Legislature(2013 - 2014)SENATE FINANCE 532
03/25/2014 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB182 | |
| HB23 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 266 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 267 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 23 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 182 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SENATE BILL NO. 182
"An Act relating to salary differences in collective
bargaining agreements subject to the Public Employment
Relations Act that are based on a difference in the
cost of living outside the state and the cost of
living in the state; and providing for an effective
date."
9:07:52 AM
SENATOR FRED DYSON, noted that the Department of
Administration had created a spreadsheet, "Top Three
Earners - Marine Units", which charted the incomes of the
top three earners in the three bargaining units. He stated
that a point of contention in the bargaining units was that
employees with seniority got to choose routes and had first
choice of overtime hours. He said that the most senior
employees did well financially and workers lower in the
ranks were not offered a fair chance for overtime. He felt
that this could restrict a new employee's opportunities for
professional growth.
9:10:21 AM
Senator Olson asked why the bill had not been initially
presented as a fix for outdated statutes.
Senator Dyson replied that he could only speculate, but
thought that the leadership at the time had not wanted to
address a tough issue and anger the unions.
9:11:07 AM
Vice-Chair Fairclough shared that the administration had
issued a response to her question from the previous hearing
of the bill (copy on file). She wondered what the term "A-
days" meant.
NICKI NEAL, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF PERSONNEL AND LABOR
RELATIONS, DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION, replied that A-
days were typically accrued in the southwest system; an
employee accrued a day of leave for every day that they
worked. She said that when the employee was not at work
they turned in leave so that they had the ability to work
365 days a year.
9:12:32 AM
KATE SHEEHAN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF LABOR RELATIONS,
DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION, explained that for the A-days
days, with the one crew system, employees worked 3 to 6
months with no break. A day of leave was accrued for each
day worked.
9:12:53 AM
Vice-Chair Fairclough inquired whether the route of the
vessel interfered with regularly changing crews.
Ms. Sheehan replied in the affirmative. She said that the
routes were longer; crossing the Gulf of Alaska.
9:13:12 AM
Vice-Chair Fairclough asked whether employees accumulated
overtime on those long routes, in addition to the day of
leave.
Ms. Sheehan replied that it would depend; employees worked
8 hour days and could potentially accrue overtime, in
addition to the A-days.
9:13:41 AM
Vice-Chair Fairclough inquired whether the standard was 8
hours with the stipulation of 40 hours per week.
Ms. Sheehan replied that there was daily overtime; if an
employee worked in addition to 8 hours in one day, they
would receive overtime for that day.
9:14:14 AM
Vice-Chair Fairclough understood that employees were
accumulating sick leave and annual leave on top of the
earned day of leave.
Ms. Sheehan responded that it would depend on which union
the employee belonged to. She explained that the Marine
Engineers' Beneficial Association (MEBA) gave A-days or
personal leave but did not offer annual or sick leave. The
Inland Boatmen's Union (IBU) offered a choice between
annual leave, sick leave, or A-days. She furthered that
Masters, Mates and Pilots (MMP) did not accrue A-days,
instead they received a lump-sum payment in lieu of a rate.
9:14:50 AM
Vice-Chair Fairclough understood that the accrual rate
worked as such:
1 year = 2 - 4 weeks of leave (depending on your union)
2 years = 4 - 6 weeks of leave
3 years = 4 - 8 weeks of leave
4 years = 8 - 9 weeks of leave
She surmised that the cap was at 8 - 9 weeks. She queried
whether employees received annual or sick leave.
Ms. Sheehan responded that if an employee accrued annual
leave then they also accrued sick leave on days that were
not A-days.
9:15:52 AM
Co-Chair Meyer wondered how the current negotiations with
the union were going.
Ms. Sheehan replied that the administration was going into
negotiations today with MMP; unfortunately and agreement
had not been made by the 60th day, which was Friday, March
21, 2014. She said that negotiations were ongoing and that
some progress had been made, but some significant issues
were still contentious.
9:16:51 AM
Co-Chair Meyer expressed frustration that the legislature
should not be involved in the collective bargaining
process. He would leave the bill's passage up to the will
of the committee, but maintained that the legislature
should not be involved in union negotiations.
9:18:03 AM
Senator Dyson responded that the bill spoke to one
component that was in statute and was therefore not
bargain-able. He felt that the current administration had
proposed the legislation due to the impending financial
situation as a way to rein in spending. He stressed that
there was a desire to drive down the mandatory personnel
costs. He stated that the budget for personnel costs in the
Alaska Marine Highway System was alarming. He believed that
the bill was before the committee because it was the work
of the legislative finance committees to oversee cost
containment.
9:20:06 AM
Senator Dunleavy requested clarification that the bill
would take the issue out of statute but would not prevent
it from being negotiated back in sometime in the future.
Senator Dyson responded in the affirmative.
Senator Dunleavy understood that if the system found itself
struggling to find qualified workers to fill positions in
the future then incentives would be built into the
agreements of future negotiations.
Senator Dyson responded that it was possible. He noted that
there was an internal problem of employees lower in
seniority not being able to get the time it took to qualify
for the next license, which would open entry level
positions.
9:21:29 AM
Senator Dunleavy thought removing the statute would not
impact the negotiations process because it did not create a
cap on salaries or benefits.
9:22:07 AM
Senator Hoffman wondered whether the immediate effective
date could extend to a later date.
Senator Dyson responded that the hard date was meant to be
motivational.
9:23:15 AM
Senator Hoffman agreed that the legislature should not be
introducing legislation that would affect or impact
negotiations. He asserted that it was not the committee's
place to interject legislation that would color the
negotiations of the bargaining unit.
Co-Chair Meyer noted that the effective date would coincide
with the fiscal years.
9:23:52 AM
Senator Hoffman rebutted that it could take effect during a
fiscal year further in the future.
Senator Dunleavy clarified that the bill would not prevent
future negotiations and believed that the effective date
should remain as written.
9:24:32 AM
Senator Dyson said that the bargaining unit had substantial
leverage.
Co-Chair Meyer was not convinced that the effective date
needed to be changed.
Senator Dyson thought that the administration believed that
it was important that the legislation be implemented as
soon as possible. He felt that the administration had been
generous to grandfather in the existing employees. He said
that if moving the effective date was what it was going to
take for the bill to pass then so be it.
9:26:45 AM
AT EASE
9:26:54 AM
RECONVENED
Vice-Chair Fairclough MOVED to REPORT CSSB 182(FIN) out of
committee with individual recommendations and the
accompanying fiscal notes. There being NO OBJECTION, it was
so ordered.
CSSB 182(FIN) was REPORTED out of committee with no
recommendation and with a new indeterminate fiscal note
from the Department of Transportation and Public
Facilities.
9:27:15 AM
AT EASE
9:30:19 AM
RECONVENED
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB182 - opposition - Tengs 2.msg |
SFIN 3/25/2014 9:00:00 AM |
SB 182 |
| SB182 opposition Nelson.msg |
SFIN 3/25/2014 9:00:00 AM |
SB 182 |
| HB 23 - Knik Arm Bridge -Fread.msg |
SFIN 3/25/2014 9:00:00 AM |
HB 23 |
| HB 23 - Knik Arm Bridge -Fread.msg |
SFIN 3/25/2014 9:00:00 AM |
HB 23 |
| HB23 Testimony Catchpole.pdf |
SFIN 3/25/2014 9:00:00 AM |
HB 23 |
| HB023SCSCS(FIN)-DOR-KABATA-03-25-14.pdf |
SFIN 3/25/2014 9:00:00 AM |
HB 23 |
| HB023SCSCS(FIN)-DOT-KABATA 3-21-14.pdf |
SFIN 3/25/2014 9:00:00 AM |
HB 23 |
| HB23 Public testimony - French.pdf |
SFIN 3/25/2014 9:00:00 AM |
HB 23 |
| HB23 Goldsmith KABATA Senate Finance Testimony March 25 2014.docx |
SFIN 3/25/2014 9:00:00 AM |
HB 23 |