By Mike Queen, Purser Representative
Crewmates,
Every unlicensed crewmember I have spoken with these past two weeks has voiced questions and concerns pertinent to the TA. Many of you have asked me to write a few words, adding to the letters other members of the negotiating team have submitted for your consideration. I have held back doing so, preferring to allow my previous letter to you do my speaking for me.
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AMHS BU
By Tony Tengs
To all AMHS IBU Brothers and Sisters:
Most of you may have heard the news that we had reached an agreement with the State, in an agreement that would give us 3% -3% - 3%, and personal leave proposal that would cash out 40% of existing sick leave balances as well as a training fund for future training requirements. All that was reported was - Good News!
Other areas of “good news” are that we nailed down a separation between SE ports and SW ports for dispatch purposes, and that the State has to approve or deny vacation requests 30 days in advance of requested vacation dates. Our monthly health care contribution will be the new “economy” level of $868. Also we got enhancements to our travel and quarters allowance .
Yes, the good news is: We have a TA (tentative agreement).
The bad news is: We have a TA.; It doesn’t become a collective bargaining agreement until the State Legislature funds the monetary terms and our AMHS membership ratifies the TA.
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AMHS BU
From Brother Karl Ashenbrenner
To all of you out there!
Just to let you know, I came into the negotiations late in the process. However I have been keeping up with what has been going on before I became “involved”. Some of what I brought to the table was an outside view of the state through my many contacts in other areas of state government.
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AMHS BU
IBUP and the State of Alaska
Tentative Agreement Overview
2008-2011
I am confident that we can use the Ketchikan Membership meeting, on April 9th, as an indicator or bell weather of where many of our bargaining unit members are in relation with the Tentative Agreement with the State of Alaska. What we discussed, at that two and a half hour meeting and what I have written in this overview will hopefully give you the knowledge to make an educated and unemotional decision when voting for the Tentative Agreement (TA) in the coming weeks. Additional meetings are being planned in Ketchikan and Juneau with a few vessel meetings. With the help of volunteers, our plan is to take the ballot box on the Alaska Marine Highway “road system” and meet each vessel both in Ketchikan and Juneau and collect votes from our members. We will mail ballots to those that are not able to participate in this process; please make sure Monique has your correct address. We will put out notices about the meetings as soon as we firm up our dates, stay tuned.
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AMHS BU
We had hoped to accomplish much more during our last session with the state of Alaska. With time running out in this Legislative Session, there was urgency on both sides of the table to get something done before the monetary terms deadline of March 14th. Any monetary terms that the Palin Administration presents to the Legislature after the deadline have no guarantee of coming before the Legislators for action and a decision would have to wait until next year’s session. The state’s negotiation team presented a package deal on February 12, 2008 that also included proposals to Rules that have already been signed by both parties and considered “tentatively agreed to”. Your Negotiating Committee reviewed the entire proposal and we submitted 21 new counter proposals during our March 4th, 5th & 6th meetings. The state came back with two counter proposals.
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AMHS BU
