Two former Anchorage Assembly members are spearheading a formal effort to defend Anchorage's labor law against an energetic, well-funded union campaign.
An independent expenditure group, "Vote Yes for Anchorage -- Vote Yes on 1," formed Friday. The group is chaired by Chris Birch, while Cheryl Frasca is serving as treasurer. Both Birch and Frasca left the Assembly in April. Birch was term limited out of his South Anchorage Assembly seat. Frasca, a former city budget director, lost a race for re-election to her West Anchorage Assembly seat to Tim Steele amid backlash over the labor law.
The labor law, Anchorage Ordinance 37 or AO-37, is appearing on the Nov. 4 general election ballot. In a Tuesday interview, Birch referred to the law as "just good public policy" that has guided the negotiation of city labor agreements in the last year.
"We're looking for fairness and equity, not only for the employees, but also for the taxpayers and people writing the checks," Birch said.
Both Birch and Frasca voted in favor of the labor law in March 2013 while serving on the Assembly. Birch said he also voted against labor contracts negotiated in 2008 under the Begich administration, which have been criticized by some as being overly generous to municipal employees.
Calling the Yes on 1 group a "grassroots effort from people who understand the impact (of) overreaching labor agreements," Birch said the aim is to focus on the costs, impacts and benefits of the law, such as opening up competition for non-union contractors.
No money has been raised or spent so far by Yes on 1, Birch said. But a Monday filing with the Alaska Public Offices Commission shows planned expenditures of $74,000 for field operations, communications and advertising.
Birch said he expects to generate those funds "hopefully from good-hearted and well-intentioned people in the community." He said he and Frasca have been "making a few calls" but don't yet have volunteers lined up or fundraisers planned.
Their group appears to be the first organized effort to encourage voters to affirm the labor law. Mayor Dan Sullivan, who introduced the law, is barred by city ethics code from using municipal funds to advocate for or against the ballot measure.
Brian Murphy, a spokesman for International Association of Firefighters Local 1264, said the opponents of the law expected another side to come forward eventually.
"We hope that they maintain honesty in their messaging with what exactly AO-37 could do, and the potential for talking about the decreased service that the public could potentially receive if AO-37 goes through," Murphy said.
The No on 1 campaign has been steadily gathering steam for the last three weeks. Using the slogan "Keep Anchorage Safe," the campaign is taking the form of brightly colored signs dotting front yards, bus advertisements and supporters waving signs on the corner of the Old Seward Highway and Benson Boulevard. A prominent set of banner advertisements recently began running on the Alaska Dispatch News website.
A letter sent Friday night to members of the Anchorage Municipal Employees Union by vice president Jillanne Inglis offers an overview of the effort. In the letter, Inglis asks for volunteers to participate in a "safety selfie" social media campaign, as well as weekend door-knocking, phone banking and a work release program.
On the airwaves, the Anchorage Police Department Employees Association has sponsored a series of radio ads in recent weeks, featuring police officers and detectives talking about their jobs and public safety. Then, on Monday, a new radio ad launched talking about how the law would negatively impact recruitment and retention.
"I think that so far we've received overwhelming support from the community, and we're confident that will continue," said Gerard Asselin, president of the Anchorage Coalition of Unions.
Asselin said union leaders are looking forward to a "healthy conversation" with the Yes on 1 campaign about the labor law.
While the No campaign involves a range of municipal unions, safety is the driving message. Police and fire union members vigorously oppose elements of the law that they say would give management authority over equipment, scheduling and staffing, and make changes to the collective bargaining and binding arbitration process.
To date, the No on 1 campaign has raised more than $600,000, according to campaign finance records. Contributions include $100,000 from the national AFSCME chapter in Washington, D.C., $60,000 from the local International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers chapter, and $30,000 from the Anchorage Municipal Employees Union.
Anchorage's police and fire unions have spent a combined $380,000 fighting the proposal, finance records show.
Union members have been present at community council meetings in recent weeks to discuss their stance on the law. Those meetings have also been attended by representatives of the Alaska Policy Forum, the group that publishes a booklet with municipal salaries, and as well as individuals who support AO-37 and want to distribute the salary booklets.
Birch said the Yes on 1 group formed in part after seeing reports of the amount being spent by union group to defeat the law.
"I think the community needs to understand there's two sides to the story," Birch said.