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Collective Bargaining for Supervisory Unit SU Members

This sheet is designed to answer the most common questions SU members ask about collective bargaining. The online version has embedded links which also provide more information. If you have any additional questions, please reach out to your Employee Representative.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the process involved in bargaining a contract with the State for our union?

Bargaining the contract is an ongoing process and includes more than just the time spent at the negotiating table. SU member input in the form of surveys, chapter meetings, and individual outreach help shape the strategy the team incorporates for negotiations. 

 

Below is a general, condensed overview from electing member negotiators to reaching a tentative agreement. 

 

1.     SU surveys members for insight into their priorities and elect members to the bargaining team (Fall 2020)

2.     Bargaining team, including APEA-AFT staff, begin researching and drafting proposed language (Fall 2020)

3.     SU starts meeting with the State team at agreed upon times, dates, and locations (December 2020)

4.     Proposals, and counter-proposals, are exchanged and discussed (ongoing)

5.     When both sides agree on a particular topic, both sides tentatively agree (TA) (ongoing)

6.     Once all open articles have reached a TA, SU negotiations present the full tentative agreement to membership (TBD)

7.     Only Full Members of SU can vote on the Tentative Agreement.  If you aren’t a full member yet, or are not sure, you can 

            download, fill out, and return your membership form here.

8.     If SU members reject the full tentative agreement, SU must go back to the negotiations table and start anew.

Who is part of our bargaining team and how are they selected?

The SU bargaining team is comprised of members elected regionally by SU membership and professional staff from Alaska Public Employee Association-AFT (APEA_AFT), our state affiliate, with years of negotiation experience. There are 6 SU members elected for the bargaining team, three who are leads and three alternates from each region. Elections were held in the fall of 2020 for this bargaining team. 

 

APEA-AFT staff include Business Manager Brian Penner; Southeast Regional Manager Jeff Kasper is a former SU Negotiator; and Southeast Field Representative Stephen Courtright, who is new to APEA, is a former state employee union leader. Together they bring years of experience, education, knowledge of state policies and procedures, and training in the art and science of negotiations.

What happens if our bargaining team and the State cannot reach an agreement?

There are two legal tools that could be triggered if SU and the State cannot reach an agreement. 

 

Mediation is where both sides select a mutually-agreeable mediator, though this can take several weeks. A mediation session is then scheduled, which can mean a delay of several months. If there is still not an agreement after this months long process then the next step is arbitration.

 

Arbitration also requires both sides to mutually agree on an arbitrator, then an arbitration session is scheduled. Like mediation, this usually results in a delay of weeks to months to get to the arbitration session. The decision of the arbitrator is binding only on the union.

 

Class I employees in the SU bargaining unit must submit to binding arbitration and cannot participate in a lawful strike. They include, police, fire, correctional, and some hospital employees.

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