Legislature(2023 - 2024)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/15/2023 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation(s): Workforce Challenges in Alaska from the Perspective of Masters, Mates, and Pilots | |
| Presentation(s): Workforce Challenges in Alaska from the Perspective of Public Employees Local 71 | |
| Presentation(s): Workforce Challenges in Alaska from the Perspective of Southcentral Alaska Building Trades | |
| Presentation(s): Workforce Challenges in Alaska from the Perspective of the Alaska American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE
February 15, 2023
1:32 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Jesse Bjorkman, Chair
Senator Click Bishop, Vice Chair
Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson
Senator Kelly Merrick
Senator Forrest Dunbar
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION(S): WORKFORCE CHALLENGES IN ALASKA FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF MASTERS, MATES, AND PILOTS
- HEARD
PRESENTATION(S): WORKFORCE CHALLENGES IN ALASKA FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES LOCAL 71
- HEARD
PRESENTATION(S): WORKFORCE CHALLENGES IN ALASKA FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA BUILDING TRADES
- HEARD
PRESENTATION(S): WORKFORCE CHALLENGES IN ALASKA FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF THE ALASKA AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND
CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
SHANNON ADAMSON, Vice-President
Masters, Mates and Pilots (MM&P)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave invited testimony on workforce
challenges facing Masters, Mates and Pilots.
JORDAN ADAMS, Business Manager
Public Employees Local 71
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave invited testimony on workforce
challenges facing Public Employees Local 71.
BRONSON FRYE, President
Southcentral Building Trades
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave invited testimony on workforce
challenges from the perspective of Southcentral Building Trades.
JOELLE HALL, President
Alaska American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial
Organizations (AFL-CIO)
Peters Creek, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave invited testimony on workforce
challenges from the perspective of the Alaska AFL-CIO.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:32:08 PM
CHAIR JESSE BJORKMAN called the Senate Labor and Commerce
Standing Committee meeting to order at 1:32 p.m. Present at the
call to order were Senators Gray-Jackson, Merrick, Dunbar, and
Chair Bjorkman. Senator Bishop arrived shortly thereafter.
^PRESENTATION(S): WORKFORCE CHALLENGES IN ALASKA FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF MASTERS, MATES, AND PILOTS
PRESENTATION(S): WORKFORCE CHALLENGES IN ALASKA FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF MASTERS, MATES, AND PILOTS
1:32:51 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN announced the committee would continue its
exploration of workforce issues in Alaska from the perspective
of labor unions. The committee will hear from the following
labor unions today: Masters, Mates and Pilots, Public Employees
Local 71, Southcentral Building Trades, and the Alaska American
Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
(AFL-CIO). He invited Shannon Adamson, representing Masters,
Mates and Pilots, to put herself on the record and begin her
testimony.
1:33:33 PM
SHANNON ADAMSON, Vice-President, Masters, Mates and Pilots
(MM&P), Juneau, Alaska, gave invited testimony on workforce
challenges facing members of MM&P. She said MM&P represents
licensed deck officers with the Alaska Marine Highway System
(AMHS). She noted that she retired in August but is available to
offer perspectives on these maritime groups:
- Masters, Mates and Pilots
- Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (MEBA)
- Inland Boatmen's Union (IBU).
MS. ADAMSON emphasized the most important detail to know about
these licensed maritime workers is how highly sought after they
are for their skills. They can easily transfer to other,
sometimes more desirable, positions. The Offshore Division, out
of the MM&P Hall, earns approximately 40 to 60 percent more than
members make at AMHS. The pilot group can earn up to 2.5 times
more elsewhere. The Tier IV retirement system is not a hook; it
does not incentivize workers to stay with AMHS. She said MM&P
members are responsible for vessels when underway and during
some maintenance periods. Members have a liability if something
happens to a vessel. She noted that deferred maintenance had
become a big issue and a deterrent to working on AMHS vessels;
members do not want the added liability associated with deferred
maintenance issues.
MS. ADAMSON offered the following solutions to the current
workforce challenges:
- A huge recruitment and retention tool for marine workers is
new ships. She said the average age of vessels is 35, and the
oldest vessels are 60. Most companies start talking about
replacing vessels when they are 20 years old.
- Better wages are another recruitment tool that will make a
difference.
- A better working relationship with management which includes
the Alaska Labor Relations Agency.
1:37:14 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR brought up MM&P's working relationship with
management. He asked what pressure points caused relationship
stress in the last few years.
MS. ADAMSON replied that there is a reoccurring issue between
management and the Alaska Labor Relations Agency. Labor
Relations has more control than is ideal over the day-to-day
operation of vessels. Labor Relations attempts to work within
specific confines of the contract, which it misinterprets during
negotiations. The maritime workers who know how to operate
vessels [are denied the authority to make the decisions
necessary for daily vessel operations.] The disconnect between
management, ships, and Labor Relations has been ongoing for
years. It is not new, but the problem has been exacerbated in
the last five years.
1:38:07 PM
SENATOR BISHOP joined the meeting.
1:38:34 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR asked if there were examples from other parts of
the country that modeled more positive relationships.
MS. ADAMSON replied that a shining example is the Washington
State Ferries (WSF). The Washington State Ferries had ongoing
issues with its labor relations division and miscommunication
between labor relations, vessels, and management. WSF replaced a
segment of management positions and realigned its communications
process about ten years ago; since then, the communication
between vessels, management, and the Washington State Department
of Transportation has been more streamlined, the aggrievance
process has decreased, and the number of "notice of pay
problems" has decreased significantly. She said the Alaska
Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOTPF) is
working in that direction and gave them credit for its efforts.
However, she is pessimistic. She said financial issues had
driven AMHS into the ground so hard in the last 5-10 years that
the department has an uphill battle.
1:40:11 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON commented those issues could cause employee
stress. She said mental health is important and asked whether
there are any workplace provisions to support employees' mental
health.
MS. ADAMSON replied no, not really. She said DOTPF management is
trying to establish better communication between vessels and
shoreside; it is a great plan. She expressed hope it will have
positive results, but that is the closest management action that
involves improving a member's mental health concerning stress.
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON commented that she was appointed to the
Council of State Government (CSG) Mental Health National Task
Force and has a seat on the Mental Health in the Workplace
Committee. She said she asks this same question to a lot of
people because it is so important.
1:41:38 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN brought up her concern about significant
challenges and cuts. He asked what else was happening that
hampers AMHS from funding itself better.
MS. ADAMSON replied the example that immediately comes to mind
is the dynamic pricing system DOTPF management implemented about
five years ago. She expressed her belief that the dynamic
pricing system harmed the system in the long run. She sat on the
Marine Transportation Advisory Board for five years before it
was terminated. The version of dynamic pricing that the Marine
Transportation Advisory Board recommended decreased prices until
the vessels were approximately 75 percent full; after that, it
increased prices. The DOTPF model never decreases the base
price; it only increases the price in the long run. She
expressed her belief that the DOTPF model has reduced ridership,
and in turn, decreased revenue. Another downside to the DOTPF
model is that it is difficult for passengers to predict the
price of a ticket. These decisions show a lack of understanding
of what passengers want or need and work against raising
revenue. Vessels will run whether or not they are full, so she
believes it is better to run full. She explained that AMHS
should continuously work towards increasing ridership, even if
that means selling lower-priced tickets initially to recreate
the connection AMHS once had with communities. She said this
would increase ridership further in the long run.
1:43:49 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR brought up her testimony about the Tier IV
retirement plan and employee turnover. He asked how high
turnover rates, less experienced pilots, and less experienced
maritime employees have affected the ability of AMHS to deliver
services.
MS. ADAMSON answered that AMHS hired many second and third mates
recently. She said the recruitment has been amazing and gave the
state credit for it. She added there had been a whole lot of
firings lately. She said the catch is that due to USCG
regulations and the way the state runs, it takes approximately
ten years to go from a third mate to a master. It takes another
three or four years to become a very useful, experienced master
with the expertise to run a 412-foot vessel through the Wrangell
Narrows. The fact that AMHS is seriously short-handed in the
higher ranks makes it difficult for the system to operate
relatively efficiently. It does not help that the higher-level
positions, like chiefs, mates, and masters, are in high demand
industry-wide. Higher ranks are choosing to work elsewhere, and
she expressed her belief that this will be extremely detrimental
to AMHS in the next two or three years. Previously, a master had
to work 20 to 25 years in the system to become a permanent full-
time master. This has changed. The time has decreased, taking
only 15 years to become a permanent, full-time master. She
stated that the reduced level of experience will be noticed.
SENATOR DUNBAR asked whether the lack of a pension is an
underlying reason that AMHS cannot keep workers long-term.
MS. ADAMSON replied yes. Members stick around five years, then
choose to upgrade their license and move to positions elsewhere,
taking their defined contribution (DC) funds with them.
1:46:50 PM
SENATOR BISHOP commented that the legislature budgeted AMHS to
produce a two-year schedule last year, so riders had continuity
in scheduling. He said he had met visitors who indicated their
AMHS experience was the highlight of their Southeast Alaska
vacation. He said only time would tell, but that should have
helped increase bookings and get vessels operating at fuller
capacity. He said that was an outcome of the [32nd Legislature's
Fiscal Policy] Working Group.
1:48:03 PM
At ease.
^PRESENTATION(S): WORKFORCE CHALLENGES IN ALASKA FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES LOCAL 71
PRESENTATION(S): WORKFORCE CHALLENGES IN ALASKA FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES LOCAL 71
1:48:35 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting and invited Jordan Adams
to put himself on the record and offer his testimony.
1:48:48 PM
JORDAN ADAMS, Business Manager, Public Employees Local 71,
Anchorage, Alaska, gave invited testimony on workforce
challenges facing Public Employees Local 71. He said the union
represents blue-collar essential workers, heavy equipment
operators, light and heavy-duty mechanics, carpenters,
electricians, building maintenance, custodians, and everything
in between. This union represents workers that plow almost
20,000 road miles, maintain three international and many rural
airports, and maintain over 5,000 pieces of heavy equipment and
critical infrastructure.
MR. ADAMS said that for many years, the state wage has slipped
further from the wages of comparable jobs in the public and
private sectors. The union has pushed to narrow the gap. State
efforts to negotiate wage increases have been met with
restrictive budgets that cannot keep up with private and other
public industries. Simply put, the State of Alaska has many
classifications that are now far from competitive in the blue-
collar market. Local 71 believes the state needs to show more
interest in narrowing the wage gap. He spoke to the compensation
concerns of the Department of Administration (DOA) that reduced
the wage target from the 65th percentile to the 50th percentile
in the past year. He said, like other state contracts built on a
graduated pay structure, the longer employees are in the system,
the higher their earnings potential. However, depending on the
employee's age group, this is a limiting factor. An employee
must be in the system long enough to earn a higher wage; working
20 years to obtain compensation, where some start today, is
fairly ridiculous. Reviewing other bargaining unit and state
profiles, the decline in longevity is evident among state
employees. Pay is paramount; it is number one; it has to be. The
skills required for many of these positions are advanced, and
Alaska's market is extremely competitive.
1:51:37 PM
MR. ADAMS said retirement Tiers I, II, and III worked well.
Making changes to the current Tier IV retirement system to
regain power in recruitment and retention is often brought up in
the Local 71 Hall. It has been 16 years under Tier IV, and this
retirement tier influences an individual's decision to take a
state job. He said that he still has individuals walk into his
office expecting the retirement of a father or uncle; those
retirement plans no longer exist.
MR. ADAMS brought up staffing shortages. Staffing shortages are
hurting every department. Jobs get tougher when fewer employees
are doing them. Snow events and emergencies are now more
difficult than ever to handle. While it is all hands on deck,
employees are getting the job done with fewer workers, they are
getting burned out, and production and safety suffer. Under DOA
guidelines, employees are not compensated more when there is a
moderate change like fewer employees. When there are fewer
employees, all hands come in, and employees do more with less
without the bigger payday kicker.
1:53:16 PM
MR. ADAMS discussed hiring delays, stating it often takes six
weeks or more to hire someone from the initial contact for an
interview to the first day on the payroll. Job seekers are
applying for multiple jobs during this timeframe. Job
interviewers can lose an applicant to another job quickly.
MR. ADAMS spoke to several maintenance stations near mining
projects that have closed due to budget shortfalls. He said the
closures are detrimental to the health, life, and safety of the
traveling public.
MR. ADAMS discussed job security. Local 71 received three pink
slips in the past seven years, but it was not fun sending out
15,000 pink slips to employees in July. Employee trust in the
state is heavily diminished.
MR. ADAMS said geographical pay differentials are an item that
the state has ignored. Many rural communities have a
substantially higher cost of living that eclipse those of larger
cities, and the state did the last geographic differential study
in 2008. Under state guidelines, the state is supposed to
conduct a geographic differential study every five years. Areas
that cannot hire within their community have resorted to flying-
in workers from other locations. The state pays exorbitant fees
for flights, accommodations, bed and breakfast, and
transportation rather than paying workers in the community a
higher wage to do the job. When fly-in workers are out of town,
you cannot call them in for overtime to do some snow removal. He
suggested incentive pay and mission-critical incentive pay
(MCIP) to combat this problem. He said these come in two
different sizes. One is a dollar amount on a paycheck, and the
other is a percentage added to base wages. He said the union has
seen better results with a percentage added to base wages
because it encourages overtime, leave time, and everything else.
1:56:06 PM
MR. ADAMS said the workers have moved into alternating work
weeks. The standard 5-day work week only exists for a few Local
71 workers. He noted that four-day work weeks, week-on-week-off,
and two-weeks on two-weeks off scheduling works well for
production and has built-in overtime schedules that pay
employees more money. This tool is used to promote recruitment
and retention.
MR. ADAMS said that Local 71 started a 30 percent incentive at
the Anchorage International Airport beginning last Halloween. As
of this Monday, the airport went from a 35 percent vacancy rate
to almost none. This did not happen all at once. He said some
camps are concerned that offering incentives at one location
steals state resources from other camps, but that did not
happen. A lot of new employees were hired; the state was looking
for this result.
1:57:10 PM
MR. ADAMS said the State of Alaska pay gap has limited the
ability to recruit qualified workers to meet the needs of
incoming infrastructure funds and projects. This will lead to an
increase in demand for qualified blue-collar workers from every
industry. If the state does not fix these issues, Alaska may end
up in a fix. He explained why Alaska needs the Department of
Public Safety (DPS) workforce staffing airports and that
commerce will be hampered without them. He asked the legislature
to communicate with the administration about this problem before
it is too late.
1:57:57 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON asked him if he had any solutions or
suggestions besides a defined benefit.
MR. ADAMS replied that it comes down to pay in a lot of cases.
The state's starting wages are 30 percent or more below the
industry standard. For electricians, it might be 40 percent
below. Pay is one part, and another part is benefits.
1:58:45 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR inquired about snowplow drivers and heavy machine
operators, asking where most union members are trained. He
wondered if the state could help invest in training.
MR. ADAMS replied that there are limited training programs in
the state. There is on-the-job training in remote locations, but
the state expects employees to show up on the first day with all
the skills necessary to perform the job. Workers with a
commercial driver's license (CDL) should just drive trucks. In a
lot of cases, employees are expected to be a jack of all trades;
the employee loads their vehicle, plows with it, sands with it,
and at times the employee has to repair it.
SENATOR DUNBAR asked how an East High School graduate from
Mountain View, whose family has no experience with this type of
work, gets plugged into this profession. He asked how young
people would go about learning the skills that the State of
Alaska expects them to have when they show up on the job.
MR. ADAMS replied that a graduate without training or experience
could be a lower-level flagger, get fostered in with on-the-job
training, and work towards an equipment operating position. The
State of Alaska does not run a training-apprenticeship program.
The state has training programs that are different from other
unions.
2:00:27 PM
SENATOR MERRICK asked what the pay and benefits difference is
between a carpenter in the union and a carpenter in Local 71.
MR. ADAMS replied that Public Employees Local 71 is 25 to 30
percent below other industries. He said the benefits are decent,
but there is still a wage gap. He said he could provide a more
detailed explanation for all the trades in Local 71. Local 71
compares apples to apples, and in like communities, examples are
not cherry-picked to compare the best with the worst. He said it
is easy to see 20 and 30 percent differences even in rural
communities.
2:01:22 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON asked how many Local 71 members are
collectively in Tiers I, II, and III and how many are in Tier
IV.
MR. ADAMS replied that 30 to 40 percent are probably in Tiers I,
II, and III. It has been 16 years [since the implementation of
the defined contribution retirement plan]; the average tenure
for an employee is eight years. Employee numbers are dwindling
fast.
2:01:57 PM
SENATOR BISHOP asked whether he conducts exit interviews.
MR. ADAMS replied that, generally, no. They quit pretty quickly
to get out.
SENATOR BISHOP sought confirmation that other than anecdotal,
there is no hard data on why employees leave.
MR. ADAMS expressed his belief that the state does an exit
evaluation when it can and would be the best place to look for
that information.
SENATOR BISHOP pointed to an earlier comment about the closure
of maintenance stations. He said five of those were in his
district, and since they closed, he managed to reopen three. The
three reopened maintenance stations are Central, Birch Lake, and
Chitina. Senator Micciche negotiated the reopening of the
Silvertip maintenance station. He said the Public Employees
Local 71 Northern Region had a 70-person gap last year. This
year the gap only decreased by five positions. He agreed that
the pay differential is one of the main drivers contributing to
the worker shortfall, notwithstanding the pension. He spoke
about a training trust and working with the administration to
establish a registered apprenticeship program. He said that he
would be fully supportive of a wage contract. He asked about the
number of Letters of Agreement (LOAs).
MR. ADAMS replied that he had them all in his possession. He
expressed his belief that there are over one dozen.
2:05:38 PM
At ease.
^PRESENTATION(S): WORKFORCE CHALLENGES IN ALASKA FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA BUILDING TRADES
PRESENTATION(S): WORKFORCE CHALLENGES IN ALASKA FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA BUILDING TRADES
2:06:38 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting and invited Bronson Frye
to put himself on the record and begin his testimony.
2:06:45 PM
BRONSON FRYE, President, Southcentral Alaska Building Trades
Council, Anchorage, Alaska, gave invited testimony on workforce
challenges from the perspective of Southcentral Building Trades.
He said the council represents a group of all the construction
unions in the state. He said it is the position of the building
and construction trade unions in the state that Alaska needs to
develop its construction workforce. He quoted the January 20,
2023, Alaska Economic Trends magazine, "As Alaska's economy
continues to recover, the worker shortage will make filling
positions, including those created by infrastructure spending,
difficult to fill. An aging population and migration losses,
especially of working aged people, will exacerbate that
shortage." The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
(IIJA) and other projects anticipated in oil, gas, and mining
development, state and locally funded capital projects, and
private commercial projects are expected to create employment
growth in all Alaska industries over the next decade and more.
The state is looking at a generational construction boom, which
is a good thing.
MR. FRYE outlined where the state should allocate IIJA funds to
facilitate the impending construction boom. Alaska needs a
trained resident workforce which will require a renewed focus on
the following five priorities:
1. The childcare crisis; it is one of Alaska's biggest issues.
It is a major contributor to labor shortages across all
industries. Childcare wages are too low. Southcentral Alaska
Building Trades Council supports sectoral bargaining for
childcare workers.
2:10:26 PM
SENATOR BISHOP recognized that the trades have male and female
single parents needing childcare services.
MR. FRYE agreed.
SENATOR BISHOP posited that the contractor or employer that
cracks the code on the childcare issue would be the one that
gets the workforce.
2:11:24 PM
MR. FRYE continued speaking to priorities for a trained resident
workforce:
2. Adequately fund Alaska's public education system. Funding has
been flat since 2017. Southcentral Alaska Building Trades
Council encourages a per-pupil increase of at least $1,000 per
student. It is not a mystery that education is vital to every
community and is a smart investment in our future.
3. Prioritize career and technical education (CTE) programs.
Secondary and post-secondary need quality CTE programs taught by
qualified instructors, so students can explore careers, gain
knowledge and skills, and build Alaska. CTE prepares students
for Alaska jobs, infrastructure, resource development, and
business expansion. He noted that CTE classes are electives and
are often eliminated first when budget cuts occur. The problem
builds on itself. Funding shortages affect the classes and
programs that help get students into the trades; these classes
are the first eliminated.
2:13:36 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR asked how the Southcentral Alaska Building Trades
Council has worked with the Anchorage School District and about
the council's outreach efforts to direct students to career
pathway programs.
MR. FRYE opined that King Tech High School is one of the finest
educational institutions in the state. He brought up a previous
question about how students from the Mountain View neighborhood
would find out about driving trucks or working in construction.
He said students are often unaware of available opportunities,
and opportunities are key. One way to find out about
opportunities is through traditional job fairs. Some unions are
exploring "targeted" high school recruitment. He explained that
he is a football coach at West High School. He said it is key
that he informs the young men on his team about opportunities in
the trades. He discovered that many of these young men want to
help care for their families; it is a driving force behind their
participation in school sports. He said he explains to the young
men on the team that construction would provide a way for them
to help care for their families, learn a trade and work. There
will be leadership opportunities, foreman opportunities, and
superintendent opportunities. Collectively, the building trades
know they need to get into schools and ratchet up their efforts
because there is a need for workers. Once youth realize the
available opportunities, there will be an increase in
applications. He expressed his belief that other unions and
schools are doing similar types of outreach. He said the council
is looking for ways to appeal to the upcoming potential
workforce.
2:17:17 PM
SENATOR MERRICK asked whether apprenticeship programs can apply
the experience gained by King Tech High School students towards
completion hours.
MR. FRYE answered that each federally registered apprenticeship
program has its own set of standards, so depending on the trade,
it could be done.
2:17:57 PM
SENATOR BISHOP commented that labor and the Joint Apprenticeship
Training Committee (JATC) are not wholly responsible for the
workforce shortage. He recalled conversing with contractors
about their [collective bargaining agreements] (CBAs) and the
ratio of apprentices to journeypersons on their projects.
Contractors and employers need to adhere to the ratio as much as
possible.
SENATOR BISHOP brought up a previous conversation about base
student allocation (BSA) shortfalls affecting vocational
education. He said 75 percent of high school graduates need to
learn a trade, and 25 percent need a 4-year degree or higher; he
noted this data is dated. This metric shows where to put
funding.
2:19:59 PM
MR. FRYE responded that there are two ways to look at an
apprentice ratio. One is the number of journeypersons to
apprentices. He said that only one apprentice was permitted for
every three journey-level workers when he started there. The
federal government allowed a maximum ratio of 1:1; for obvious
reasons, there are no more apprentices than journey-level
workers. An ongoing challenge in the past has been getting
employers to utilize apprentices. Some employers had been
hesitant to do so for a variety of reasons. He said that, in his
experience, this has shifted. He noted that a management
proposal included a clause requiring apprentices at his last
contract negotiation. He emphasized it is up to the employer to
call for apprentices and recognize the need to train the
workforce of the future. He said that he recently read 78
percent of high school graduates have not heard of
apprenticeship programs or about opportunities in the building
trades. This indicates there is work to be done in educating
youth about the options available to them and supports his
contention that graduates are not just a bunch of lazy kids that
do not want to work. The numbers indicate that almost 80 percent
have never heard about the opportunities.
2:22:31 PM
SENATOR BISHOP said high schools do not have enough career
counselors. The state cannot expect two counselors to get the
message out to twelve hundred students. He said he did boot
camps for teachers while in the JATC movement. He sent a letter
to every school district in his region, inviting them to JATC
for an intensive boot camp; any teacher was welcome to attend.
Teachers are with the students daily; the idea was for them to
deliver the message. He dovetailed on Senator Merrick's
question, stating each JATC has its individual terms and
conditions for entry. He said he and former administrator,
Curtis Hall, started the first school-to-apprenticeship program
where junior and senior classroom hours at King Career Center
would contribute to the 6,000-hour JATC timeframe. There is
nothing new under the sun; sometimes, we need a little refresher
to pick up good ideas.
2:24:51 PM
MR. FRYE spoke to another priority for a trained resident
workforce:
4. An increased investment in state job training programs.
- State Training and Employment Program (STEP). Increase job
training, expand apprenticeship, and strengthen resident hire in
all regions of the state. STEP grants are budget neutral. The
funds come from taxes withheld from unemployment insurance. He
encouraged legislators to prioritize increasing the STEP grant.
- Alaska Construction Academies. Increase funding to provide
more Alaskans with basic skills and pre-apprenticeship training
for multiple industries, including construction, oil and gas,
mining, and maritime and surface transportation. These
construction academies are another excellent vehicle to learn
the basic skills of a particular craft or trade. Various
academies are run by different organizations statewide in
Juneau, Ketchikan, Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Mat-Su. They teach
everything from drywall finishing to electrical, plumbing,
carpentry, and more.
2:26:44 PM
SENATOR BISHOP said King Career High School is a fabulous
facility. He said there is only one thing wrong: it is too
small. Another one is needed in South Anchorage.
MR. FRYE added that another one outside Anchorage and elsewhere
in the state might be appropriate.
2:27:30 PM
MR. FRYE identified the last priority for a trained resident
workforce:
5. Rural apprenticeship outreach and career awareness. U.S.
Senator Murkowski has a website indicating the location of all
the upcoming IIJA jobs. A key component is rural outreach and
awareness because most construction will be outside the two
major urban areas, Anchorage and Fairbanks. He expressed his
belief that the registered apprenticeship model is the best way
to train a safe, skilled, and efficient construction workforce.
This is a particularly unique need in rural Alaska. The
registered apprenticeship model can train needed workers to
build infrastructure and maintain it. Nome will have a massive
deep-water port, a nice, big construction project. He said a lot
of people would stay there after completion to maintain and run
it. This is one of many statewide project examples. Alaska's
Works Partnership is a vehicle that can help accomplish this
task. They have an excellent track record of outreach, training,
and putting Alaskans to work in rural Alaska and everywhere
else.
2:30:08 PM
At ease.
^PRESENTATION(S): WORKFORCE CHALLENGES IN ALASKA FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF THE ALASKA AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND
CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS
PRESENTATION(S): WORKFORCE CHALLENGES IN ALASKA FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF THE ALASKA AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR AND
CONGRESS OF INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS
2:32:49 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting and invited Joelle Hall to
put herself on the record and begin her testimony.
2:33:07 PM
JOELLE HALL, President, Alaska American Federation of Labor and
Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Peters Creek,
Alaska, gave invited testimony on workforce challenges from the
perspective of Alaska AFL-CIO. The Alaska AFL-CIO is a
federation of over 50 unions working in private and public
sectors in jobs like ramp agents at the airport, construction
workers, fish and game biologists, bus drivers, educators, and
grocery store workers. These unions represent nearly 20 percent
of Alaska's workforce. Public and private sectors face workforce
challenges. She said Alaska has seen the out-migration of
working union adults over the past seven or eight years. This is
the first layer of the problem; Alaska needs to keep its workers
and figure out how to attract more.
MS. HALL emphasized that government can play a big role in
supporting industry. She said providing information one to four
decades before construction projects is essential. The industry
needs a line of sight to plan for the future, knowing which jobs
are on the horizon, preparing bids, and establishing a plan,
including developing and building apprenticeship models to train
workers. As the state rolls out the capital budget and the
industry looks for matching IIJA dollars, it would be great if
the congressional delegation worked with the industry on what is
in the future tranches.
2:35:22 PM
MS. HALL mentioned money put toward workforce development. The
University of Alaska (UA) investment constrained some UA
workforce development dollars; she said she would expound on
this later. Benefits, pay, and working conditions are critical
to retaining state employees. The state needs policies that
incentivize workers to stay. The state's pension plan creates a
disincentive to remain in Alaska. She said there is a piece of
public policy that the legislature could pass: apprenticeship
utilization standards on state construction. She said the
Municipality of Anchorage utilizes it at the school district
level. Adopting an apprenticeship utilization policy would be a
great decision, benefiting union and nonunion organizations and
giving employers a great opportunity to train people.
MS. HALL said there is a lot of money coming this way. The IIJA
dollars and the state match, the capital budget, broadband, the
prospective natural gas pipeline, the Port of Nome, and the Port
of Alaska are great opportunities to build Alaska, lasting an
estimated ten years and creating a generational change. That is
enough time to train many years of apprentices if the industry
can get a line of sight on the rollout. She emphasized the
industry needs appropriated matching state funds to ensure jobs
come to Alaska, explaining IIJA dollars require a state or local
match. She thanked those that ensured matching dollars came
through last year. This is a critical piece. She said that some
IIJA dollars were distributed without a match in rare instances.
She stressed that the state appropriate a match for every dollar
the congressional delegation brings home.
2:38:22 PM
MS. HALL said it is a little bit of a guessing game to figure
out how many apprentices the industry will need. The industry
wants trained apprentices to work, not sit on the books. The
more information the industry has about upcoming projects, the
faster and easier it is to train workers. She said the
Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD) needs to
supply a solid, up-to-date workforce plan. It will be helpful to
see the long-term projections for workforce needs in Alaska,
including everything from construction to broadband
installation. The workforce development pipeline needs more
money. The Alaska Works Partnership is a unique tool allowing
individuals from communities statewide to get a pre-
apprenticeship through the rural, regional training centers.
Alaska Works Partnership is the perfect tool to connect young
people with careers. She added that the Alaska Works Partnership
also runs the "Helmets to Hardhats" program and is involved with
prisoner retraining. She spoke to the cut or vetoed funds
associated with the federal Build Back Better Bill, eliminating
the much-needed workforce dollars that should have followed the
epic level of IIJA investments. Alaska received $2 billion for
projects without corresponding workforce dollars; she said that
this created an untenable situation. She urged the state to
reach out to the congressional delegation about this issue and
suggested creative ways to get workforce dollars into Alaska.
2:42:40 PM
MS. HALL expressed her opinion that apprenticeships are an
underutilized method for training workers, and this should
change. Union apprenticeships are a partnership between workers
through their union and the employer. This private sector
training model responds to supply and demand, and it takes the
commitment of employers for it to work. She said more employers
outside the construction industry should assume a proactive role
in training their own workforce. She said sitting around waiting
for employees to go through expensive training systems without a
direct connection to a job afterward only sometimes works.
University training requires state funding and is essential to
produce workers like teachers, engineers, nurses, and
architects. She said these workers and their employers are at
the mercy of the legislature's budgetary swings; the budget
affects these training systems' ability to respond to workplace
needs. A reduced state budget and fewer contributions to UA
result in fewer trainees to fill Alaska's jobs. Alaska should
increase scholarships and offer more classes and opportunities
in critical industries. Workforce shortages have been projected
for years. She said that there is a disconnect between employers
and the training system. The path leading to many hospital jobs
involves university-level training, but more people must
graduate to meet the demand. She said there is a shortage of
hospital workers because the state needs to invest more in the
university to meet the demands of the employment market. Money
gets tight, budgets are reduced, and the employers on the other
end are stuck. She suggested the situation could improve if
employers had more control over the supply of workers.
2:45:12 PM
MS. HALL said joint apprenticeship training programs are a
standard in the construction industry. She said other employers
could alleviate their problem by adopting the joint
apprenticeship training program model. It is tempting to try
almost anything to solve the worker shortage problem. She
cautioned the committee that some solutions could have
unintended consequences. She said that 20 years ago, the state
faced a challenge when it discovered actuarial malfeasance in
the pension system. She said the Alaska AFL-CIO urged the
legislature to refrain from dismantling the defined benefit
retirement system in response to that problem. In 2005, the
Alaska AFL-CIO warned the legislature that people would leave
the state if these benefits were eliminated, and the constant
churn of workers would cost the state money each year. She added
that the choice to respond to a temporary problem with a
permanent, negative solution would return to haunt Alaska and
its workers. It is 2023, and the state finally acknowledges that
is exactly what happened.
2:46:16 PM
MS. HALL said that adopting the nurse licensure compact would be
a similar overreaction to a real but manageable problem. There
are healthcare shortages everywhere; no giant pool of nurses is
waiting to come here. The healthcare industry can only address
the worker shortage through innovative thinking about training
systems for hospitals, and employers can only accomplish this by
working together to build apprenticeship systems. These are
long-term investments that will provide systematic improvements.
The short-term solution is pursuing the timely processing of
licenses. She listed three ideas to help speed up processing:
1. Implement a three-year cycle on renewals versus a two-year
cycle. Stagger them based on birthdates rather than a
simultaneous expiration month. Nurses submit renewal paperwork
every November because every nurse's license expires in December
every other year in Alaska. That is an irrational way to manage
a workload.
2. Hire more licensing staff and provide a competitive wage. The
[Alaska Division of Corporations, Business, and Professional
Licensing (CBPL)] revenues have grown 65 percent over six years,
while the personal services line for the same period has
increased seven percent.
3. Pursue and use more three- and six-month temporary
licensures. Nurses from other states with licenses in good
standing could start the licensing process in Alaska and begin
work sooner while waiting to obtain their Alaska nursing
license.
2:48:17 PM
MS. HALL stated the Tier IV retirement plan has been in place
for nearly 20 years, and Alaska has become the training ground
for other communities and states. Nurse licensing will have the
same result. The state's investment in nursing programs will
result in skilled nurses leaving with the training the state
helped provide if Alaska fails to protect its workforce. She
said this is exactly the opposite of what the state should do.
The healthcare industry should look at the apprenticeship model,
take control of their labor pipeline, and the state should
invest in larger classes, scholarships, and childcare for
students in nursing school, all in return for a commitment to
stay in Alaska. She harkened back to when the state took these
types of actions to incentivize people to stay.
MS. HALL expressed that the state needs to find ways to dissuade
people from leaving Alaska. The state should refrain from
passing public policy that aims to make it easier for
investments to get up and go. Alaskans have already seen this
play out with retirement. She recapped, stating:
- Alaska needs more investment and proven models like Alaska
Works Partnership, STEP, and the Alaska Technical Vocational
Education Program (TVEP).
- Alaska needs to protect school counselors. School counselors
are an important component of the workforce pipeline; they
inform students about how to get available jobs.
- Alaska needs a thoughtful workforce plan from DOLWD.
- Alaska needs to focus on creating apprenticeship programs to
work around the log jams and challenges.
- Alaska needs apprenticeship utilization requirements to help
build the state's future workforce.
- Alaska needs short-term solutions to address CBPL's licensing
problems versus adopting a one-size-fits-all solution, which
could create unintended consequences.
2:50:27 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON asked for more information about the Alaska
Works Partnership.
MS. HALL answered it is a nonprofit in Mountain View. It runs
various programs, including the Alaska Construction Academy,
Helmets to Hardhats, Prisoner Re-entry, and others. One of the
programs it is most famous for is running the construction
academies and working with pre-apprenticeships. The pre-
apprenticeship program tutors students to improve their subject
skills, like math, sufficiently to qualify for an apprenticeship
interview. Pre-apprenticeships are in construction academies and
schools, and the program has relationships with regional
training centers, like Northwestern Alaska Career and Technical
Center (NACTEC), Yuut Elitnaurviat People's Learning Center, and
Ilisagvik College. The regional training centers already have a
relationship with the industry, so that they can take training
and pre-apprenticeships.
MS. HALL said AFL-CIO, UA, and the Denali Commission hosted a
wonderful workforce development conference for the deep-water
port in Nome. The demands of this project present an enormous
workforce challenge. She said the opportunities in Nome are
massive to get many young people into the construction trades
from all over Northwest Arctic Borough. AFL-CIO will partner
with Alaska Works Partnership on this.
2:52:50 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR asked about apprenticeships in other industries,
particularly the medical field, stating he has wondered for a
long time why training apprenticeship models are not used for
nurses and certified nursing assistants. He asked if
apprenticeship training models are used in other parts of the
nation. He asked a second question, referring back to her
comments on all the money flowing into the state through IIJA
and other federal sources. He commented that Alaska usually
tries to get as much money as possible as fast as possible to
get boots on the ground. He asked for her thoughts on ways to
delay implementation while keeping the funds secure, so the
state has time to build a workforce or finish one project before
starting another.
MS. HALL replied to the second question. She said she did not
know whether it would be an action that slows the process or a
reaction due to the inability to mobilize fast enough. She
surmised that the industry would have difficulty complying with
contract deadlines nationwide and that some of these contracts
would open up and extend deadlines. Projects will take longer
than envisioned in the original Act. The idea of rolling
projects out slower would be a great conversation to have with
the congressional delegation because it would be better to have
the money roll out in manageable amounts. She said that rolling
out the money in regionally rational ways is ideal. She added
that it is nobody's job to stack these projects up logistically
and figure out how to make sense of running them in order, but
it seems like it would be a smart thing to do. It would be a
clever thing for somebody to think about doing.
2:55:19 PM
MS. HALL asked him to repeat the first question.
SENATOR DUNBAR said the question was about the medical industry
using more of an apprenticeship model for training workers.
MS. HALL replied that Alaska AFL-CIO recently signed a letter
with Primary Care Associates to do a registered apprenticeship
with surgery, medical, and lab technicians involving many
permissible skills with sub-baccalaureate, credentialed level
groups. She said this apprenticeship system was made possible,
in large part, with a federal grant. The apprenticeship systems
in construction are employee and employer-funded. If state
investments constrain an organization's workflow or workplace,
employers might need to band together to solve their own
workforce problems. They are in competition with one another for
healthcare workers. This is true of every electrical contractor,
and yet they band together to share the resources they know they
need. They need a predictable source of skilled workers and want
them trained to a standard. Alaska AFL-CIO can do an
apprenticeship for sub-baccalaureate level activity and believes
it is about writing a standard, setting it out, finding the
money, and finding a group of employers to invest. Employers
need to invest in their own training. This is the way it was
done in the past. She said this concept has become askew. She
brought up a previous conversation about the State of Alaska not
having a way to train people. This never would have happened 30
or 40 years ago. She said this issue hinges on training people
while working and completing some classroom time. Organizations
need to become innovative. The way the state is doing it now,
the constraints of the general fund constrain the workforce, is
beyond being on the horns of a dilemma. The state has an
existential problem that requires a creative solution.
2:58:01 PM
SENATOR MERRICK sought confirmation that the apprenticeship
utilization requirements would benefit both union and nonunion
contractors, and if so, how.
MS. HALL replied that an apprenticeship is not 100 percent under
the purview of union contractors; it is done as a matter of
course. It is how workers are trained. Some nonunion contractors
utilize apprentices too.
2:59:04 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Bjorkman adjourned the Senate Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee meeting at 2:59 p.m.
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