In each of the next three years, the Dunleavy administration wants to cut pay rates for about 2,100 supervisors by 2 percent, according to an update on contract negotiations distributed by the Alaska Public Employees Association to union members.

The negative cost of living adjustment would follow 5 years of no COLA increases for supervisors, while other bargaining units saw some increases. The union proposed COLA increases of 7 percent, 3 percent and 2 percent over the next three years.

Those proposals came about with “the thought that a supervisor should be paid more than the people they supervise.”

The state wants every supervisor to take furloughs of up to 10 days if the governor decides it is necessary and eliminate any power the union has to limit the state from contracting out union jobs. The state wants to eliminate the “floating holiday,” make it more difficult to receive merit increases and require that travel benefits, such as the accumulation of Alaska Airlines travel miles, be turned over to the state.

These are likely to be among the most contentious items between the union and the state. And it may be a hint of what the state will seek from other employee groups.

The union says the state’s argument for its various proposals are “that they need increased flexibility and 27,000 Alaskans have lost their jobs because of COVID.”

A union official said in an email to union members that “negotiators have tried to walk the fine line of making reasonable requests and also acknowledging that supervisors have made sacrifices for the past several contracts which included furloughs, no COLAs and a split in leave accumulation rates.”

A union official wrote to members that “the state is very impressed with how strong your chin is because these proposals are enough to knock most people to the floor.”

A July 2016 study, based on data from 2009-2013, found that government workers overall in Alaska made 8 percent less than those in the private sector. But total compensation was not significantly different because benefits were better for public sector workers.

The study by the Institute of Social and Economic Research found that in higher-paying occupations, both “governments wages and total compensation were considerably less than private pay and compensation.”

The study found that for workers with a college degree, state and local governments paid an average of 22 percent less than private employers.

The state has avoided doing much real research on wage rates for its employees in recent years. The Division of Personnel and Labor Relations has studies posted on its website from 2008-2015, with the last salary study in 2009.

“The comparison will determine if the State of Alaska is offering salaries and benefits that are within an appropriate competitive range in relation to other competitive employers,” the state website still says. “We are anticipating receipt of the final report in late November, 2009.”

The most recent profile of the state workforce says the average supervisor is 47 years old, with an average of 13 years on the job.

The average monthly salary for 2,121 employees in the supervisors bargaining unit was $7,872 in 2020, with a high monthly salary of $10,083 in public safety and a low of $5,557 in the law department.