand the pool. Some 45,000 people, including dependents, would be added with the hope – theoretically – that it would lower costs. Supported by several school districts, it would cause union health trusts to dissolve. SB 90 and its companion, HB 196, were introduced late in the session and were fast-tracked. The hefty fiscal note caused the (S) Finance Committee to slow down, especially since it would practically eliminate the education fund established to forward fund education. The bill will be back next session.

Finally, pension security remains a top priority of APEA/AFT but was all but ignored by the Legislature. Senator Dennis Egan sponsored legislation with Senators Johnny Ellis, Berta Gardner, and Hollis French to allow employees to choose between a defined benefit retirement system or the defined contributions retirement plan. No hearing was scheduled. Representatives Beth Kerttula and Chris Tuck sponsored a companion bill on the House side. The unfunded liability continues to grow: $11.9 billion. The payments recommended by the actuary are $610 million for PERS and TRS but the legislature has made no effort to increase the amount in order to avoid payments of more than $1 billion in a few years.

What should we watch for during the interim and the next session? All the above issues remain in play throughout next year. In addition to those bills and the constitutional amendments, watch for HB 93 which changes how charter schools are authorized by removing input from locally elected school boards and placing the authority directly within the hands of the Governor’s political appointees through the Department of education and the State Board of Education who could authorize for-profit entities to open new charter schools. HB 93 also allows new schools to hire outside existing bargaining contracts. This bill is in (H) Education.

The overriding issues are not just individual bills. We must work to change the attitude of public officials and remind them that public schools are accountable and doing great work every day. Due to the oil tax breaks set to go into law with the passage of SB 21, there will be fewer and fewer revenues and we will have to fight for every penny.

Legislative Report –April 7, 2013

APEAAFT — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:22:06 +0000

This beautiful picture of Rep. Bob Herron and his constituent and APEA/AFT Board Member John Sargent was taken during the Juneau Board Meeting and legislative visits held at the end of March. As a Bethel city employee, Sargent was interested in PERS contributions by municipalities. The Community and Regional Affairs Committee, of which Herron is a member, introduced HB 174 to assist small communities who have lost 25% of their population but still have obligations to pay PERS based on their 2008 payroll. Three communities would qualify: Galena, Pelican and Atka. After the defined benefit PERS system closed to new members, legislation changed it from a multiple employer plan to a cost share plan with the intent to keep employers from “gaming” they system. HB 174 and SB 48, a near companion, moved from their first committee of referrals and are now in (H) Labor and (S) Finance respectively.
HB 152 is similar but much broader in scope with a fiscal note of more than $6 million. Sponsored by Rep. Steve Thompson, this bill changes how the cost for termination of employees and groups will be borne by PERS employers and the State by establishing a sliding scale to determine the costs. During a (H) Labor and Commerce Committee hearing held Friday, Rep. Andy Josephson asked if the Municipality of Anchorage would need the financial assistance if the Mayor pursued privatization under AO 37. In addition to Anchorage support, the FNSB Mayor called in to testify in favor. This bill remains in committee.
The Legislature is now under the 24-hour rule and bills are flying. For example, SB 90 and HB 196 appear to be on the fast track. If passed, they would pull every school district employee in the state—some 45,000 of them—into the state’s insurance pool under the Department of Administration. Senator Dunleavy’s bill moved out of (S) State Affairs on Saturday with only a cursory examination. AASB and the Administration Commissioner are supportive as they believe that, theoretically, a larger pool would provide more leverage to reduce health insurance rates. Both the Mat Su and Petersburg School Districts are also in favor; NEA representatives were not present but Local 71, with members in Anchorage, were opposed. SB 90 has a large fiscal note and is now in (S) Finance.
SB 95 and HB 195 also appear to be fast tracked with hearings on Monday. One section would move several SU members into exempt service.

Legislative Report – March 30, 2013

APEAAFT — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 20:30:22 +0000

Members of SU and CEA are breathing easier now that the funding for the new tentative agreements has been inserted into the budget on the Senate side. The relief might be short-lived, however, as the Senate Majority signaled structural and statutory changes in future years to reduce the budget in three areas: education, health and social services and employee costs. The administration has also contracted with a legal firm to seek advice on collective bargaining issues.

This was a big week for school districts. On Monday, three school board members held an unprecedented press conference to call attention to severe cuts at a time when there were more requirements. That afternoon, the Democratic Caucuses held a two hour hearing where constituents around the state cited the results of continued cuts: 400 lay offs in Anchorage; more than 100 in both Mat Su and Juneau; 30 in Kodiak—more than 700 jobs lost. Several speakers tied in the oil tax cut with the squeeze. In Juneau, RPEA members Gary Miller and Mary Graham testified while Valdez educators and APEA/AFT Board Members Ann Groenveld and Ellen Fisher listened intently (below). The next afternoon, Gary joined Sam Trivette and TOTEM’s Sandy Thompson at the rally for education. JESS members Pam Tippets and LuAnn Powers participated, but the local cuts will hit the nurses. The fly-in of AASB, NEA and APEA-AFT may have helped produce momentum to receive some additional funds, but not in the BSA, as the Republican leadership recently spoke of an end-of-session package. There are two weeks of the session remaining. Once the conference committee is appointed, the 24-hour rule will go in effect which will limit public notice for bill scheduling. New bills are still getting introduced, including tax credits for private schools. SJR 9 is also closer to the floor as the (S) Finance Committee takes it up this week.

Legislative Report – March 23, 2013

APEAAFT — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:46:54 +0000

A historic vote of mammoth proportions took place this past week when the Senate passed the Governor’s measure to cut oil and gas taxes. If the House concurs, the effects on the budget will be felt almost immediately as the state will receive $800 million to $1 billion less in revenues next year alone. Senator Bill Wielechowski gave impassioned arguments against the giveaway and led the charge with research and documentation. The (H) Resources Committee is currently holding hearings on SB 21.

On Friday and Saturday, the Se nate Finance Committee heard from constituents around the state asking for program cuts to be restored, especially to educational programs. In Juneau, RPEA activist Sam Trivette (with School Superintendent Glenn Gelbrich) testified on behalf of Medicaid services and school funding as did many parents, teachers and school board members. The job losses to the school districts are considerable, including the capital city which has lost more than 115 jobs. Parents gave heart-felt testimony regarding the effects of the loss of nurses, counselors, teachers, desired classes and truancy officers. On the off-net, RPEA member Ron Johnson asked the committee to support the ARMB’s resolution to deposit additional monies into PERS and TRS to offset the growing unfunded liability. The committee will take up amendments—if any—early next week before moving it to the floor.

“I just want expectations for the next few years to be centered on what is real for Alaska.” Senator Fairclough before public testimony on the budget .

The House and Senate Education Committees continue to delve into vouchers, charter schools, teacher tenure and pupil transportation. By far, the issue of “school choice” has dominated the hearings with conflicting data on student test results, costs, and whether or not existing practices were unconstitutional. In one hearing on charter schools, one person testified in favor of the bill in question so the schools wouldn’t have to hire union janitors.

Legislative Report – March 17, 2013

APEAAFT — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 21:55:59 +0000

Legislative Report

March 17, 2013

While the Senate Finance Committee continued on its quest to dramatically cut oil taxes, other legislative committees focused on

educational issues, but not for the better. Representative Beth Kerttula (pictured at the AFL-CIO conference in January) recently called for education funding to be a priority, but the House passed the operating budget with no increase to the Base Student Allocation and cuts to early education programs. The budget is now in the Senate with public hearings scheduled later this week.

The House Education Committee considered several measures including one to remove local school boards from considering new charter schools, leaving the decision with the Governor’s political appointees. The first presenter from the Center for Education Reform, calling in from Florida, was woefully ignorant of Alaska’s geography and sparse population yet was given the bulk of the committee time to testify. Public testimony then closed after the one hearing but there didn’t appear to be a desire to move the bill yet. Public testimony is still open on SJR 9, Amending the Constitution to Allow Public Monies into Religious and Private Schools. It was heard in the (S) Judiciary Committee on Friday when the sponsor of the measure testified that it was not a voucher bill (students would receive allotments) and did not, on its own, directly transfer monies into private and religious schools. The Catholic Anchor is urging church members to contact legislators in support of SJR 9. The sponsor also indicated he preferred tax credits as a form of funding school choice as opposed to the vouchers.

There are no private schools in Finland.
Source: “What Americans Keep Ignoring About Finland’s School Success” The Atlantic

The Alaska Retirement Management Board (ARMB) met last Friday and heard from RPEA members Jay Dulany and Ron Johnson about taking action on the Unfunded Liability. Their efforts helped pass a resolution calling for the Legislature to appropriate an additional $500 million into the systems in each of the next three years. ARMB Member Sam Trivette reported the motion was unanimous with the Commissioner of Revenue absent.

Parnell Administration, unions reach tentative agreement

APEAAFT — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 21:34:08 +0000

Alaska State Employees Association members rally for fair contracts at the State Office Building in late February. ASEA and the Alaska Public Employees Association, which collectively represent about 12,500 state workers, reached tentative agreements for new three-year contracts this week. Photo by Casey Kelly/KTOO.

By Rosemarie Alexander
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 6:47 am

The Parnell administration and two public employee unions have reached tentative agreement for a new three-year contract to begin in July.

The Alaska Public Employees Association settled earlier this week; the Alaska State Employees Association finished late Thursday afternoon. Both say they will recommend members ratify the proposal, which increases salaries slightly, while health benefits remain essentially unchanged from the current contract.

Negotiators from both unions say they fell short of their ambitions.

“Had to recognize that the stars were simply not aligned in our favor,” says Pete Ford, APEA Southeast Regional Manager.

“The Legislature’s been pretty specific and clear about the manners in which they want to restrain advances in employee compensation and bring about some restrictions, and the administration has similar concerns,” he says.

State law requires that financial terms of the agreements be presented to lawmakers by Friday, March 15, the 60^th day of the legislative session.

In a mid-February letter to Gov. Sean Parnell, Senate President Charlie Huggins, House Speaker Mike Chenault and chairmen of both finance committees urged the administration to “hold the monetary terms of the contracts at zero.”

Negotiations were well underway.

Unions bargain with the administration, not the legislature. Still, Ford says, it was clear the letter had a chilling effect on state negotiators.

“Areas where we thought there might be movement tended to close down and the administration recognized what the legislature was saying and it certainly impacted or appeared to impact their flexibility at the table,” Ford says.

APEA represents about 2,200 members of the Supervisory Unit and 210 Confidential Employees Association members; ASEA represents about 8,000 workers in the General Government Unit. The proposal calls for salary increases of 1 percent in each of the first and second years of the contract, and 2.5 percent in the third year.

Deputy Administration Commissioner Curtis Thayer was at the negotiating table. He says the letter from legislative leaders made the path clear for state negotiators.

“That’s one of the reasons I think we were successful in getting the one /one (percent raise) in the first two years of the contract,” he says. “Quite frankly, the unions came in quite a bit higher, but I think it set the tone for continuing negotiations knowing what the fiscal outlook is for production and the price of oil. It had an effect. It did.”

ASEA business manager Jim Duncan says the atmosphere surrounding bargaining this year was difficult. He calls it a modest contract.

“We’re going to recommend that members ratify it because it’s the best we could do under this atmosphere. It’s got gains in it for the membership but not clearly to the level we would like to have had,” he says.

One gain comes for long term employees. Those who have worked for 15 years or more will get an additional day of annual leave deposited to their account.

But Thayer says state employees hired after July 1, 2013 will earn fewer hours of annual leave for days worked.

He says a cap will also be put on annual leave.

“People that have over a thousand hours, they’re grandfathered in, but for new employees, there will be a cap of no more than a thousand hours,” he says.

According to Thayer, the state’s total leave liability is more than $164 million and the leave reduction and cap are an important part of the proposed contracts.

“The whole idea around leave is to take it. Take time off, recharge your batteries. come back with a fresh perspective,” he says.

The proposed contract also will require state employees take at least two weeks a year of personal leave, he says.

The unions will begin a series of meetings at works sites around the state to explain the tentative agreement, then ask members to vote in favor.

If You Oppose Vouchers, Please Speak Up!

APEAAFT — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 19:02:34 +0000

If You Oppose Vouchers, Please Speak Up!

Public Testimony on Vouchers, Friday, March 15^th

This Friday, March 15^th, the Senate Judiciary Committee will take public testimony on SJR 9, the Constitutional Amendment to allow public money to be spent supporting religious and private schools by deleting the following language from the Alaska Constitution:

“No money shall be paid from public funds for the direct benefit of any religious or other private educational institution.” – Art. 7, Sec. 1

The hearing begins at 1:30 with one bill listed first (HB 69 Exempt Firearms from Federal Regulation) before public testimony on SJR 9.

The first hearing on SJR 9 will take place on Wednesday, March 13^th, also at 1:30 p.m. and you can watch on your computer by going to Legislative TV

http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/index.php and finding the (S) Judiciary Committee’s stream.

If you would like to testify, please go to your local LIO or contact APEA/AFT’s Legislative Liaison, Cindy Spanyers at 907-586-2334.

Emails are also welcome and the committee members are:

Sen.John.Coghill@akleg.gov

Sen.Lesil.McGuire@akleg.gov

Sen.Fred.Dyson@akleg.gov

Sen.Donny.Olson@akleg.gov

Sen.Bill.Wielechowski@akleg.gov

And don’t forget to add your own legislator and each email address is the same: Sen.First.Last@akleg.gov and Rep.First.Last@akleg.gov

The companion measure, HJR 1, is in (H) Education and may come up at any time. However, committee staff indicated it would likely be scheduled for next week with public testimony remaining OPEN. Those committee members are as follows:

Rep.Lynn.Gattis@akleg.gov

Rep.Lora.Reinbold@akleg.gov

Rep.Gabrielle.LeDoux@akleg.gov

Rep.Dan.Saddler@akleg.gov

Rep.Paul.Seaton@akleg.gov

Rep.Peggy.Wilson@akleg.gov

Rep.Harriet.Drummond@akleg.gov

Here’s why we don’t support a Constitutional amendment and oppose SJR 9:

Alaskan Constitutional Delegates gathered in Fairbanks in 1955-56 were concerned with the dual system of education at that time: one run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and one by the Territory of Alaska. The delegates wished to create a unified school system free from sectarianism and partisanship.
Language in our Constitution prohibiting public funds directly benefiting religious or other private educational institutions has withstood court challenges.
Religious and private schools can legally discriminate. Choice is not necessarily in the hands of the parents: the schools pick and choose whom they accept.
Public schools have layers of accountability, standards, and transparency. Private and religious schools are exempt from most of the same responsibilities.
Through elected representatives to our school board and other elected bodies, the public has input in matters pertaining to public schools. The public has no say in the operation of private or religious schools.
Graduation rates and grades do not automatically improve in religious and private schools. Studies in Milwaukee, Cleveland, the District of Columbia, and Racine, Wisconsin demonstrate that, statistically, there is no noticeable difference between the students’ success rates. In fact, those voucher schools were less likely than public schools to have programs for English language learners or to have programs for students with learning problems. Parents of those children kept their children in public schools.
Opening the floodgates to divert public monies to private and religious schools is not sustainable.
Without the constitutional prohibition, private and religious schools could also draw from local property and sales tax dollars.

If you would like more information about testifying and sending messages, feel free to contact APEA/AFT’s Legislative Liaison, Cindy Spanyers at 907-586-2334.