The University of Alaska system and the union representing nearly 1,100 faculty members and postdoctoral fellows are headed into federal mediation in January.
The bargaining parties announced a deadlock in negotiations earlier this month, and agreed to the federal mediation process, as the current three-year contract is set to expire at the end of the month. Representatives of both the university and United Academics Local 4996 told the Alaska Beacon they are hopeful.
“Both UNAC and the university felt that mediation would help us build on the progress that we’d already made towards that new contract,” said Jonathon Taylor, public affairs director for the University of Alaska system. “And [it would] increase the likelihood that we would be able to agree on a completed contract before some important state budget deadlines this coming spring.”
Bargaining began in August, and so far the parties have tentatively agreed to 17 of 22 contract provisions. The terms must be submitted to the Legislature no later than March 21, 2025, to be considered for the next state budget.
The bargaining deadlock is centered around compensation and benefits.
Union President Jill Dumesnil pointed to high costs of living, particularly in Southeast Alaska.
“Faculty members can barely afford to live in the communities in which they work and are living paycheck to paycheck,” said Dumesnil, a professor of mathematics at the University of Alaska Southeast.
“One tragedy, one flood, one power outage, one big snowstorm away from, you know, catastrophe,” she said. “So it’s really important that our members get significant pay raises.”
The union has proposed raising wages by 4%, 4.5% and 5% annually over the next three years, while the university administration has proposed 2.75%, 3% and 3% increases.
Dumesnil said university faculty have been hit hard by inflation, and argue that without any raise in wages it’s like a pay cut. “[Union members] have lost between 12.5 and 14.5% of their purchasing power since 2018 because we either received no raises, or raises that were significantly below the consumer price index for urban Alaska,” she said.
Inflation hit a 41-year high in 2022 at 8.1%, according to an Alaska Economic Trends analysis, and while those rates eased last year, prices continued to rise for transportation, groceries and housing. A 2023 survey by the Council for Community and Economic Research compared the costs for a fixed standard of living across 276 U.S. cities, and showed that Juneau, Fairbanks and Anchorage ranked 18th, 21st and 24th. They ranked in the top three for highest grocery and health care costs in the survey.
“We also are grappling with some increasing costs as far as health care, and health care benefits are concerned,” Taylor said. The university’s employer-sponsored health coverage costs have increased almost 25% since 2023, he noted. He cited a national survey projecting that employer health coverage costs will increase by 9% in 2025.
“So we know that even as we are working to do what we can to address compensation, we also have to be mindful of other rising fixed costs and account for those as well,” he said.
The union has said they will agree to the status quo on health care benefits in the new contract, even as out-of-pocket expenses are expected to rise for members — in exchange for increasing wages.
“While the benefits package has been really good, we can’t eat the benefits or feed them to our children or pay our bills with them,” Dumesnil said.
The bargaining parties are also keeping in mind that the negotiations’ outcome ultimately depends on the state Legislature and Gov. Mike Dunleavy agreeing on funding.
In a Dec. 3 letter, university President Pat Pitney raised a concern that the union’s compensation proposal would cost $113 million over three years, an estimated $40 million more than the university proposal. “If we ask for that amount and the state didn’t fund it, we would be forced to make significant reductions similar to those made over the past decade,” she wrote.
But Dumesnil said the union has faith that the Legislature would provide enough funding for their proposal. “The Alaska Legislature, as far as we know, has never failed to appropriate union-negotiated raises,” she said.
Additionally, union representatives argue the $113 million figure is an overestimate. They say the university is accounting for a wage increase for all staff, rather than just their bargaining unit, which they estimate would be around $20 million. “UA is choosing to give those groups raises equivalent to those negotiated by the unions,” said Dumesnil in a follow up email to the Beacon. “While we favor all employees being treated and compensated fairly, we are neither authorized nor obligated to negotiate on behalf of employees who are not in our bargaining unit. Again, this is a choice that UA is making and is doing so independent of negotiations with United Academics.”
The university says they are obligated to account for all staff raises, as part of what are known as “me too” clauses in employee contracts, which guarantees bargained raises apply for all employees, as well as to maintain equity.
“So the Board [of Regents] and university leaders have really sought to strike a balance of acknowledging and providing compensation increases that we know are key for recruitment and retention, but balancing it within our end state’s budget constraints,” said Taylor.
Last week, Pitney praised the governor’s proposed budget in a letter, saying it provides solid support for the university’s priorities. Among these items, the proposal includes $24 million to support negotiated wage increases for faculty and staff. That doesn’t account for the faculty union contract, which has yet to be determined.
Dumesnil said the increases the union seeks would offset years of sacrifices.
“During budget cuts and during COVID, the administration asked the faculty to step up and do more and, you know, get through the trouble. And then, we would be essentially made whole later,” she said. “Well, it is later. The budget has turned the corner. The president often says the university is stable, and so faculty are still being asked to do more work for less and less compensation, and we don’t think that’s reasonable.”
Bargaining is expected to resume in January, with the federal mediator. The federal mediation process is free, and provided by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, an agency devoted to helping resolve labor-management disputes.
Both parties have expressed hope for the process, and that a deal will be reached by the March deadline. They have agreed that although the current contract will expire Dec. 31, the contract terms will continue through the bargaining process.
