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Corrections union sues Palin administration

by Jason Moore
Wednesday, May 27, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A union that represents state corrections officers has filed a lawsuit against Gov. Sarah Palin's administration over the state's role in failed contract arbitration.

The Alaska Correctional Officers Association filed the lawsuit Wednesday.

The union claims the administration sabotaged the arbitration of a new contract for corrections workers by taking too long in getting the Legislature to appropriate pay increases.

The administration says that it introduced the funding request late in the last legislative session, but the Legislature had ample time to act. And since the Legislature did not fund the increases, the administration claims the arbitrator's finding is now void and negotiations must be restarted.

Because the money was not included in the budget, the Legislature was in effect saying it did not agree with the arbitrator's report, Deputy Commissioner of Corrections Kevin Brooks said.

"Whether that constitutes a rejection by the Legislature is really more to the point, and we're saying without the money, the message was clear to us," Brooks said. "There was time to deal with it, and it was transmitted in good form -- it just wasn't funded."

Union president Sgt. Danny Colang says this is all retaliation by the Palin administration for the union's no-confidence vote in Corrections Commissioner Joe Schmidt last year.

"It's still is a raw issue," Colang said. "We're always willing to talk with the administration, but I always think there is an underlying issue there with that no-confidence vote that was taken last year, and I think they still hold that against us.

"There is still some vengeance, because we had a no confidence vote against one of (Palin's) good friends from high school, who is now our commissioner."

Brooks said that claim is simply false.

"We have 11 unions that we deal with and the corrections officers are one of them and there is just no basis to that claim that this has anything to do with retribution of anything else," he said.

Contact Jason Moore at jmoore@ktuu.com