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Republican member of Alaska’s state House of Representatives, Carl Gatto has begun a Wisconsin-like labor fight in his state with a bill aimed at curbing collective bargaining rights. Under Gatto’s bill HB 200, most public employee unions will lose the right to negotiate for anything except wages. Similar to legislation in other states, firefighters, police officers and medical technicians will be exempt, creating a two-tiered system. The motivation for Representative Gatto’s bill is ostensibly to balance the state’s budget, but he has not shown how gutting union power will save cash. This is not the first time Alaska’s public employees have been targeted to bear the brunt of cost-saving measures. In 2005 their pension system was overhauled. Any employee entering the system after 2006 was placed in a contribution-based pension system, with no guarantee of a pension through retirement. The Anchorage Press reports that Alaska has a strong union tradition despite its reputation for conservatism. The bill is not expected to pass this year, but Gatto told CNN he will not give up.

GUEST: Cindy Spanyers, Legislative Liaison and Classification Coordinator for the Alaska Public Employees Association and Alaska Federation of Teachers, and an Officer in the Democratic Party

The Anchorage Rally: “We Are One” by the APEA-AFT will take place on Monday, April 4, 4:30–6:30pm at the Loussac Library, 36th & Denali