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Posted by Darryl (darryl) on Aug 03 2006
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Beginning with the Governor’s office and his Chief of Staff, Jim Clark, AMHS can’t move unless Jim Clark says so. His micro management style has created a vacuum within DOT&PF, void of any real leadership in our Ferry System.   Deputy Commissioner, Robin Taylor, has effectively run our vessels on to the rocks with his “vision” of changing our Ferry System for the better.  While attempting to provide more service and keeping our vessels running longer, we didn’t have a game plan to meet the added costs of more vessels on the run longer.  While nearly doubling the amount of “Operational Weeks” in Fiscal Year 2006 from the previous year, most of our long time vessel employees wondered where the funds to run such an ambitious schedule would come from, well, now we know. AMHS is running on empty as we speak, that is why we don’t have a schedule through the spring. In defense of Commissioner Taylor, he was given a post but had little power to do more than create a schedule for vessels. Commissioner Barton instructed AMHS not to develop a schedule past December 31, 2006 and our future and AMHS’s future will fall on the lap of our next Governor.  Historically, AMHS is in this position in January-February and there is a Supplemental Budget Request in to the Legislature to float AMHS until July when the next fiscal year begins.  But it is mid September and we still have nine more months to go on the funds that were allocated to us in July.  Call me a cynic, but I don’t know how we’ll do it this time.
 
The Murkowski Administration “Spin Doctors” are blaming the out of control AMHS budget on vessel employees wage increases; Southeast Conference is meeting this week in Ketchikan and that is the message AMHS leadership is spreading in the conference.  Though the wage increases during the last bargaining cycle were more than we have ever experienced within a three year period, anyone knows that there is much more to the equation than wages.  Fuel costs have doubled, operational weeks doubled and the latest, PERS contributions have increased; the Murkowski Administration has just informed all departments to eat the increase in their budgets. That tacks on an additional 5% more costs to payroll for AMHS.
 
With all the increase in cost to AMHS operation, Port Captain Richard Gordon was given the task of cutting costs but, his decisions are not based on reality.  Every Steward knows that when a vessel goes to the Yard, there is a lot of work to put a vessel to bed. Gordon has dramatically cut the crew size on all vessels going into the Yard. The worst case was leaving a vessel without soul to handle closing down the galley or close out the Trip and Cash reports. The transition memo ordered the crew off the vessel as soon as it hit the dock. Other creative ways to “save money” is forcing the JNU crew of the Taku to “deadhead” home from the Yards through SIT, effectively making the crew spend two extra days on the Malaspina instead of flying the crew home when they are relieved in KTN. Gordon understands that the JNU crew members on the Taku are entitled to MG and since he is forced contractually to pay it, he is willing to pay it as “Travel Time” and will pay the entitled crew 24 hours of “Travel Pay” to get out of buying plane tickets from KTN to JNU. Gordon will save a whopping $ 2,250.00 while spending $17,000.00 to hire a contractor to do a project that an AMHS licensed engineer has been doing for years for an hourly wage. But wait there’s more, because the work is done in the Ketchikan Shipyard, ASD gets to pad the $17,000.00 invoice with an additional 15% just because they oversee the work.  All this so AMHS can man our vessels in the Yards with less crew. Once again, Operations is bending over to pick up a penny while $20.00 bills are falling out of the hole in their pockets.  

LeConte Update

Greetings all, yesterday Darryl, Tim Anderson and I met with the powers to be on the issue's concerning the LeConte day boat operation and some of the problems that have come up,1. more crew were asked for once again, their response, we will look into it. 2. The way time sheets are filled out, their response 7 -12 hour days will be the way they will be filled out. 3. Our work week ends on Thursday at 6pm, Their response was yes that is true and crew can rest assured that they not need stand by their phones on Friday morning to make sure they have been relived, it is the duty of the person who is dispatched to be there to begin their work week, and if for some reason that person doesn't show then the ship will not sail till someone is found to fill that slot. 4. Per diem for meals, we made a very strong point about the reason's we feel they should pay at least Dinner per diem, their response, we will look into it, it was also very strongly advised that any crew member who is from out of town should receive it. 5. Any crew member who now holds a bid on the LeConte and decides to give up their bid because they find this new day boat operation something that no longer appeals to them or finds it a unworkable working condition, will be a RARE for the period of 6 bidding rotations, Their response was they will obtain a crew list from dispatch and see how many crew members this will affect, and they will look into it.  The meeting time ended and we left with hope that maybe something will take place that can make this operation run more smoothly. So batten down the hatches and prepare for a full gail. We as a union have some stormy sea's ahead of us, and hopefully with elections ahead of us, it brings the hope of smooth waters and a tail wind that will bring us back on the right course.
 
 
Praise Life & Namast'e Ricky D

Regional Director's AMHS comments 8/03/06

The nightmare never ends when dealing with the State of Alaska. Now more than ever we have reached a point where our members jobs with AMHS has become a political football.  With increasing population growth in the Railbelt and the Mat-Su areas, the bulk of our State's population now live in the Anchorage area;Southeast Alaska will become just another rural area fighhting to survive with less and less representation in our state legislature.  The desire to build more and more roads throughout the Tongass and the Chugach National Forests has hurt support of our state's marine transportation system.  The ignorance of most of our state's residents on how important our ferry system is to us coastal Alaskans is disturbing.  We will need to begin a program to educate the non-coastal Alaskans just how important our marine transportation is to our State's economy. 

How we are perceived by our traveling public is also key, most of us understand that our reputation among anti-ferry advocates is not good.  Regardless of the circumstances, when a passenger sees seven to eight stewards sitting outside the dining room smoking cigarettes, they don't understand that they may all be on break or even off shift.  All they see is dirty tables in the dining area and ferry employees sitting around not working.   We have much to do before the new Administration takes the helm in the coming year, we can not afford to lose any support we have now. We all need to be concerned about the future of  our ferry system and we need to be aware that our individual actions paint the whole ferry system and our membership.  I would welcome any comments or editorials from our membership and hope to have a page to allow postings in the future. Please feel free to contact me and Mary in Juneau or Pete in Ketchikan.  In Solidarity, Darryl

Regional Report                              June 9, 2006

By Darryl Tseu        

We are growing and are planning for more growth in our future.  The IBUP is more than “the Union” representing AMHS employees.  The IBUP has eight regional offices and represents nearly 4,000 maritime workers throughout the country. The Alaska Region has also grown in the past four years from three bargaining units to seven.  With growth we must improve efficiency in operating our region.  Your Executive Committee made up of members from across the state has agreed to focus on our web site to improve communications with our membership.  As a “service union” we have some strong democratic beliefs and have a very flat organization for the size of our membership. During the last quarter our membership roles averaged over 700 members.  Yes, there are grievances, arbitrations and negotiations in each of our units and we do it with two elected officials and one staff member.  Pete and I really appreciate the work Mary does each and every day for our members, it is more than many know.  With our schedules it would be best to call ahead and make an appointment. 

AMHS

Intentional or not, the state’s delay tactics in all aspects of their operation has escalated the frustration of our AMHS bargaining unit.  The tactic of stalling and dragging issues on is a technique that even Microsoft has used for years when dealing with their anti-trust charges and moving ahead to meet their court ordered sanctions.  It’s a tactic most businesses use when dealing with labor.

 

High on our priority list has been the printing of our collective bargaining agreement.  We have just received an electronic version with several errors that will need to be addressed. Examples of careless errors include language left over from negotiations from 1996 that was renegotiated in 2000.  It is our hope that we will be able to complete the review of the document and send it off to the printers in a couple of weeks.

 

We have made weekly requests to meet and discuss several critical issues to our AMHS membership; dysfunctional crew dispatch, inconsistencies in following MQs for bid jobs and reviving the Vacation Committee. Though the various factions of DOT & PF and the Administration say meeting together is a great idea, getting them to the table appears to be more difficult than talking about it.

 

With the latest information coming from the State’s new healthcare administrator, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, it was disheartening to see that our employer has decided to take the low road and force us to arbitration in order to receive our healthcare contribution increases.  During the closing days of negotiations in the spring of 2004 our negotiating committee resolved the differences of opinion between the state and our union.  The language agreed to by the parties follows:

 

“29.03   The eligibility of employees and their dependents for each coverage referred to above and the precise benefits to be provided shall be as set forth in the insurance contract(s) entered into by the State of Alaska for that purpose. 

 

Effective July 1, 2004, the Employer health insurance contribution will be $852 per month for each eligible employee. 

 

For each subsequent year of this agreement, the employer health insurance contribution will be increased on July 1 by the amount equal to the premium percentage increase necessary to maintain the Select Benefits Economy Medical/Audio/RX/Dental plan.

 

If in subsequent years the health insurance program is provided by a Trust through letter of agreement, the Employer will make a contribution of $852 per month for each eligible employee to the IBU National’s Taft-Hartley regulated health insurance trust “ Inlandboatmen’s National Health Benefit Trust” for each eligible employee.  For each subsequent year of this agreement, the employer health insurance contribution to the IBU National Health Benefit Trust will be increased on July 1 by the amount equal to the premium percentage increase necessary to maintain the Select Benefits Economy Medical/Audio/RX/Dental plan.

 

Eligible employees shall pay by payroll deduction any difference between the employer contribution and the total premium required to provide the health care coverage for the employee, spouse and dependents.

 

 

Under no circumstances shall the State be responsible for the payment of any benefits under the health and welfare plan or plans administered by the Union or its agents, successors, or assignees.  No disputes under or relating to such benefits shall be subject to the grievance arbitration procedure in the collective bargaining agreement except an allegation that the Employer failed to make the agreed upon contributions. The Union agrees and undertakes to assure that any alternative insurance plan or health and welfare plan implemented under this agreement is in compliance with all applicable Federal and State laws and regulations.  The parties will meet and confer regarding changes in Federal or State laws and applicable regulations.

The State is not a party to, and has no obligations arising under such a plan.  However, the State does recognize and acknowledge that the prompt and accurate payment of contributions is essential to the maintenance of the plan.

The parties acknowledge that discrepancies between employee eligibility and corresponding contributions will frequently arise and may exist in any month.  The parties will exercise all due diligence in reconciling contributions and eligibility on a monthly basis, including adjustments of overpayments and underpayments as may be necessary.”

 

Our expectations were that in addition to our $852.00 per month contribution, the state would increase the monthly benefit to equal the increase to the State’s Economy Plan increase each July 1st.  In July 1, 2005 the Economy Plan increased by $6.00 and therefore our total benefit for the next fiscal year would be $858.00.  With the announcement of the new Economy Plan rates from the State effective July 1, 2006, we were expecting an additional $15.00, making a total of $873.00 per month per AMHS Unit member.  I have a letter from the Director of Labor Relations which acknowledges our agreement and states that the additional increases will be paid retroactively.  We are reviewing options with our legal counsel and are planning to get the issue resolved this summer.

 

During the past few months meetings with Labor Relations have resulted in the closure of several outstanding grievances.  We were able to settle and provide payments to several members compensating them for time served in Jury Duty, split wages, overtime and getting a member back to work after being terminated with no Just Cause.

 

LeConte Day Boat Negotiations

During the last month we have met with various Labor Relations Staff regarding the Administrations decision to kill the LeConte operation. We began to pick up little tidbits on the hill and around the DOT&PF building at 3 Mile that AMHS was losing too much money running to the out ports of Angoon, Kake, Hoonah, Pelican and Sitka.  The plan Robin Taylor had was to operate the LeConte as a day boat out of Haines running back and forth to Skagway.  By joining forces and rising up together with the communities and native associations against the plan we were able to bring this Administration back to reality.  I would like to thank those crew members who have spent time with me in the Legislative offices, assisting in communications and participating in negotiations. We are working on a deadline set by the state itself. The state’s negotiators have said that if there is no agreement in place by June 22nd, they will tie up the LeConte.  We have been working closely with MEBA and MM&P to cover each others concerns.  There is no doubt that the intention of the state is to lower the manning of the LeConte and they want jobs gone tomorrow.  Our focus is to realistically show the state how many crew members will be required to operate the vessel safely as a day boat.  It is much more than eight.  At this time the state has agreed to keep the crews in place and the vessel operating with a 24/7 manning but on a day boat schedule. We will get information out to the fleet as it becomes available. During our last meeting we presented our crew manning proposals and we are expecting a response from the state by Monday, June 12th.

 

Letters of Agreements

The E-Board and concerned members have been assisting in reviewing several letters of agreement that the state has sent our way. We have been passing proposals and counter proposals in the hopes of getting resolution to several issues. We are close to an understanding over reinstating a Vacation Committee.  The two outstanding issues are the ability of a dispatcher to cancel an approved vacation without notice and reimbursement of expenses for those Vacation Committee members working in Ketchikan.  Both parties realize how important scheduling and time off are to vessel employees. 

 

We are awaiting comments from our E-Board on a Letter of Agreement allowing the state to limit the length of work assignments on our SW vessels in an effort to evenly distribute work to our new hires in the SW system.  Unfortunately, there is more to the issue than simply restricting new hires.  Working less than 30 days will expose members to LWOP, loss of healthcare and no access to their accrued A-Days.

 

Arbitration

We are in the process of preparing for an arbitration regarding an excess of 168 aboard the M/V Kennicott.  We should complete the hearing mid June and expect a response from Arbitrator Thomas Levak in August.  We are awaiting a decision from our last arbitration regarding Seasonal and Relief Employees working more than 84 hours. The key to that arbitration is what Arbitrator Croll defines as an assignment. Our position is   Rule 22.03 (C) states that only RAE’s have a “normal” change day and therefore any other employee type does not.  Under that reasoning any employee who works 84 hours will be considered to have worked their “normal” assignment and any hours worked over that “normal” 84 hours would be an excess of 84 and paid at the overtime rate until relieved, rule 22.03 (B).

 

Current Issues

Dispatch has always been an issue and continues to be one.  We have sat down with Operations and Labor Relations on several occasions to discuss shortages in our Deck and Engine Departments in our attempt to develop and improve our lines of communication with dispatchers.  Both Pete and I hope that we can once again assist and participate in both recruiting and crew scheduling.  In the past when our relationship was better, the IBU and Operations worked together on dispatch, training and bid awards. We are anticipating the unveiling of the long awaited “Dispatch Software”. After months of delays, we understand that WCCO is ready to begin discussions on the implementation of the program.  Tied in with the program are related issues such as quarterly dispatch, vacation approvals, seniority rosters and training records. The comments from the Port Captain’s office is that this program will be the “silver bullet” we are looking for and will not only resolve dispatching problems but also find world peace and bring gasoline prices below $1.00 per gallon.

 

PSC, Proficiency in Survival Craft, Lifeboat Ticket, we all know the song and dance, you can’t get a bid job without the training listed on your STCW.  But with no training available in SE Alaska, most of our members are unable to afford a week in a hotel, airfare to Seattle and $500.00 tuition.  After talking with Deb Clark on the challenges we face with minimum qualifications she brought up the language in our CBA that gives AMHS the ability to terminate any employee who has completed 1440 hours of service and does not obtain the PSC training.  By threatening termination, AMHS now qualifies our member’s access to Federal Grants for training. We are working with Berit Eriksson PMTC and Amy Wilson, Training Coordinator for AMHS to get the ball rolling for PSC classes in the near future. Once again contact Pete in Ketchikan or Mary in our Juneau office, we are gathering names of interested members and will contact you when we can get a program together.

 

 Member Update

Family crisis or unexpected health issues can come at any time and there are times when we just are not able to make it.  There may not be time to plan for these unexpected occurrences and several of our brothers and sisters have experienced just such emergencies.  Special thanks to those members who have supported Carol Prewitt, John Scudero, Pam Booth-Slacky and Charlie Young and donated vacation time to their sick leave balances. When a member uses all their leave on the books they will go into leave without pay and will lose healthcare benefits.  With COBRA costing over $1,000.00 per month donating as little as 12 hours per pay period may qualify an AMHS employee for full medical benefits for the month. Since each member’s healthcare deductions are different it would be best to check with Pete or Mary before contributing vacation time to a member in need. 

 

Ketchikan Airport Ferries

 

Pete Lapinski concluded negotiations with the Ketchikan Gateway Borough in January.  The bargaining unit was seeking a rollover agreement with step and merit increases and healthcare costs covered by the employer. With IBEW breaking ground during their contract negotiations last year, the bargaining unit simply wanted what the other Borough employees received.  Pete also was successful in resolving an outstanding grievance and negotiated a settlement over a termination with no just cause.  The Airport Ferry has actually been a revenue positive operation for the Borough though bad business decisions have plagued the ferries for some time.  It was obvious that the focus was building the bridges to Gravina Island and to slowly phase out the ferry operation entirely.  Pete and I had a laugh when our letter requesting to negotiate with KGB instructed us to contact the dog catcher, the animal control officer, in Ketchikan to set dates.

 

City of Unalaska

 

On behalf of our Alaskan membership we want to welcome our newest brothers and sisters from Dutch Harbor to our region.  The Harbor Officers working the docks of Unalaska and Dutch Harbor work a 24/7 operation.  The Alaska Region now represents the administrative staff and the officers responsible for security and safety for the Port of Dutch Harbor. Being one of the busiest fishing ports in the world does present unique work conditions.  Our members must also provide rescue services to vessels in distress in the seas surrounding Unalaska. In mid February through Federal Mediation, we were able to kick start our stalled negotiations with the City of Unalaska.  It was frustrating to sit nearly six months without any movement on the two remaining issues. The City was intent on introducing a step pay plan into the collective bargaining agreement to mirror other labor contracts the city had with other unions. With several bargaining unit members already above the ceiling in their job classes, the employer stubbornly refused to grant them any additional wage increases.  Paying overtime for work weeks longer than five days in a row was the remaining issue. It all came down to defining a work week and the parties agreed in the end to use language that was already in the City contract with the Operating Engineers.  The City also relented and agreed to pay all bargaining unit members 3% for the first year and 1.5% for year two and three to those members already over their maximum pay and 3% each year to those bargaining unit members still below the maximum steps.

 

Northland Services-Whittier

 

Our members working in Whittier have been with the IBU for many years but were finally transferred to the Alaska Region during the last National Convention.  The agreement that our longshore brothers and sisters work in Whittier was formally with JORE Marine with employees working both in the Puget Sound Region and the Alaska Region.  The operation which handles mostly freight and rail cars is one of three major ports of entry for Alaska.  With the potential growth of freight moving into Alaska with the building of the gas line, we believe that the IBU must work to maintain organized labor in Whittier to protect the Teamsters jurisdiction in Anchorage and the ILWU in Seward.  Our contract with Northland expires this year and we will begin negotiations this fall.  We hope to build on the present base and extend additional work through the All Alaska Longshore Agreement with our other International brothers in the All Alaska Longshore Division.  Ted Hermach and Bill Copeland have been key members in leadership who have held the port together for so many years

 

Alaska Nautical Services

 

Negotiations with Alaska Nautical Services were completed nearly a year in advance.  Our negotiating committee worked on several changes that more clearly defined the intent of a few rules.  We were successful in getting a 3% wage increase for each year of the agreement and continued coverage of healthcare increases.  With the involvement of the IBU, long term employees with ANS have seen a tremendous improvement to the work conditions and benefits in the last four years. Brothers Dave Ritchie and Eryc Peterson have done a great job representing the bargaining unit both at the negotiating table and as shop stewards.  Chenega AB, Clark Posey, was a charter member of the ANS bargaining unit.

 

Crowley Marine Services

 

It was a contentious and political debate over CMS being represented by the Alaska Region.  Crowley Marine has provided oil spill response and ship assist services for Alyeska for over eight years.  Our members must react at a moments notice to any emergency and are on stand-by 27/7.  When Crowley was awarded the bid, most of their employees were based in the Puget Sound area and traveled to Valdez to work.  With  Alyeska requiring all contractors to follow hiring rules that enforce a policy to give preference to Alaskan Natives and Alaskans forced Crowley to hire more Alaskans.  Through the years a steady flow of Alaskans have joined the bargaining unit where today

A majority of the unit now live in Alaska.  With the change in demographics it became evident that representation needed to change. The Puget Sound Region fought the change, but in the end the voice of the membership in Valdez spoke and since October of last year we have over 50 Crowley employees being represented by the Alaska Region. 

 

We are now making preparations for our upcoming contract negotiations. These negotiations will be unique to other negotiations in the Alaska Region since we will be joined at the table with the Puget Sound and San Francisco Regions.  The Alaska delegation will include our Regional Director and Engineer, Doug Katzenberger.  Bob Hooyman will represent the unit in our Executive Committee.

 

IBU Longshore-Homer and Valdez

 

Contract negotiations went on through the year and were finally completed just before Christmas. Nathan Wise from Homer and Pat Day from Valdez carried most of the weight of representing the IBU in negotiations that covers both IBU and ILWU Longshoremen working throughout Alaska. Our relationship with our International brothers and sisters has been growing stronger especially since we have joined together to meet common goals. Organizing has been a focus for both of our organizations and we can see how we can benefit by working together. Our ports of Homer and Valdez have seen drops in work opportunity making it more difficult to qualify for healthcare benefits.  In a surprising chain of events, Nathan Wise was elected this spring to the position of Vice-President of the All Alaska Longshore Division, bringing our Alaskan organizations even closer.  We have been meeting with Dennis Young, President of the Longshore Division to coordinate our resources with the Puget Sound Longshore units and the IBU Puget Sound Region in developing strategies in organizing other non union tug and tow operations, fish processors and ferries. 

 

ILWU Convention

 

In early May, Kerry Crocker, David Butler and Dave Morris attended our International Convention joining IBU delegates from San Francisco, Southern California, Hawaii, Columbia, Puget Sound regions and Region 37. With 27 delegates we are the third largest local in the ILWU organization.  Meeting once every three years, the convention provides a great opportunity for us to meet and develop relationships with other union brothers and sisters in other industries.  The business of the International affects our National and each 

Region.  There were several resolutions we were able to pass that will have a direct impact on our Region.  Our Alaska delegation worked together with the Alaska Longshore and received International support for an all Alaska gas line and additional funds and staff for organizing efforts within the state of Alaska.

 

Last changed: Aug 02 2006 at 10:00 PM

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