State employees union to file grievance over DOT outsourcing

The state’s largest public employee union plans to file a class action grievance against the Walker administration regarding the outsourcing of design work within the Department of Transportation & Public Facilities.

“That is a clear violation of our contract and we don’t intend to stand by and let that go unchallenged,” Jim Duncan, executive director of the Alaska State Employees Association, said by phone Friday.

Last week, the governor released his fiscal year 2018 budget, which announced the plan to outsource all DOT design work to contractors by FY2019. That amounts to the initial elimination of 76 design positions and “up to 300 more to follow in future budgets,” according to the budget overview.

Doing this will not only continue to “cut government,” it “has the added advantage of bolstering the private sector economy,” as stated in the budget overview.

Read more: http://peninsulaclarion.com/news/2016-12-25/state-employees-union-to-file-grievance-over-dot-outsourcing

Cross-posted in Omaha Steve's Labor Group.