ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å

Full contract proposals, economic terms needed to move forward

The Latest: As ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å continues negotiations with CAUSE, employees have raised growing concerns about the pace of negotiations and the uncertainty around when a first contract will be in place.

• The Bottom Line: We’ve heard those concerns and are doing all we can to keep moving forward toward an agreement, but that will require both parties to exchange complete proposals - including economic terms like pay and benefits - which CAUSE negotiators have yet to do.

Why Complete Proposals Matter

What ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å has done: Since bargaining began, ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å has provided five complete, comprehensive contract proposals to CAUSE so the parties can evaluate how the entire contract functions as a whole.

• Why It Matters: This approach helps identify how individual provisions work together, provides a clearer understanding of overall financial impacts, and supports discussions about long-term sustainability. The ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å bargaining team believes this method offers the most direct path toward reaching a complete Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in a timely fashion.

• CAUSE’s approach of negotiating article by article creates inefficiency. It becomes difficult to see how changes in one area affect another, requires additional time to manage and ensure consistency, and prevents the parties from weighing trade-offs across the agreement and resolving issues and shared priorities as part of an overall package or agreement.

CAUSE Responses Needed on Compensation, Contested Positions

What ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å has done: Compensation and contested positions are another area where employees have expressed concern, and ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å’s proposals have provided multiple opportunities for CAUSE to respond and negotiate. We’ve not yet received responses, which is concerning.

• Contested Positions: More than 300 positions currently have unresolved bargaining unit inclusion status. The university recognizes the uncertainty this creates for affected employees and is committed to finalizing these status determinations as expeditiously as possible.

• Compensation and Status Quo Requirements: Under Alaska Law, across-the-board salary increases and one-time bonuses cannot be implemented for bargaining unit members until a complete agreement is finalized. The timing of the election this spring already impacted raises once this year.

CAUSE hasn’t yet responded to ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å’s recent economic and compensation proposals or addressed the contested positions. Combined with the article-by-article negotiation approach, ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å’s Bargaining Team is very concerned negotiations will be prolonged, unnecessarily extending uncertainty for employees.

• Why It Matters: Under Alaska Law, the complete monetary and nonmonetary terms of a tentative agreement must be submitted to the Legislature no later than the 60th day of the legislative session (Friday, March 19, 2027) to receive legislative consideration for appropriation during that calendar year. If that deadline is missed, there could be additional impacts.

Looking Ahead

ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å's negotiating team is doing everything it can to keep making progress, and we hope the next negotiating session will be more fruitful. 

• ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å explicitly requested that CAUSE negotiators respond to the University's complete, 17-article master package proposal - including all economic responses - with clear explanations of changes to keep things moving forward. 

• The Bottom Line: ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°å remains dedicated to reaching a fair, balanced, and fiscally sustainable agreement that supports employees while advancing our mission.