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People in Juneau gather in the rain at the Alaska State Capitol for a global May Day protest on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

News

‘Mayday, Mayday’: Protesters and Liz Cheney urge wake-up call for defending democracy

Unity and solidarity expressed in rainfall on International Workers’ Day.

Members of the Alaska State Employees Association and AFSCME Local 52 hold a protest at the Alaska State Capitol on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

State employee salaries fall short of levels intended to be competitive, long-delayed study finds

31 of 36 occupation groups are 85%-98% of target level; 21 of 36 are below public/private sector average.

A worker uses machinery while working on the construction site of Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska’s revived Haven House on July 31, 2023. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

State: ‘Modest’ job growth likely in Southeast in ‘24, but shrinking workforce a long-term concern

Report predicts 1.4% regional growth, with wide variances by industry, compared to 1.7% statewide.

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire Alaska Attorney General Trig Taylor (foreground) discusses litigation the state Department of Law is involved with during Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s (left background) unveiling of his proposed budget during a press conference Thursday at the Alaska State Capitol.

News

Legislative Council votes to sue Dunleavy administration in state employee union dues case

Legislators say executive branch violated separation of powers with unauthorized spending.

The Guardian or Authority of Law, created by sculptor James Earle Fraser, rests on the side of the U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 28, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)

News

U.S. Supreme Court will consider taking up Alaska union dues case no sooner than December

An appeal seeking to defend Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed union-dues collection plan will be considered by the…

Heidi Drygas, executive director of the 8,000-member Alaska State Employees Association, addresses a rally outside the Alaska State Capitol on Feb. 10. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)

News

Union for state employees files class action grievance over payroll delays

State has fewer than half the payroll employees needed “to run smoothly,” complaint alleges.

Heidi Drygas, executive director of the 8,000-member Alaska State Employees Association, addresses a rally outside the Alaska State Capitol on Feb. 10. The union prevailed in a lawsuit against Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration alleging union dues rules were illegally changed, but the state on Wednesday appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)

News

Alaska asks U.S. Supreme Court to hear case about state employee union dues

Dunleavy administration claims state supreme court decision violates workers’ First Amendment rights.

The Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, a nonprofit headquartered in Juneau with 10 employees, is awaiting the final outcome of a vote by five non-management employees in favor of unionization. A challenge by the organization’s management on whether the National Labor Relations Board, which tallied the employees’ ballots Thursday, is legally allowed to intervene in the matter is pending. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file)

News

SEACC employees prevail in union vote, but appeal pending

Conservation nonprofit questions NLRB’s authority in dispute, argues outcome may have national impact

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire State Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, right, asks Ajay Desai, director of the Alaska Division of Retirement and Benefits, about the assumptions used to calculate pensions earned by state employees under a fixed-amount plan in effect until 2006 and a subsequent 401K-type plan during a Senate Finance Committee hearing Thursday at the Alaska State Capitol.

News

Report has some lawmakers ready to shed tiers

401k-style state pensions perform worse than expected in first in-depth study of 17-year-old system

Joey Tillson, a state Division of Public Assistance employee in Ketchikan, addresses a state employees’ rally while wearing what she called a warrior hat in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Friday. Participants are trying to convince lawmakers to remedy staffing shortages allegedly caused by problems such as poor wages and poor treatment. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

News

State employees sound the horns on food stamp crisis during rally

Staff and union leaders hope food stamp crisis gets lawmakers to remedy workforce issues, threats.

The Juneau Central Labor Council held its annual Labor Day picnic for Juneau residents at Savikko Park, Sept. 2, 2019. (Michael S. Lockett | Juneau Empire)

News

Drizzly weather can’t dampen Labor Day picnic

Good food and live music outweighed a little rain.