Wrangell's salaries: a look at the numbers

With the public employees' union going on strike late last week, numbers have proven a key issue in the ongoing debate over fair compensation.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547 – which represents 24 of the City and Borough of Wrangell's staff – has proposed a new collective bargaining agreement that would include a $2.50 hourly increase across the board for its member employees. The city's offer of $0.75 an hour's increase appears slight by comparison, but how much would each actually cost?

Calculating income

In discussions now for almost three years, the major sticking point between the city and union in negotiating a collective bargaining agreement has become wages. Union employees have held to the same wage table since their CBA, which expired in 2014, was adopted in 2011. Since 2010 the wage table has been adjusted twice, by 0.6 percent in both cases.

Since July 2011, most of Wrangell's union-represented employees have earned annual wage increases of between 1.0 and 3.1 percent. Like other employees, their hourly income is determined by a wage table generally reflecting time served and credentials. Outliers from this set of averages include the sewer and water treatment lead positions, which were reclassified in last year's budget and have seen an increase of 14.1 and 14.8 percent. There is also a pool maintenance employee, who began in the current fiscal year and so has no opportunity yet for step increases, and an electric lineman position, which jumped an average of 13.1 percent per-year because of an advancement from apprenticeship.

Currently, of the 24 employees on strike, six make less than $20 an hour. Twelve employees make between $20 and $30 per hour, five make more than $30 but less than $40, and the electric line foreman tops that at $40.31 hourly. Once a worker reaches the top of the wage table, there is no further to climb unless the table itself sees increases. The position of lead mechanic, for example, has been locked at the top of his pay scale since FY14, at $29.51 an hour.

In eight shops, IBEW-represented employees make up the majority or entirety of staff. This includes Public Works maintenance, water, sewer, sanitation, garage services, Municipal Light and Power, harbors and the boatyard. Non-union employees largely include administrative staff at City Hall, department heads, police and fire officials, library and museum staff, and most recreation staff.

The highest-paid union employees are the line foreman and one of the linemen, making $76,275 and $79,260 respectively. The lowest-paid permanent employees are relatively new, with the library assistant and light maintenance technician – both non-union – each making $14.00 an hour. Among IBEW workers, the lowest-paid position at the moment is the light maintenance custodian at $17.32.

In this year's budget for example, total net personnel cost is calculated by taking into consideration regular wages, potential overtime and vacation liabilities, as well as retirement and insurance costs. These may not necessarily cost the city as much as is projected, with some costs like state pensions partially reimbursed and others simply not coming to pass.

However, whether the full amount of overtime budgeted for or, in the case of the city manager this year, departure before the end of the fiscal year, those full projections may not necessarily pan out as such.

At the Assembly's last meeting on June 20, finance director Lee Burgess recommended the city commission an independent wage study to examine compensation on a more scientific level, as there could be conflicting motivations that could be prejudicial to results if conducted in-house. The last one had been conducted more than a decade ago, to the best of his knowledge.

Health care costs Per a resolution of the Wrangell Borough Assembly last June, starting this next fiscal year all Wrangell employees are expected to contribute 15 percent of their health insurance costs for themselves and their families. That decision had come after learning the city's cost for workers' health insurance was going to jump dramatically in the coming year, by about 20 percent. A balanced budget had been passed for the FY17 year without altering the property tax rate. This upcoming fiscal year, premiums under the borough's Premera Heritage Plus plan are expected to cost the city just over $982,000.

Health coverage under this plan for public employees can vary from $818.50 per month for an individual up to $2,608.22 per month for a family, with packages in between for employees with just spouses or an employee with no spouse but children. At 15 percent, Wrangell workers would thus be looking at paying between $122.77 and $391.23 per month depending on the package.

Depending on the time they were hired, two of the represented employees are already paying a portion of their insurance premium, one has opted out from coverage, and the other 21 pay no match. Under the conditions adopted by the Assembly on June 20, all employees would pay the same percentage regardless of hire date or union status.

The $0.75 wage increase put forward and later adopted by the city is calculated to pay for the added cost to employees. Taken together, the city roughly anticipates added costs to IBEW-represented workers from the cost share to be at $175,248 over the next three years. This would apply only to the employees, rather than the plan covering their immediate family. With $189,394 in additional wages from the pay raise over the same period it infers the added costs would be more than covered.

IBEW has made the case that its Wrangell members are relatively underpaid, and that their benefits package has

historically helped offset this. Citing that reason at its June 8 presentation to the city, it has since stood by its last best offer of a $2.50 hourly pay increase. This increase would particularly help to offset the added cost to 13 staffers who will be expected to pay in for insurance not only for themselves, but for spouses or families as well.

In either scenario, the city would take on extra cost. A chart of extrapolated increases prepared by Wrangell finance director Lee Burgess calculates that at a $0.75 raise, net costs for unionized workers would amount to $76,834 over the next three years. If the pay increase were extended to all employees, that cost would come to $126,009. At the borough's current property tax rate, the mill equivalent would need to rise by 0.92 to offset this.

A $2.50 increase would see greater costs over the same period, by $455,288 for strictly unionized employees or else $410,046 for all, equivalent to 2.99 mills. Wrangell's mill rate falls near the bottom of the upmost third among Alaskan municipalities, according to a 2015 chart comparing them.