Opinions

Anchorage voters should repeal Sullivan's labor law

Ballot issue No 1 this November election addresses a classic case of a government "solution" searching for a problem that doesn't exist. Hopefully, the people of Anchorage will vote no on this issue and repeal the unnecessary and unreasonable labor law known as AO 37.

AO 37 was an ill-conceived ordinance passed in 2013 to dramatically change the rules of collective bargaining for municipal public service workers for the first time in more than 35 years. And what was the problem with the respective bargaining rights of the municipality and the unions? The answer is -- nothing. One need only look at the long-standing history of the previous labor ordinance to see why.

The rules and rights governing labor relations were first incorporated into law in 1969 for the City of Anchorage under the leadership of Mayor George Sullivan. After the city and borough were unified in 1975, that same law was unanimously adopted by the Anchorage Assembly, of which I was a member, to guide the new government. Without any substantial change until 2013, this law worked well under six mayors of all different political persuasions and approaches to collective bargaining. The give-and-take associated with labor contracts benefited the citizens of the municipality through the development of a well-trained, talented and honest workforce dedicated to providing essential services and saving lives. Fair wages and benefits both retained long-term employees and attracted good recruits for job openings, thereby saving taxpayers money.

As mayor of Anchorage from 1982 to 1988, I can speak personally to how well the old labor law worked. With a steep decline in oil prices beginning in the mid-1980s, the municipality was hurting as state budget cuts and lower property values put a serious strain on services. Not only did labor take voluntary cuts but also there were multiple years without raises for cost-of-living increases due to the municipality's revenue shortages. One of my successors faced a similar challenge in 1998, when the price of oil hit $9 per barrel, but there was never a suggestion that the rights of labor needed to be trimmed back by changing the labor ordinance.

Over the years, mayors and assemblies did what they could, and thanks to fair collective bargaining negotiations both sides took their lumps while the public was served.

So what generated the need to rewrite the labor ordinance? According to the current mayor, its chief author and advocate, it was necessitated by a changed "business environment." This is a rationale that has yet to be explained or justified. And, ironically, it is passage of AO 37 significantly changing bargaining rights that is creating the first major labor strife since unification. Why would we want to replace years of productive negotiation with the confrontation and divisiveness so pervasive in other political arenas today?

The Assembly properly voted to repeal the ordinance -- twice -- only to have the mayor veto it. Now the issue comes before the voters of Anchorage. Should we repeal a law that, for the first time in more than 35 years, dramatically changed the rights and rules governing labor relations in our city? I believe the answer is clear both from my perspective as a former Assemblyman and mayor, and from listening to others who should know, former Police Chief Walt Monegan and former Fire Chief Craig Goodrich. Both men rose from the ranks to become chiefs and together have decades of experience with collective bargaining as members of their unions and later as representatives of management. They now have made a persuasive case that AO 37 poorly serves both the employees and citizens of the municipality and has an adverse impact on the safety of our community. They strongly conclude that we should vote no and repeal the law. I agree with the chiefs.

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The Assembly did its job by repealing AO 37 and substituting a compromise. But that didn't satisfy the mayor who vetoed that compromise. Now it's time for us to do our job and veto the ordinance with a no vote on Ballot Measure No. 1. Let's continue the rules that worked so well for more than 35 years and under six other mayors.

Tony Knowles served two terms on the first Anchorage Assembly after unification and two terms as mayor of Anchorage 1982-88. He served as governor of Alaska 1994-2002.

The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.

Tony Knowles

Tony Knowles served two terms as Alaska's governor and two terms as Anchorage's mayor. He lives in Anchorage.

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