Legislature(1993 - 1994)

01/18/1994 09:00 AM Senate CRA

Audio Topic
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
txt
              SENATE COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS                              
                        January 18, 1994                                       
                           9:00 a.m.                                           
                                                                               
                                                                               
  MEMBERS PRESENT                                                              
                                                                               
 Senator Randy Phillips, Chairman                                              
 Senator Robin Taylor, Vice Chairman                                           
 Senator Al Adams                                                              
 Senator Fred Zharoff                                                          
                                                                               
  MEMBERS ABSENT                                                               
                                                                               
 Senator Loren Leman                                                           
                                                                               
  COMMITTEE CALENDAR                                                           
                                                                               
 SENATE BILL NO. 2                                                             
 "An Act requiring pay equity for certain public employees and                 
 requiring the compensation of certain public employees based on the           
 value of work performed."                                                     
                                                                               
  PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION                                             
                                                                               
 SB 2 - See Community & Regional Affairs minutes dated                         
        11/3/93, 1/11/94.                                                      
                                                                               
  WITNESS REGISTER                                                             
                                                                               
 Mike McMullen                                                                 
 Manager, System Services                                                      
 P.O. Box 110201                                                               
 Juneau, Alaska 99811-0201                                                     
 POSITION STATEMENT:  Opposed SB 2.                                            
                                                                               
 Alexis Miller                                                                 
 Staff to Senator Donley                                                       
 State Capitol                                                                 
 Juneau, Alaska 99801-1182                                                     
 POSITION STATEMENT:  Reviewed SB 2.                                           
                                                                               
 Joseph Wilkey                                                                 
 P.O. Box 770290                                                               
 Eagle River, Alaska 99577                                                     
 POSITION STATEMENT:  Reviewed SB 2.                                           
                                                                               
 Teresa Anderson                                                               
 ASEA                                                                          
 1237 Kennicott                                                                
 Fairbanks, Alaska 99701                                                       
 POSITION STATEMENT:  Supported SB 2.                                          
 Jana Varatti                                                                  
 7030 Foothill Drive                                                           
 Anchorage, Alaska 99504                                                       
 POSITION STATEMENT:  Supported SB 2.                                          
                                                                               
 Richard Seward                                                                
 ASEA                                                                          
 315 Barnette Street                                                           
 Fairbanks, Alaska 99701                                                       
 POSITION STATEMENT:  Reviewed SB 2.                                           
                                                                               
 Pat Jones                                                                     
 ASEA                                                                          
 Women's Issues Committee Chair                                                
 P.O. Box 2996                                                                 
 Valdez, Alaska                                                                
 POSITION STATEMENT:  Reviewed SB 2.                                           
                                                                               
 Kathy Dietrich                                                                
 ASEA                                                                          
 1951 Red Leaf Road                                                            
 Fairbanks, Alaska 99707                                                       
 POSITION STATEMENT:  Supported SB 2.                                          
                                                                               
  ACTION NARRATIVE                                                             
 TAPE 94-3, SIDE A                                                             
 Number 001                                                                    
 The Senate Community & Regional Affairs Committee was called to               
 order by Senator Randy Phillips, Chairman, at 9:00 p.m.  He                   
 introduced  SB 2  (PAY EQUITY BASED ON VALUE OF WORK) as the only             
 order of business and noted there was a proposed substitute that              
 had been prepared by the Department of Administration.                        
                                                                               
 Number 025                                                                    
                                                                               
 MIKE MCMULLEN, Manager of System Services, Division of                        
 Personnel/EEO, Department of Administration, stated the department            
 is opposed to SB 2 in its current form, but that they have a                  
 proposed substitute that the department supports.  The most                   
 significant change eliminates from the bill any obligation to                 
 negotiate classification systems with employees.  He referred to              
 the Alaska Quantitative Evaluation System Classification of 1986,             
 explaining that the proposed implementational changes to this                 
 system are in the present bill.  Each bill would require that the             
 covered employers would develop a new classification system.                  
                                                                               
                                                                               
 Mr. McMullen discussed a letter from Joseph Wilkey, a retired state           
 supervisor, in which Mr. Wilkey describes a classic example of an             
 affirmative action plan analysis.  Mr Wilkey specified a weakness             
 in SB 2 regarding sex based wage disparity and gender based                   
 discrimination.  The language implies a cause and effect between              
 sex and wages but does not take into consideration other factors.             
 Mr. McMullen pointed out findings in the Gender Gap Report which              
 show that the target groups, state and local employees, of SB 2 are           
 already doing well.                                                           
                                                                               
 Number 245                                                                    
                                                                               
 ALEXIS MILLER, staff to Senator Donley, stated that the letter from           
 Patricia Jones, Alaska State Employees Association (ASEA) and                 
 Women's Issues Committee, specifically outlines Senator Donley's              
 concerns.  Ms. Miller emphasized that SB 2 refers to pay between              
 job classes.  SB 2 will help the state finish conducting job class            
 surveys for all state jobs and rectify any problems.  In response             
 to Senator Adam's question, Ms. Miller stated that Senator Donley             
 does not support the committee substitute.                                    
                                                                               
 Number 278                                                                    
                                                                               
 MIKE MCMULLEN said that the employer's classification system is the           
 only area taken out of collective bargaining.  Mr. McMullen gave              
 examples of contracts with collective bargaining provisions.                  
                                                                               
 Number 306                                                                    
                                                                               
 JOSEPH WILKEY of Anchorage said he has concern with some of the               
 language in the bill because the way it is worded it intrudes the             
 labor union into the state personnel management system to a degree            
 he would consider undesirable.  He added that he is not against               
 collective bargaining, but the way it is worded the public                    
 employer would have to meet with the labor union in order to come             
 up with a job evaluation system, and would then have to submit                
 their reports directly to the bargaining unit rather than to the              
 state personnel division.                                                     
                                                                               
 SENATOR TAYLOR asked if the existing draft could be amended to                
 accomplish Mr. Wilkey's concerns.  Mr. Wilkey answered that he                
 prefers taking the existing statutes, and if there are some changes           
 needed, to consider other factors that relate to the disparity                
 between wages for males and females.  Changes to the statute should           
 be limited to include just what needs to be done to make it more              
 equitable if there is a valid discrimination or factors not being             
 considered that should be considered.  Ms. Miller informed the                
 committee that a continuation of the study would determine where              
 there are job class disparities and do what Mr. Wilkey stated                 
 above.                                                                        
                                                                               
 SENATOR TAYLOR questioned the pay scales for police supervisors.              
 He cited a 37 percent pay differential between Anchorage and                  
 Wrangell police supervisors and inquired as to why such a                     
 differential existed.                                                         
                                                                               
 Number 365                                                                    
                                                                               
 TERESA ANDERSON, representing the ASEA Women's Committee, voiced              
 support for SB 2.  She emphasized the denial of the pay equity                
 problem in state employment and asked what could been done to get             
 SB 2 passed.  Furthermore, many studies and reports have been                 
 ignored even though they have consistently shown a pattern of lower           
 pay for women's jobs.  She stated that if the wage gap between men            
 and women is not closed, more people will require assistance.                 
                                                                               
 Ms. Anderson said some legislators are against SB 2, and she                  
 questioned what was wrong with paying people for what they are                
 worth, no matter if they are male or female.  She added that female           
 dominated jobs have been the lowest paid, not because they are less           
 responsible, not because they have less work hazards and not                  
 because they have less education, but because they are traditional            
 female positions.                                                             
                                                                               
 Concluding her testimony, Ms. Anderson said pay equity is a                   
 fairness issue, which affects not only women, but everyone, and she           
 urged passage of the legislation.                                             
                                                                               
 Number 415                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR TAYLOR commented that the entire basis of SB 2 seems to               
 assume that an hour's worth of work put in by anyone is equal to an           
 hour's worth of work being put in by anyone else.  He asked if                
 anyone could answer what the basis is for evaluating work and what            
 the difference is in the wages of the shoe salesman, the truck                
 driver, the equipment operator, the executive, etc., that may have            
 something to do with the job they're doing as opposed to the sex              
 that they bring to the job.  TERESA ANDERSON responded that she               
 believes right now the difference is sex based and this is the very           
 thing they want changed.  She suggested requiring equivalent                  
 education, skills, training, responsibilities and work hazard in a            
 points rating system to create fairness without regard to sex.                
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN RANDY PHILLIPS revealed that his secretary makes more                
 money than him, while he has more responsibilities than she.  Ms.             
 Anderson stated that a points rating system would clarify who                 
 actually has more responsibility.                                             
                                                                               
 Number 460                                                                    
                                                                               
 JANA VARATTI, testifying from Anchorage, said that the wage                   
 disparity in state government has been well documented in several             
 states.  She urged passage of SB 2 as it stands.                              
                                                                               
 RICHARD SEWARD, ASEA, testifying from Fairbanks noted that his 1993           
 study of state jobs in the executive branch found that a vast                 
 majority of our job classes are segregated by sex and that                    
 employees in female dominated job classes earn 30 percent less than           
 men.  Even when education is factored into the study women still              
 earn less than men at all education levels.  He asserted that there           
 should be no wage disparity between jobs traditionally held by                
 women versus jobs traditionally held by men.  He said that SB 2               
 does not affect affirmative action.  He expressed ASEA's opposition           
 to the administration's substitute bill.                                      
                                                                               
 Mr. Seward explained that collective bargaining and pay equity                
 should be connected throughout the process.  He suggested three               
 reasons for keeping collective bargaining in SB 2:  to ensure that            
 action is taken, to lower costs to the state, and to ensure better            
 decisions by using labor and management in the process.  In                   
 conclusion, he commented that ASEA wants to use collective                    
 bargaining in the implementation of the study so that the study is            
 done properly, cheaply, and that sex discrimination in wage scales            
 is eliminated.                                                                
                                                                               
 Number 562                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR PHILLIPS asked if it's the responsibility of the                      
 legislature to ensure equal opportunity or equal outcome.  Mr.                
 Seward cited equal opportunity as the legislature's responsibility,           
 outcome should be based on merit not on sex.  SB 2 talks about the            
 educational level necessary for the position not the educational              
 level of the employee.                                                        
                                                                               
 TAPE 94-3, SIDE B                                                             
                                                                               
 Number 570                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR TAYLOR stated that labor unions, in his opinion, had done             
 more to bring about wage disparity than the state itself.  He                 
 expressed that just because people have a college degree they are             
 not necessarily worth more to society nor should they achieve more            
 money.  Mr. Seward pointed out that the study will not only                   
 consider the educational level for a position but also the hazards,           
 the amount of training necessary, the amount of physical strength             
 required, and most importantly the amount of responsibility.                  
                                                                               
 Number 545                                                                    
                                                                               
 PAT JONES, ASEA, Chair of the Women's Issues Committee testifying             
 from Valdez, clarified that Mr. Wilkey's letter dealt with wage               
 disparity within one job class.  SB 2 deals with wage disparity               
 between job classes.  She voiced opposition to the draft bill due             
 to its lack of response to incumbent employees, the deletion of               
 "and the work shift" and the elimination of collective bargaining.            
                                                                               
 Number 466                                                                    
                                                                               
 MIKE MCMULLEN clarified that there is a separate statute on shift             
 differential to also include it as a factor in the classification.            
 KATHY DIETRICH, ASEA testifying from Fairbanks, explained that the            
 1991 National Caucus of State Legislatures called on federal and              
 state lawmakers to adopt comparable worth language.  She noted that           
 any collective bargaining agreements negotiated with any unions               
 (The Teamsters) have been by mutual agreement.  She urged passage             
 of SB 2.                                                                      
                                                                               
 Number 390                                                                    
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN RANDY PHILLIPS stressed that letters are always welcome              
 and that constituents are entitled to express their view and                  
 furthermore he is obligated to listen to every constituent's point            
 of view.  He said that this letter was completely unsolicited.                
                                                                               
 Chairman Randy Phillips stated that SB 2 would be taken up once               
 again the following week.                                                     
                                                                               
 Number 380                                                                    
                                                                               
 There being no further business to come before the committee,                 
 Chairman Randy Phillips adjourned the committee at 10:10 a.m.                 
                                                                               

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