Â鶹´«Ã½ and UNAC continue work towards new contract with help from federal mediator
January 24, 2025
The Latest: Â鶹´«Ã½ and UNAC began federal mediation last week as they continue to work towards reaching a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
Catch Up Quick: Â鶹´«Ã½ and UNAC began negotiations on a new contract last fall, and reached tentative agreement (TA) on 17 of 22 contract articles before mutually declaring deadlock and seeking help from an outside federal mediator. Seeking mediation to reach TA on a full contract is not uncommon.
- Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s current contract with UNAC expired at the end of last year, but remains in force under Alaska Law and the ground rules both parties agreed to at the beginning of negotiations.
Why It Matters: Mediation will allow Â鶹´«Ã½ and UNAC to build on progress already made toward a new contract, and increases the likelihood that we will be able to agree on a completed one before important state budget deadlines in the spring.
- Proposals exchanged during mediation are confidential.
- Mediation continues next week. The Â鶹´«Ã½ Bargaining Team is also open to additional mediation sessions in hopes of reaching mutual agreement before March 2025 budget deadlines.
The Details: The most significant areas where Â鶹´«Ã½ and UNAC remain far apart are monetary terms, namely compensation and benefits.
- Importantly, those are also items on which agreement must be reached in time for the Governor’s budget office to review before the March 21, 2025, deadline for submission to the Legislature for inclusion in the University’s budget that begins July 1, 2025.
- Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s last, pre-mediation proposal included higher salary minimums and across-the-board increases of 2.75%, 3%, and 3% for FY26, FY27, and FY28, respectively.
- UNAC’s last, pre-mediation compensation proposal was projected to cost nearly $113 million over the contract period, exceeding Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s proposal by roughly $40 million.
Zoom Out: Negotiations are taking place in an atmosphere of restrained state spending, even as fixed costs - healthcare, utilities, and cybersecurity, among others - continue to rise.
- The FY26 budget proposal approved by the Board of Regents in November reflects Â鶹´«Ã½â€™s need to keep our budgetary requests to the state narrow and focused.
- The Board and university leaders are concerned about the sustainability of proposed compensation increases due to rising healthcare costs. Those increased costs have resulted in challenging circumstances for school districts and municipalities around the state already this year.
- By the Numbers: The budget approved by the Board in November already requests over $20 million in state funding to cover increased premium costs for FY26 and cost under-recovery from FY24.
- Striking a Balance: The Board and President Pitney understand that compensation is a key issue for recruitment and retention, but must balance it with our and the state’s budget constraints.
What’s Next: Negotiations will continue with the mediator. Both Â鶹´«Ã½ and UNAC previously agreed to abide by current contract terms and keep negotiating even if the contract expiration date has passed, which is consistent with our mutually agreed-upon ground rules and Alaska law.
- Operational Impacts: In the short term, no major operational shifts are expected. Classes will continue as usual with no disruptions, consistent with the agreed-upon ground rules and Alaska law.
Notable Dates:
- January 21, 2025 – Legislative session begins
- March 21, 2025 – Bargaining unit monetary terms due to the Legislature
The Bottom Line: Mutually seeking mediation will help Â鶹´«Ã½ and UNAC build on progress made toward a new contract and address outstanding issues productively. It also keeps us on the path to reaching agreement before the key March 21, 2025 deadline for monetary terms to be submitted to the Legislature.
Visit /hr/labor/labor-relations/unac.php for updates on the progress of negotiations throughout this semester.