More Anchorage city staffers will now be able to telework

More of Anchorage’s city staff will now be eligible to work remotely for part of the workweek.

The Anchorage Assembly this week unanimously approved a telecommuting agreement proposed by Mayor Suzanne LaFrance’s administration and the Anchorage Municipal Employees Association. AMEA is a union of about 500 city staff across several departments, including the Health Department, Anchorage Public Library, Solid Waste Services, Parks and Recreation, and departments and divisions under the Office of Economic and Community Development, such as the Planning Department.

The municipality has been struggling to compete in the labor market, city officials say, and by expanding remote work options, they’re aiming to make jobs at the municipality more attractive.

In June, a transition report from former Mayor Dave Bronson detailed significant challenges in retaining staff and filling vacancies across nearly two dozen of the municipality’s departments, divisions and entities. Several city directors said the lack of remote work hampered hiring efforts.

The city has a total of about 2,800 budgeted staff positions, including seasonal and part-time staff.

In a statement Wednesday, the mayor’s office said that municipal departments have been facing a high number of staff vacancies and a current vacancy rate of about 16%.

Not all employees represented by AMEA will be able to telecommute, because some must be on-site to perform their duties, such as lifeguards. The city’s policy doesn’t allow staff to work remotely for 100% of the workweek, and employees must apply for and follow a telecommuting work agreement with a schedule of on-site and off-site days.

Previously, only executives and non-represented employees could work remotely, according to the policy, which was enacted in 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the city allowed many other staff, including AMEA members, to telework. But that agreement lapsed, and though the union pushed for the option, it wasn’t included in the current union contract, approved in 2022.

“During the pandemic the MOA transitioned to remote work, like most employers,” Chief Administrative Officer Bill Falsey said in the Wednesday statement. “But after the pandemic — unlike many employers — the municipality reversed course. That choice made it harder to recruit and retain workers.”

Meanwhile, some of the city’s top competitors in the labor market, like the state of Alaska, continued to provide remote work options for many employees.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Chelsea Ward-Waller, an AMEA board member, urged the Assembly to approve the agreement, saying that telecommuting during the pandemic led to “significant improvements” in workflow processes.

“The state of Alaska and many local and national private sector employers are continuing to support teleworking and offer a hybrid schedule to their employees,” she said. “Allowing for a hybrid telecommuting schedule will help make the Municipality of Anchorage a more attractive employer to current and prospective employees.”

Assembly Vice Chair Meg Zaletel said the telework agreement was “long overdue.”

“I think what we’re seeing here with this new administration is the municipality making a firm commitment to being a place you want to work,” she said. “So we are open for business. We are hiring.”

Recently, the city has taken other steps to bolster its workforce. Last year, it added a four-week paid parental leave benefit for executives and non-union-represented staff, and for police officers and other union staff in the police department.

The Assembly, in a resolution passed in January, said the administration should increase wages and consider adding telework and paid parental leave during contract negotiations with city bargaining units.

Between June and August, the city expanded the paid parental leave benefit to five more unions, including AMEA. A proposed agreement extending paid parental leave to firefighters is up for an Assembly vote next month.