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Strike update: State has refunded $584,000 in ferry tickets

Suzanne Downing
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16
Strike update: State has refunded $584,000 in ferry tickets

PRIVATE SECTOR STEPPING UP, DOT PUTTING STRANDED TRAVELERS UP ON SHIPS

The Alaska Department of Transportation has refunded more than $584,000 in ferry tickets and freight fares, and is helping stranded travelers find private carriers to move themselves and their cars between ports to ease the inconvenience of the sudden strike of the Inland Boatman’s Union, which shut down the State ferry system on Wednesday.

The strike is indefinite.

That $584,000 will now go to the private sector carriers along the coastline as the State has enlisted the help of companies such as Alaska Marine Lines and others, said Commissioner of Administration Kelly Tshibaka today in a phone call with reporters. Other carriers that are picking up passengers include Alaska Air, Harris Air, Taquan Air, Alaska Seaplanes, and Allen Marine.

DOT is allowing stranded travelers who are without funds for high-season hotels to simply remain onboard the vessels, but no meal services are available. Two other ferry unions are not striking, but the IBU is in charge of meals.

The strike of the Inland Boatman’s Union may have been sudden, but it was calculated for this week, the beginning of the Southeast Alaska State Fair, when the sudden lack of ferries would exact the most amount of harm on communities and economies across Southeast Alaska. There are Boy Scout troops trying to get to the Yukon River, and hunters heading to the Interior for scheduled hunting trips. All are being inconvenienced by the IBU.

The union could have waited two hours to call the strike, and if so, the Columbia, which was in Ketchikan, would have already been underway to Bellingham. Instead, those travelers have been stranded.

As the private sector begins to adjust to getting people and freight where they need to go, it now has a small window of opportunity to show what private carriers can do if they don’t have to compete with state-subsidized ferries.

Alaska Airlines has rerouted one of their flights so it can take students from Juneau, where they had been at Echo Cove Bible Camp, back to their homes in Wrangell. Allen Marine has added new schedules for the Southeast Alaska State Fair.

The inconvenience caused by the union, and the lives that may be lost due to the union action, underscores the need for more roads in Southeast Alaska, particularly the road from Juneau to Katzehin.

[Read: DOT going ahead with road, dock at Cascade Point]

Private landing crafts that work as fish tenders may be called into service to run groceries into towns such as Angoon and Elfin Cove. Those companies that have Coast Guard certification to move passengers might find themselves adding runs to and from Northern Lynn Canal communities to help people get to the fair.

Commissioner Tshibaka today said that one reason the strike is illegal is because the IBU included an item on their strike justification that made the entire strike an unfair labor practice. That is the item relating to the Cost of Living Differential. She said the entire strike needs to be called off because of that.

She also said that her department has been contacted by many members of the IBU who disagree with the strike.

Tshibaka said the IBU is demanding free health care, getting paid for hours they are not working, the power to dictate their own schedules, and unprecedented wage increases. These items are tough for a state that is in a budgetary crisis, she said.

“The State has come a long way in trying to reach resolution,” Tshibaka said, and asked IBU to return to the bargaining table and allow a federal mediator to help the two sides come to an agreement.

‘Thanks a Million’ victory cruise for John Sturgeon legal fees

Suzanne Downing
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1
‘Thanks a Million’ victory cruise for John Sturgeon legal fees

HEAD TO FAIRBANKS AND GO ON THE RIVERBOAT DISCOVERY II WITH A FOLK HERO

John Sturgeon battled for over a decade for Alaskans and their right to use the navigable waters of the state as their highways. He took the National Park Service to court and fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court — not once, but twice — to make the case that “Alaska is different.”

His case, Sturgeon v. Frost (National Park Service) is now legend after he won 9-0 this year on his second appearance before the nation’s highest court.

But the legal fees were $1.2 million.

Sturgeon, a hunter who had used his hovercraft to access the Nation River in the Yukon Charley National Wildlife Preserve, is a folk hero, and his friend Craig Compeau of Fairbanks is putting together a fundraiser to help him with the legal fees.

[Read: Breaking: Sturgeon wins 9-0 at Supreme Court]

Called “Thanks a Million,” the event will be held on the Riverboat Discovery II in Fairbanks on Aug. 6. Tickets, which are $50, can be found at this EventBrite site. There will be a short auction with great outdoors toys to bid on.

Meet the man who spent 12 years and $1.2 million fighting for the rights of Alaskans.

Also meet Robert Barnes, a reporter for the Washington Post since 1987, who will be on hand to cover the story of John Sturgeon and the Alaskans who have assisted with his historic court case.

Must Read Alaska’s editor Suzanne Downing will be there as well, and will be happy to hear your point of view on issues of the day.

There’s limited space available on Riverboat Discovery II. Dress is casual. Dinner will be prime rib sandwiches, side dishes, and a cash bar.

Before the event, a private cocktail party for donors who bring a $2,000 check with them will take place at a private home along the Chena River. Contact [email protected] to reserve your spot in this small-group event with Sturgeon and some of his loyal supporters.

Compeau set the fundraising goal at $60,000 net, he told Must Read Alaska.

Human Rights Commission disarray: Hostile work environment?

Suzanne Downing
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23
Human Rights Commission disarray: Hostile work environment?

The Human Rights Commission is once again in turmoil, after Executive Director Marilyn Stewart was shown the door after just two weeks on the job.

From interviews conducted by Must Read Alaska, it appears that Stewart was not the hire-of-choice for Chairwoman Debbie Fullenwider, who has orchestrated a coup against Stewart. Fullenwider felt that Stewart, who applied for the job and had been working in the Governor’s Office, was shoved down her throat.

Fullenwider had already lined up an interim executive director to step in the moment Stewart was released. Nanette Gay was also the interim director when the previous executive director resigned under pressure.

[Read: Human Rights Commission director resigns over Black Rifles Matter dustup]

A letter from Marcus Sanders to Chairwoman Fullenwider and his fellow commissioners was sent anonymously to Must Read Alaska. In the letter, Sanders, who is the commission’s vice chairman, outlined the events as he saw them unfold:

Sanders said that on July 17, a meeting was held with Stewart at the request of Fullenwider at the commission office in Anchorage. Sanders described it as a non-public meeting that had, in attendance, Fullenwider, Vice Chairperson Sanders, Commissioner David Barton, Administrative Officer Toyia Del Valle and Commission Secretary Shari Ketchum.

Stewart asked that the two staff members leave the meeting so the participants could speak confidentially. The pay for Stewart was one of the topics to be discussed.

“While addressing issues, at some point in the discussion between Chairperson Fullenwider and Executive Director Stewart, the conversation became heated and confrontational. I was a little disappointed in the actions of Chairperson Fullenwider. I felt she showed little respect toward the Commission’s new Executive Director. I felt some of the comments made did not represent the Commission and what the Commissioners and the Human Rights Commission stands for,” Sanders wrote.

“I am not writing to destroy or tear down anyone. I would like to use this incident as a learning tool. Moving forward my desire is that we treat everyone including Commissioners and staff with mutual respect and honor. I realize that in the past there has been some tension in the office around recent events concerning former Executive Director Marti Buscaglia. The Alaska State Commission for Human Rights is getting past these highly unusual circumstances and moving toward the future. My hope is that in the future we are able to work out our differences and work together to build trust with one another and the citizens of Alaska that we serve,” he wrote.

Sanders’ letter said that Fullenwider questioned Stewart’s qualification and said the commission had lost confidence in her.

“In making that statement, Chairperson Fullenwider was speaking for herself and not for the entire Commission. I personally do not agree with statements that were made. The entire Commission reviewed and vetted Marilyn’s resume. As a body, the Commission came to a consensus that Marilyn was the most qualified and we wanted her to be our new Executive Director. The Commissioners placed our confidence in her ability to run the day to day operations of the Human Rights Commission representing the Commission,” Sanders wrote.

“With regards to the issue of pay, Marilyn had some legitimate questions. She followed proper protocol and expressed those concerns. Marilyn is fully within her rights to be asking these questions. I fully support her right to ask those questions. Once Marilyn concerns were conveyed to the Chairperson, the next step is for the Commission to hold a public meeting and discuss this issue during executive session,” Sanders wrote. “We will be discussing the issues raised and the question of whether there is money available in the budget. A decision will be made by the entire Commission operating as one body.”

But then, Sanders wrote, Fullenwider addressed Stewart: “I am not going to get in a pissing match with you.”

“I felt that statement was disrespectful and highly unprofessional. Statements like that should be left at home and not used at the office,” Sanders wrote. “That statement can be misconstrued in multiple ways. During the course of one of our investigations, if an employer made that statement investigations might conclude that the employee had been subject to a hostile work environment among other conclusions. This statement made by Chairperson Fullenwider made me personally uncomfortable and I found it offensive. I think she should apologize.”

During the meeting, the three male commissioners all voted to retain Stewart, while the four female commissioners voted to fire her. Fullenwider was heard to remark that perhaps Stewart works better with men than women.

As for Stewart, she says she is in a state of shock, because she had no idea that she was being immediately terminated. But the sequence of events shows that the four commissioners who voted to remove her had prearranged to retain Nanette Gay as the interim executive director, which indicates planning had taken place prior to the meeting with Stewart.

House Majority adds $284 million back to budget

Suzanne Downing
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32
House Majority adds $284 million back to budget

PFD IS IN SEPARATE BILL AND IS NOW $1,605 PER ELIGIBLE ALASKAN

A bill that was originally intended to fund the Permanent Fund dividend ended up with no dividend at all, but added back $284 million in spending in the Operating Budget for the current Fiscal Year 2020

That means the cuts to the Operating Budget, once at $444 million through Gov. Michael Dunleavy’s vetoes, are much more modest.

With the House add-backs, spending reductions are just $160 million.

HB 2001 returns $110 million to the University of Alaska system, and $77 million for Medicaid. It also adds back $5 million for the Alaska Marine Highway System, and restores funds to public radio, the State Arts Council, Alaska Legal Services Corp., Alaska Seafood Marketing, myriad education programs and $20 million for the Senior Benefits Program, an entitlement for low- to moderate-income Alaskans over the age of 65.

The measure now goes to the Senate for its consideration. Must Read Alaska has learned the Senate is likely to accept the bill “as is.”

Members of the Republican House Minority said they felt double-crossed by the Democrat-led Majority, because they had agreed to put the full $3,000 Permanent Fund dividend in this bill, but when it got to the floor, it had no such provision.

The bill passed along caucus lines.

The House Democrat-led Majority has a new PFD bill, HB 2003, which moved out of Finance Committee and is in the third reading on the House floor. The funding source for the PFD is entirely decoupled from the oil revenues from the Permanent Fund Earnings Reserve Account.

Starting this year, if HB 2003 passes, the dividend will have to compete with government program spending, and in future years, it will not compete well, critics say. In fact, the dividend has already been cut by 53 percent from the statutory amount of $3,000 and is likely to get smaller and smaller, as legislators cannot control their appetite for spending.

HB 2001 and HB 2003 are almost metaphors for what is the big question: Shall government and university administrators get paid, or will the people receive their dividends? It’s become an us-vs-them debate in Alaska, between the working class and the professional class.

The argument that Gov. Dunleavy has repeated throughout his presentations in the past two years reflects what is happening in the Legislature this week: The dividend, if not paid according to statute — whatever that statutory amount is — will be gone in this decade.

PFD HOLIDAY?

Another concept heard around the Capitol in recent days is the term “PFD Holiday,” the idea that the Legislature may simply not pay the PFD for a year or more and characterize it as a time-out period. It’s a concept that has yet to be heard in the public arena.

Whether it’s half a dividend or a PFD Holiday, the current actions in the Legislature are likely to draw a referendum by PFD activists, which would appear on next year’s General Election ballot.

Berkowitz declares state of civil emergency

Suzanne Downing
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31
Berkowitz declares state of civil emergency
Last week, Mayor Ethan Berkowitz all but gave his blessing to the Occupy to Overcome group that had set up a tent city on the Delaney Park Strip.
This week, Berkowitz has declared a state of civil emergency in Anchorage, which will last 48 hours or more. It is his response to the city’s shelters losing $5.8 million in state grants.
For some, it was political theater from a mayor who on social media describes himself as liking “bloodsport” politics.
For others, it was two years too late — Anchorage has been in a death spiral under his watch.
Civil emergencies are reserved for earthquakes, floods, fires, and terrorism. There’s nowhere in America that a civil emergency has been called because a state refused to pay for a city’s homeless services. Certainly, San Francisco hasn’t declare a state of emergency because the state refused to give grants to private nonprofit shelters.
Seattle’s mayor called for a civil emergency due to a severe winter storm that was approaching the city in February.
In Alaska, they’re now for government budget cuts that were known about since February.
In Anchorage, $5.8 million is one percent of the city’s budget.
The way Berkowitz explains it is that the civil emergency is to address the impacts of state budget cuts that “pose dire and imminent public health and safety risks.”
Municipal Code 3.80.060 allows the mayor to make use of all available resources of the municipal government, including municipal personnel, to cope with an emergency.
That may include reassigning city workers to work in areas not covered in their union contracts in order to protect the public safety, health, and welfare.
It’s the closest tool he has to reorganize workflow across departments, because only a governor can declare martial law.
Earlier this month, Berkowitz gave his tacit approval to Occupy to Overcome encampments that had taken over the Delaney Park Strip in downtown Anchorage.
“This is an unprecedented decision for an unprecedented situation,” Berkowitz said. “Existing shelters have lost funding at a time when demand for their services is projected to skyrocket. First responders and health care professionals are anticipating a massive surge in 911 and emergency room calls, and it is imperative that we meet this impending humanitarian crisis with the resources that we deploy when responding to all emergencies.”
Berkowitz is giving advanced notice that this not his fault — it’s Gov. Michael Dunleavy’s.
Some say Berkowitz already has an emergency: Anchorage has an unprecedented street drug and alcohol problem, human trafficking, murder rates exceeding historic records, and gangs running criminal organizations across the city that have made Anchorage a notorious crime center in the United States.
Berkowitz also has a port that is collapsing, and under his watch the cost of repairs have gone from $300 million to over $2 billion. He has a software problem with the SAP payroll system that is now well over $100 million.
Berkowitz has exploded the municipal budget from under $471 million before he took office in 2015 to $524 million in 2019.
The mayor’s reasons include:
  • $5.8 million cut in Anchorage-specific services to homeless, resulting in a projected 800 more unsheltered homeless in our community, adding significantly to the burden of first responders and pushing vulnerable individuals and families beyond their tipping point;
  • the temporary closing of Brother Francis Shelter, forcing 240 homeless individuals to become immediately unsheltered on Aug. 1, and the dramatic reduction of services by 140 people after its reopening on Aug. 5;
  • cuts to Medicaid, senior benefits, legal services, food banks, domestic violence case management and support, and behavioral health, causing public health and public safety emergencies and the eviction of our most vulnerable residents;
  • 41 percent cut to state’s contribution to the University of Alaska, resulting in the projected loss of 700 jobs in Anchorage and projected to push Anchorage into recession.
The Mayoral Proclamation of Civil Emergency is in effect for 48 hours. It began at 3 pm on July 24, 2019. The Anchorage Assembly must meet on Friday to deliberate and vote on an extension of the declaration. Proclamation of Emergency is at this link.

Human Rights Commission upheaval: Stewart is out as executive director

Suzanne Downing
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20
Human Rights Commission upheaval: Stewart is out as executive director

The Alaska Human Rights Commission today voted 4-3 to remove Marilyn Stewart as executive director, after she had only spent two weeks on the job.

Stewart was hired by the volunteer board after the previous executive director was fired for harassing a worker who had been doing contract repairs on the building where the commission is located.

The three men on the commission voted to retain Stewart, while the four women on the commission voted to let her go. No further information has been released by Chairwoman Debbie Fullenwider.

This story will be updated.

IBU calls strike, State says it would be an illegal strike

Suzanne Downing
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18
IBU calls strike, State says it would be an illegal strike

The Inland Boatman’s Union has called a strike, as a result of the impasse between the State and the union.  Word has reached Must Read Alaska that the ferries are being tied up as they reach their next port.

A letter from Commissioner of Administration Kelly Tshibaka was sent to the IBU workforce today saying that she hopes the strike will not take place before efforts to reach an agreement are “fully exhausted,”

“In my opinion, a strike should be an action of last resort, not first resort,” she wrote.

Tshibaka’s letter continued:

“As you may know, the Department of Administration (DOA) has been in negotiations for a new contract with the IBU for some time now. While no new contract agreement has yet been reached, I hope that the IBU will continue meeting with the State and we will soon have our agreement.

“On multiple occasions over the last week, in a spirit of good faith, we asked IBU leadership for another meeting with us and the Federal Mediator and suggesting the State had some new ideas to bridge our differences. The IBU has chosen to not meet with us, and instead focus more on an unnecessary strike vote.

“If we have a strike, the Alaska Marine Highway system may well be shut down and many State residents and visitors may well be adversely affected, some in a very serious and hurtful way. It is unfortunate that such unnecessary harm will be put upon on our friends, fellow employees, neighbors and visitors. We urge all employees to report for work as scheduled.

“We have been asked what happens to employees’ pay and benefits during a strike and how long thestrike may last. First, an employee on strike will, of course, receive no pay from the State for any time spent on strike. Second, employees on strike may have to pay all their premium costs for their health insurance through COBRA, or possibly lose their entire coverage, depending upon circumstances. Third, we have no idea how long a strike will last.

“Finally, the State believes that any strike is unlawful and unprotected. If this is true, then striking employees could be subject to discipline, including termination, for striking in support of illegal bargaining proposals.

“If you have questions about the open issues in the negotiations, please contact your IBU leadership.

“I hope this communication answers some of the questions you may have about possible personal impacts of a strike. If you have further questions, please submit them in writing to the Division of Personnel and Labor Relations ([email protected]) for our response and answer.

[Read: State, ferry workers at impasse; strike imminent]

Coast Guard bill passes House, onward to Senate

Suzanne Downing
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1
Coast Guard bill passes House, onward to Senate

The U.S. House passed H.R. 3409 – the Coast Guard Authorization Act, with funding for the Coast Guard and Federal Maritime Commission through 2021. According to the office of U.S. Congressman Don Young, the measure has several Alaska-specific provisions supported by Congressman Young. The bill now goes to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

Alaska-specific provisions supported by Congressman Young in this legislation include:

  • Language mandating that the Coast Guard complete a route study on the Chuckchi Sea, Bering Strait, and Bering Sea within one year as well as complete a route study on the Alaska Arctic coast within five years to help facilitate the movement of vessel traffic.
  • Two coastwise endorsements for Alaska operators to support the state’s tourism industry.
  • Clarifies conveyance of Coast Guard property at Point Spencer to be carried out in a timelier manner.
  • Relief for small and uninspected passenger vessels rebuilt in the United States to allow domestic use along coasts.
  • Establishing of a demonstration program through the Coast Guard to assess the feasibility of using unmanned aircraft systems for operations in the Arctic.

State, ferry workers at impasse; strike imminent

Suzanne Downing
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34
State, ferry workers at impasse; strike imminent

STATE TYING UP BOATS, REFUNDING TICKETS

Talks are now at an impasse between the State of Alaska and the Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific (IBU), one of three unions that represent Alaska Marine Highway System state workers. IBU has rejected contract offers made by the State.

The IBU has announced it will strike as early as Wednesday.

IBU represents approximately 430 unlicensed crewmembers on state ferries who perform the unlicensed work on vessels, including the deck, engine and hospitality side of ferry operations. The other two unions have agreed to contracts, and IBU is a holdout.

“Contract negotiations have been ongoing since December 2016 and, every offer – including concessions on pay increases, lump sum payments, and benefit enhancements – has been turned down by the IBU,” said Commissioner Kelly Tshibaka.

“Over the course of two-and-a-half years, the State met with the IBU 38 times, only a few of them with the Dunleavy administration, and participated in mediated sessions to address its requests in good faith. It is our goal to agree to a contract that is fair and equitable to both IBU employees and the State. We bumped up our last offer 25% because we do not want to disrupt coastal operations in the height of Alaska’s tourism season,” she said.

The Department of Administration is responsible for negotiating state worker union contracts.

One of the existing contract terms the union seeks to eliminate is the current cost of living differential, which ensures equity by preventing employees who live out-of-state from receiving a higher salary than their counterparts who live in-state.

The IBU wants all out-of-state employees to get the same salary as Alaskan employees. The IBU further requests uncommon wage increases – increases most other unionized state employees have not received – and that the State continue covering health care costs with no contribution from IBU employees.

During the latest negotiations, the State sought to keep the existing cost of living differential, to offer wages that are fiscally responsible and fair to employees, and to require employees make health care cost contributions of $60/month for individual coverage and $160/month for family coverage.

The State offered a one-time lump sum payment of $1,500 to offset employee health care costs that would be included with employees’ first paycheck in January 2020.

Under the previous administration, the State offered IBU employees a 5% pay increase over 3 years, but IBU rejected that offer as well. 

The IBU wants a 9 percent pay increase over the next three years, free coffee and water for employees on the ships, and giving workers the power to choose which ships they work on.

If agreed upon, this would effectively take away the State’s ability to manage the ferries and its employees in the most efficient, safe and cost effective manner possible.

“We are disappointed that the Inlandboatmen’s Union is considering an economic strike against the Marine Highway System. Our offer, in context with other labor contracts, is fair on economic terms,” said John MacKinnon, Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Transportation.

“This is the busiest time of year for the Alaska Marine Highways and a shutdown of the ferry system will impact residents, visitors and commerce,” he said.

“At this time, we will focus on the safety of the passengers, crew and vessels. We plan to return ships to safe harbor with adequate shore side support and contact ticketed passengers to work with them to continue their journey, reschedule or offer refunds,” MacKinnon said.

“Our leadership team at the DOA has made every effort to address the IBU’s requests without further compounding our State’s ballooning deficit. It would be a dereliction of our duty, both to the IBU and to all Alaskans, for us to enter into a Bargaining Agreement that would benefit the IBU in the short-term but would further imperil the health, well-being, and future of all Alaskans in the long-term,” Commissioner Tshibaka said.

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