By Associated Press
and Sentinel Staff
Alaska union officials and state Senate Democrats have reacted to the formal opinion announced by Attorney General Kevin Clarkson Tuesday that a U.S. Supreme Court ruling requires members of state public employee unions in Alaska to annually reaffirm or reject their membership.
Clarkson’s opinion is the nation’s most aggressive interpretation of the 2018 ruling, said Joelle Hall, an Alaska AFL-CIO operations manager.
“Obviously we will be taking action to prevent this from taking place,” Hall said.
In its 2018 ruling on Janus vs. AFSCME the Supreme Court ruled that non-union public employees cannot be forced to pay fees to receive benefits negotiated by unions on behalf of other workers.
Clarkson stated that in light of that ruling, Alaska must take “significant additional steps to protect the First Amendment rights to free speech for state employees,” by changing the process by which the state withholds union dues from workers’ paychecks.
Gov. Dunleavy’s office declined to immediately say whether a yearly opt-in system will be established because of the ruling. But Alaska State Employees Association Director Jake Metcalfe said he believes the state will initiate an opt-in system and said the association will sue if that occurs.
“He wants to be able to fire them for any reason,” Metcalfe said of Dunleavy’s position on public employees. “He wants to cut their pay and benefits and send them back to the 19th century.”
Clarkson called Metcalfe’s statement a “ridiculous assertion.”
Upon taking office as governor Dunleavy asked the attorney general to evaluate whether Alaska was in compliance with the Janus decision.
“The governor’s earlier request and my opinion place no concern on whether public employees continue to join or support unions,” Clarkson said in a statement. “That choice belongs, as it always has, to the employees.”
In a statement to the press today State Senate Democrats said:
“The attorney general advised Gov. Dunleavy to take action by administrative order to make every eligible employee opt-in annually to stay in their union, instead of honoring current contracts that let employees choose to join when they’re hired, and give them the right to opt-out of contributing at any time.
“The governor has not yet shared with the public how or when he intends to change the opt-in process for public employee unions.”
The statement quoted Senate Democratic Leader Tom Begich, D-Anchorage:
“This is an overreaching opinion that no other state has concurred with. The Attorney General is taking advantage of the position he holds to promote outsider agendas that slowly chip away at workers’ rights. This Administration needs to start prioritizing Alaskans’ economic stability.”
The Democratic release said the State of Alaska employs moe than 22,000 Alaskans statewide, with 14,000 represented by collective bargaining agreements.
The attorney general’s opinion ‘‘is an attempt to limit Alaskans’ right of free association by making it hard to join or stay in a union,” said Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau. “The AG’s letter goes so far past the Janus decision you can’t see it in the rearview mirror anymore... it’s clear this attorney general doesn’t care about workers’ First Amendment rights.”
