Sen. Dennis Egan, D-Juneau, has said it’s not the job of legislators to get involved in contract talks. Ricky Deising, regional director of the Inland Boatmen’s Union of the Pacific, said the issue of standby passes for employees, pensioners and family members comes up during each round of negotiations.
State legislative leaders have called on Gov. Sean Parnell to “hold the line” in contract talks with the Alaska Marine Highway System’s unions.
The lawmakers, in a letter dated Feb. 26, said they hear from constituents on the high cost of operating the ferry system – “costs which need considerable effort to control” – and encouraged Parnell to “consider fiscally prudent monetary terms” in negotiations “such as closing extravagant benefits like ferry passes and readdressing cost of living differentials.”
Sen. Dennis Egan, D-Juneau, has said it’s not the job of legislators to get involved in contract talks.
Ricky Deising, regional director of the Inland Boatmen’s Union of the Pacific, one of the unions representing ferry workers, said Tuesday that it’s “absolutely incorrect” to suggest the state loses money with [standby passes for employees, pensioners and family members] because the space wasn’t otherwise being used. He said the issue of the passes comes up during each round of negotiations.