{"id":388,"date":"2026-06-12T18:34:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T18:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=388"},"modified":"2026-06-12T18:34:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T18:34:32","slug":"university-of-alaska-staff-union-files-unfair-labor-practice-charge-against-employer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=388","title":{"rendered":"University of Alaska staff union files unfair labor practice charge against employer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The University of Alaska\u2019s newest and largest union filed an against the university last week. The union alleges the university interfered with bargaining rights and retaliated against union members.<\/p>\n

Read more Lawsuit alleges Palmer violated open meetings law in golf course talks<\/a><\/p>\n

The Coalition of Alaska University Employees for Equity, or CAUSE-UAW, formed in April. The union of more than 2,000 includes permanent staff at the university, including people who work in financial aid, advising, communications and other areas.<\/p>\n

The union alleges the university violated state law on two fronts. One was by reversing course on supporting a 3% wage increase for staff during the legislative session. That\u2019s according to Jeremiah Youmans, a senior data center technician for the university, who\u2019s on the union\u2019s bargaining committee.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a path forward for us to get the 3% raise, and that the university worked against us in getting rid of that from the budget,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The university\u2019s budget request for the upcoming fiscal year included a 3% wage increase for non-union employees, as well as raises for union members based on collective bargaining agreements. State law requires salary raises for union members to come from collective bargaining agreements that the Legislature approves funding for, which CAUSE does not have yet.<\/p>\n

The House\u2019s version of the budget included language that created a possibility for CAUSE to also receive that raise. That ultimately did not end up in the final version of the budget.<\/p>\n

Youmans said these raises are important to members.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot having this wage increase is, in former President Pitney\u2019s own words, \u2018threatens the stability of the university,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cLike others in Alaska, we\u2019re struggling with rising cost increases, particularly with the rise in oil prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Youmans explained the second way the union claims the university is violating state law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe university continues to retaliate against us by soliciting people to leave the unit in exchange for that 3% increase,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to the filing, the University HR Director, Nickole Conley, sent an email to a group of university employees stating that some people might receive a 3% wage increase if by the end of the fiscal year, they submit an objection to their inclusion in the union.<\/p>\n

Read more Alaska Division of Elections intends to strike U.S. Senate challenger Dan Sullivan from the ballot<\/a><\/p>\n

Jonathon Taylor is the director of public affairs for the university. He said the university has not violated state law on either front. He said the university communicated to staff from the beginning of the election period that they would not qualify for a 3% raise for the next fiscal year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn state law, and in case law, it\u2019s black and white,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can\u2019t pay increases to represented groups without a legislative appropriation and a contract.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor said the claim about asking people to leave the union is untrue. He explained that prior to the union election, both parties couldn\u2019t agree on whether certain positions belonged to the union. But he said there was an agreement in place to review those positions after the election.<\/p>\n

Taylor said the email mentioned in the filing was to notify finance staff that there are people who might qualify for a raise after both parties determine whether the positions in question do or don\u2019t belong in the union.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s basically saying, \u2018Look, we know that there are some people who are eligible who may end up getting pulled out of the unit because they weren\u2019t put in there correctly. They shouldn\u2019t have been in there to begin with, and if they do get pulled out, then they will still get their increase,\u2019\u201d he said<\/p>\n

Taylor said the university is working to get through the contract process, which is how union staff will be able to get a raise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big picture for us is trying to do right by our employees and making sure they have correct and accurate information, and moving towards actual contract negotiations, so that we can resolve some of this uncertainty that I think a lot of our staff are experiencing,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n

The university can respond to the union\u2019s charge, and the union can then file a rebuttal afterwards. A hearing examiner investigates the case and then issues a finding, which usually takes 90 days, according to the Alaska Labor Relations Agency\u2019s administrator and hearing examiner, Nicole Thibodeau.<\/p>\n

Read more Gasline tax bill heads for House vote as developer pledges to prioritize Alaska labor<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The union alleges the university violated state law on two fronts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nUniversity of Alaska staff union files unfair labor practice charge against employer - Alaska Moving Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=388\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"University of Alaska staff union files unfair labor practice charge against employer - Alaska Moving Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The union alleges the university violated state law on two fronts.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=388\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Alaska Moving Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-12T18:34:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=388#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=388\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4e09896005b88414084eb4bd3215ab0a\"},\"headline\":\"University of Alaska staff union files unfair labor practice charge against employer\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-12T18:34:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=388\"},\"wordCount\":766,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=388#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/39b1f0b7a86f34afecc6789bd163a705.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=388#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=388\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\\\/?p=388\",\"name\":\"University of Alaska staff union files unfair labor practice charge against employer - 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