SB 182: PUBLIC EMPLOYEE SALARY DIFFERENTIALS By Mary Dahel March 14, 2014 I am writing in opposition to SB 182. To me this topic does not belong in legislative discussions nor in state statutes. It is a contract topic and the State DOA has a very capable full time staff devoted to negotiating contracts. The claim that bonuses are given to in-state IBU employees is not true. A historical perspective reveals the two-tiered wage system for the IBU was introduced to protect Alaskan residents while SAVING the state money. In 1980 State IBU residents were given no extra money, instead the meager cost of living increases were withheld from those living out of state until the non-Alaskans were paid 20% less. Several times since then, sure that hordes of scoundrel sailors were defrauding the treasury, the state has created positions to look for violators. The expense of these positions far exceeds any lost revenue. In the 1990 s there was just such a witch hunt . Three full time people were hired for three years. I ran the numbers at the time. To cover the cost of those positions, 1/3 of all AMHS workers (about 250 people) had to be lying about their place of residence for a number of years. It was a bust; no IBU members were found to be paid in error. The claim that COLD payments are unique to the maritime unions is also false. Various forms of Cost of Living Differentials exist throughout the State. For many (other) state workers, the pays scale one is put on is dependent on where one works. Depending on the region where they work, other state employees are given 3% to 50% more per hour than their counterparts in Anchorage. Cost of living differentials are common in other state and federal contracts. I understand that somehow my job is coveted by others, but if that's the case, we're hiring next month. Come join us and give up your annual step increases, forget wine with dinner, or your child's concert next week or their birthday or first game, tell your spouse to fix the drain themselves or wait a week or two until you come home for them to take a shower, and no you can't pick up the dog's prescription at lunch . Obviously there are some perks to working on the AMHS vessels or no one would fill the positions, but if the contracts were as padded as a few vocal folk purport, there would be a substantial wait list of good applicants for hiring. Instead the number of Alaskan applicants has been so low that the AMHS is permitted to recruit nationwide for entry level jobs. Sadly we haven't seen 2000 applicants per year since the 1980's. In the last few years, even with recruiting, we have been lucky to get a couple hundred interested parties, and of those, the State has been able to hire far fewer. Mary Dahel About: "Began working for Alaska Marine Highway in 1981" Received March 11, 2014 - Published March 14, 2014 Related:
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