Yesterday, on March 4, 2020, the Department of Administration leveled an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge against ASEA/AFSCME Local 52 and APEA/AFT for negotiating in bad faith regarding the conversion from semi-monthly to bi-weekly payroll. As many of you already know, ASEA has been working with the state over the last several months to negotiate a Letter of Agreement (LOA), as required by our contract, to accommodate the state’s request to make this change to your pay schedule.
The state’s current proposal results in a loss of earnings to ASEA and APEA members during this payroll year. ASEA attempted numerous times to work with the state to find a solution that would not harm union members nor shortchange employees from the annual salary they are due in 2020.
The ASEA Collective Bargaining Agreement, signed by the state in August of last year, guarantees ASEA members a salary paid in 24 pay periods annually. As mentioned above, it also provides a framework for conversion to bi-weekly payroll (26 pay periods) by LOA.
The state is insisting that ASEA and APEA accept a proposal that will decrease the money you are promised in 2020. Employees near the middle of the ASEA salary table would lose around $150 if the state’s proposed LOA is ratified by the membership. ASEA asked numerous times for the state to reconsider the terms or offer alternative proposals that did not hurt members. The State refused to make any additional proposals.
ASEA Executive Director Jake Metcalfe shared the following statement about the ULP:
In 11 years of work on behalf of Alaska’s public unions, I have never seen an administration accuse a union of acting in bad faith because it rejected a unilateral contract change that would negatively affect members’ wages. We were attempting to work with the state in order to convert payroll to a bi-weekly schedule. The state’s current proposal results in a decrease in the published salary for union members this year. The state refused all of the union’s reasonable attempts to compromise and filed this charge even before union members voted on the state’s proposal (as required by the union’s procedures).
ASEA will continue to provide updates as this process moves forward. Please feel free to contact ASEA Headquarters with any questions or concerns by email at