Alaska
138 fired federal employees have applied for unemployment insurance in Alaska
More than 130 recently-fired federal employees in Alaska have applied for state unemployment benefits in recent weeks, amid efforts from the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency to slash the size of the federal workforce.
In Alaska, fired federal workers include meteorologists, fishery scientists, and national park rangers, among others, who say their departures will be acutely felt by Alaskans and visitors alike.
Director of Alaska’s Employment and Training Services Paloma Harbour told a legislative panel on Wednesday that 138 federal employees have applied for benefits in recent weeks, an increase from the typical average of 10 claims per month from federal employees.
The number is likely an undercount of the number of federal employees who have been fired in recent weeks — which has not been publicly shared by DOGE, Trump administration officials or Alaska’s congressional delegation — because some federal employees were ordered to leave their workplace so suddenly that they were unable to gather the necessary paperwork needed to file unemployment claims with the state.
“I still to this day do not have access to any of my employment documents as required to file for unemployment benefits by law,” said Charles Warren Hill, who was fired from his job working in Lake Clark National Park on Feb. 14, after two decades in the National Park Service.
Hill was one of three recently-fired federal employees who testified before the Alaska House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. All three said they had been told their skills no longer fit the needs of the federal government, despite having specialized knowledge and experience. All three said they would return to their jobs if given the opportunity.
Two federal judges on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to offer jobs back to all probationary employees who were fired last month from numerous departments, opening the window for Hill and others to get their jobs back.
Probationary employees are generally those in their first year of employment with the federal government. But in Alaska, numerous fired federal employees were considered probationary because they had recently been promoted, or because they had recently been hired in a permanent position after several years in seasonal or temporary posts.”
The order comes as the Trump administration is expected to take additional steps to shrink the number of federal employees, including through a reduction in force process currently underway.
‘Disproportionate impact here’
Alaska has more than 15,000 federal employees, of which over 1,300 are considered probationary, meaning they lack some of the workplace protections generally afforded to the federal workforce.
Brock Wilson, an economist with the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research, told lawmakers that federal employment plays a significant role in the Alaska economy.
Civilian federal employees in Alaska make up more than 3% of the workforce. Only Hawaii and Maryland have a greater percentage. The federal government employs more Alaskans than natural resources and mining industries, and its average salaries are among the highest in the state, according to data Wilson presented.
“Any reduction in federal employment in Alaska is largely going to have a disproportionate impact here compared to other states,” Wilson said.
Harbour, with Alaska’s Department of Labor, said Wednesday that though the federal employees who lost their jobs have been told they were let go because their skills and knowledge were not a fit for the federal government, the federal agencies later reported to the state that the employees had lost their jobs due to “restructuring.”
“If an employer says that an employee was discharged due to misconduct, the burden is on them to prove it to us. So they have to provide us with actual documentation. So far we have 138 active federal claims. From the agency responses, 95% have said ‘laid off due to restructure.’ The other 5% have just said ‘layoff,’” said Harbour.
“So we have not had anyone accused of being discharged for misconduct,” she added. “If we did, they would have to show that there was actually something they were doing wrong … Not just because they wanted to get rid of — because they were on probation and they could be let go.”
That means that unemployment insurance penalties would not apply — but also calls into question the reasoning given to employees for their termination.
Aaron Lambert was fired on Feb. 27 from what he called his “dream job” as a fishery management specialist in the Sustainable Fisheries Division of the Alaska Regional NOAA Fisheries office. Lambert said his termination email stated that his “ability, knowledge and/or skills do not fit the agency’s current needs.”
“This was a blatant lie,” said Lambert, who had studied fisheries and statistics at the University of Alaska Juneau and the University of Alaska Fairbanks and had developed new statistical models to predict fishery populations before he was hired.
Rep. Sarah Vance, a Homer Republican, asked fired federal employees to apply instead for state jobs. In doing so, she echoed a message from Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Trump ally, who encouraged fired employees to seek jobs with the state.
“We need great people to fill some of the positions so the state can provide services,” Vance said on Wednesday. The state has for several years contended with high vacancy rates that have hampered state services.
Lambert said he wants to return to his federal job, but had in the meantime been hired for a temporary position by a lab in Juneau where he previously worked, and would consider employment with the state.
“There are other jobs that are similar, such as biometricians for the state. However, they do pay about 40% less than what I was making, and it would take me about 10 years to get back to my salary I had a couple months ago,” he said.
Harbour said that the state has enough funds to pay unemployment benefits to fired federal employees — who must prove they are seeking alternate employment options to qualify. However, Harbour said the staffing at Alaska’s unemployment insurance offices is “at a very low level,” which could lead to delays in determining eligibility for impacted workers if the number of claims balloons.
‘Fisheries products in Alaska will suffer’
Alaska’s unemployment benefits rank near the bottom of the nation when taking into account average claim payments and cost of living, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor. Numerous fired workers have said that their termination would likely compel them to leave Alaska altogether.
The number of funded positions in Alaska’s unemployment insurance office is 163, down more than 10% from the number in 2018. But a large number of those are unfilled, as the office contends with “ongoing staffing challenges,” Harbour reported. The unemployment insurance office has 51 vacant positions across the state, Harbour said Thursday.
Fired federal workers told state lawmakers that their departures from the federal workforce could mean critical tasks entrusted to the federal government are abandoned. State and private organizations would not be able to step in every case, they said, leaving Alaska’s popular national parks with no one to take care of facilities, and leaving Alaska’s fishermen and oversight agencies with no data on which to base catch limits.
Andrew Dimond was recently fired from the Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Juneau.
Dimond was born in Juneau and planned to continue living in the community, after spending 20 years commercial fishing in Alaska and earning a degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
He has worked on fishery and environmental surveys for NOAA for nearly a decade — first as a seasonal survey technician, then as a temporary worker, and beginning in 2024 with a full-time, permanent job. He was 11 days from the end of his probationary period when he was terminated.
Dimond’s job was critical to annual longline surveys that provide data on groundfish species, and ecosystem surveys of the Bering Sea and Arctic, which provide data for chinook and chum salmon forecasts in the Yukon River, and pollock stock assessments.
“If these surveys don’t happen, fisheries products in Alaska will suffer. Stock assessment authors that don’t have the accurate information these surveys provide may be more conservative with their forecasting. This directly impacts the fishing industry,” Dimond said.
“I’m solely responsible for deploying complex electronic data collection systems which save tons of hours because you’re no longer hand-entering data that’s written on sheets,” he said. “That expertise that I’ve developed over nine years walked out the door with me when I was terminated.”
Dimond said he would take his job back if it was offered to him.
“I absolutely have confidence that at some point in the future I will be back at that facility. Whether it’s in two years, four years, or six years — I don’t know,” he said.
Lambert said he was hired in August, in part to help oversee a court-ordered federal salmon fishery in the Cook Inlet. He was also responsible for ensuring that the federal government responds adequately to fishery disaster declarations.
Lambert said he was “assured that because our office was already running lean” and “we facilitated incredibly important fisheries worth billions of dollars — that our jobs would surely be secure.” His firing came last month nonetheless, even as numerous other positions in the office remain vacant.
“As a result of my termination, there’s a possibility that the Cook Inlet stock assessment may not be conducted, risking that a newly court-ordered fishery may not proceed or proceed with outdated stock numbers,” he said.
Hill, who previously worked in Lake Clark National Park, said 20% of the Lake Clark park staff members were terminated. Those fired reside in Port Alsworth, a gateway community to the park with fewer than 200 residents, where other employment opportunities are virtually nonexistent. Without his job back, he said he would have to sell his Native land allotment and leave.
“There’s no longer anybody left there with any supervisory level experience,” said Hill. That could mean that roads, trails and facilities will no longer be maintained and fire and safety codes will not be followed. “All that’s left is literally our janitors and our laborers.”
“There’s nobody there in our administrative buildings to answer phone calls about visits to the park,” he said. “It’s really disheartening for a place I love.”
• • •
Do you have additional information about actions involving the federal workforce in Alaska? Reach out to reporter Iris Samuels, Michelle Theriaut Boots or Sean Maguire via email at isamuels@adn.com, mtheriault@adn.com or smaguire@adn.com or via encrypted message on Signal at irissamuels.11, michelletheriaultboots.53 and SeanBMaguire.11. Reach editor David Hulen at dhulen@adn.com or via Signal at davidhulen.99.
Up, up and away … that’s where most travel prices are going.
It’s true. Not only are our nation’s geopolitical thrusts in the Mideast affecting the cost of your fill-ups, every component of your trip from airfares to car rentals and hotel stays are subject to price hikes.
Imagine filling up a jetliner with jet fuel that’s doubled in price. It’s enough to melt your credit card, regardless of the number of points you get for every dollar spent!
Because the price of oil affects everything, higher prices are eating away at your travel budget in many ways.
Bag fees
There’s lots of press on this. All airlines are increasing their checked-bag fees because of the jump in fuel prices.
Back in 2009, Alaska Airlines instituted a $15 fee for the first checked bag and $25 for the second bag. At the time, there was no charge for the first bag and a second bag was $25.
Last week, Alaska Airlines, along with other major airlines, increased its fees to $45 for the first checked bag and $55 for the second bag. Delta Air Lines charges the same.
Even if the cost of oil comes down, I don’t expect bag fees will ever be reduced.
Travelers who live in Alaska are somewhat insulated from the new hikes because both Delta and Alaska Airlines offer two free checked bags, with conditions:
1. Alaska offers two free checked bags for travelers flying to or from Alaska who are enrolled in Club 49. This does not affect other flights on Alaska. Separately, ATMOS credit card holders can get a free checked bag. Also, elite members of the ATMOS scheme get one or two free checked bags systemwide.
2. Delta offers two free checked bags for travelers flying to or from Alaska who are SkyMiles members who live in Alaska. Again, this does not apply to other Delta flights. Separately, Delta American Express cardholders can get a free checked bag.
3. Elite-level travelers with the oneworld airline cartel, including Alaska Airlines, can get one or two checked bags on American, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Qantas or other oneworld carriers.
[Anchorage’s international airport rolls out self-driving wheelchairs]
Main Cabin vs. Basic Economy
The spread between the lowest available price, Basic Economy, and a more flexible ticket, Main Cabin, has increased. While the difference used to be $20-$30 each way when the Basic Economy scheme was introduced in 2018, the round-trip upcharge now can exceed $100.
For example, the lowest Basic fare to Portland is $337 round-trip on Alaska Airlines. The upcharge to Main Cabin, with full loyalty points, pre-assigned seats and more flexibility on changes and cancellations, is $447, a 33% upcharge.
This trend is not specifically attributable to the new Iran War. It’s just a cost that continues to rise.
New fees
I’m impressed at the creativity of airline people who dream up new fees. Here are some of my favorites from Alaska Airlines:
1. Phone reservations: $15
2. Partner award booking fee: $12.50
3. Pet travel fee: $100 in the cabin, $200 in the baggage compartment with a kennel
4. Left on board item return fee: $20
On Condor Airlines, operating the only nonstop service from Anchorage to Europe, travelers can choose from four different bundles in economy class. The least-expensive, Economy Zero, from $840 round-trip, features fees for travelers:
1. Carry-on bag fee, up to 8kg: $35; a small bag like a purse always is included for free
2. Checked bag: $75
3. Airport check-in: $30
All three of these fees are included in the next-highest fare bucket, Economy Classic, from $900 round-trip. It’s cheaper to buy the bundle than it is to buy the components a la carte. Seat assignments are additional, from $25 for economy.
Airfares on the rise
There are a few good deals available for travel to select West Coast/Intermountain destinations in May, including:
1. Anchorage-San Francisco on Alaska Airlines, from $307 round-trip. Fly May 15-28 only. Add $90 round-trip for Main cabin.
2. Anchorage-Los Angeles on Alaska Airlines, from $317 round-trip. May 15-25 only. Add $90 round-trip for Main.
3. Anchorage-Phoenix on United, Delta or Alaska, from $267-$287 round-trip. Fly May 8-June 9 only. Add $90-$100 for Main.
4. Anchorage-Denver $357 round-trip on Delta. Fly May 8-June 9 only. Add $90 round-trip for Main.
For travel to other destinations, or later in the summer, be prepared to pay more.
Flying to Hawaii? Alaska Air’s nonstop prices out at $706 round-trip between May 30 and June 6. Add $110 round-trip for Main.
Nonstop flights from Anchorage to Salt Lake City start at $669 round-trip with Delta on May 17. That’s $100 more than the cost for the same flights last month. Add $90 more for Main.
Hotel costs continue to rise, accompanied by pesky resort fees.
The Outrigger on the Beach in Waikiki is a very nice beachfront hotel. It’s not plush, or the nicest property. But it’s solid. The cost is $334 per night.
But there’s more: a $50 per night resort fee, plus a variety of taxes and charges, totaling $112.55 per night.
Down in Seattle, the Sound Hotel in the Belltown neighborhood is marketed by Hilton. The discounted rate for “Honors” members — it’s free to join — is $313.34 per night for a king room in late May. Taxes and fees add an extra $56.40 per night.
There’s no appreciable bump yet for hotel rates as a result of the oil price surge. Yet. But if these hotel rates seem high, they’re in line with hotel rates in Anchorage this summer. At the Sheraton in Anchorage in June, it’s $450 per night, plus $54 in taxes and fees, when booked at Expedia.
Car rentals are not cheap
My go-to site for car rentals is the Costco site, which compares major brands and automatically includes Costco discounts.
In Las Vegas, for a one-day rental in May, Budget charges $67 per day, which includes taxes and fees of $22.77. In Anchorage, the same kind of car, medium SUV, costs $92.97 with Alamo.
The biggest differences so far in car rental rates seems to be the bill you’ll pay when you fill up the tank before returning. There’s no appreciable jump in prices because of the new war.
When it comes to making travel arrangements for the spring and summer, it’s more risky making completely non-refundable arrangements.
I made the decision to purchase most of my summer travel plans in advance, but only after determining I would not need to change the dates. Particularly with airline tickets, it’s expensive to change your dates.
There’s lots of uncertainty regarding travel arrangements, particularly international travel. As fuel prices go up due to oil shortages, travel companies will look for ways to recoup the increased costs. In most cases, those higher costs will be borne by travelers.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz has led to a decrease in oil prices nationally, but Alaska’s senior senator said the state faces a different situation that could threaten rural communities.
“If you can’t produce power because you don’t have the diesel or you just can’t pay the prices, your little communities can collapse,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said at a Friday press conference at the Arctic Encounter Summit in Anchorage.
The price of oil has been a double-edged sword for Alaska. On one hand, the increased price of North Slope oil brings more revenue to the state, but consumer prices can also rise.
North Slope oil prices were $106.36 a barrel on Thursday.
“This is a very precarious time,” Murkowski said. “Our state has enjoyed a bounty because we have benefited from the higher prices of oil that goes into our treasury, but it’s the Alaskans in … the off-road communities that are threatened to be hit most hard.”
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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. government plans another oil and gas lease sale for Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — following two prior sales that saw no interest from major oil companies and amid ongoing litigation aimed at blocking drilling in a region seen as sacred by the indigenous Gwich’in.
The sale will be held June 5, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced Friday. It would be the first in the region under a law passed by Congress last year calling for four lease sales in the refuge’s coastal plain over a 10-year period. But it would be the third in the refuge overall, following one held near the end of President Donald Trump’s first term that has been tangled in litigation and another in early 2025, shortly before then-President Joe Biden left office, that yielded no bids.
Drilling supporters, including Alaska political leaders, argued last year’s sale was too meager an offering to draw interest.
The upcoming sale also would be the third federal oil and gas lease sale this year alone in Alaska under an aggressive push by the Trump administration to expand development in the state. There were no bidders in a sale last month for the aging Cook Inlet basin, while a lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska — where the large Willow oil project is under development — drew hundreds of bids despite pending legal challenges to the sale.
Bill Groffy, the land management agency’s acting director, in a statement said the success of last month’s petroleum reserve sale signaled a “robust and continuing demand for Alaskan energy, underscoring the need for more opportunities like the Coastal Plain sale.”
Leaders from Gwich’in villages near the arctic refuge and conservation groups vowed to continue fighting efforts to open the refuge’s coastal plain to drilling. The Gwich’in consider the coastal plain sacred, as it provides calving grounds for a caribou herd they rely on. The plain, bordering the Beaufort Sea in northeast Alaska and featuring rolling hills and tundra, also provides habitat for wildlife including muskoxen and migratory birds.
“The Trump Administration’s relentless push to auction off this sacred land despite overwhelming public opposition and industry that has already signaled they are not interested makes clear that this administration values corporate interests over the rights and lives of Indigenous peoples,” Galen Gilbert, first chief of Arctic Village Council, said in a statement. “We will continue to fight with every tool available to protect the Coastal Plain for our children and all future generations.”
Debate over drilling in the region spans decades.
Leaders of Kaktovik, an Iñupiaq community within the refuge, consider responsible development key to their region’s economic well-being and have welcomed efforts by the Trump administration to open more lands for drilling.
The Bureau of Land Management has said the coastal plain could contain 4.25 billion to 11.8 billion barrels of recoverable oil, but there is limited information about the amount and quality of oil. Meanwhile, conservation groups see the refuge as the crown jewel of the country’s refuge system and a place that should be off-limits to development. The refuge itself is the largest in the country, covering an area roughly the size of South Carolina.
Andy Moderow, senior director of policy at Alaska Wilderness League, said the planned sale “simply runs counter to common sense.”
“Any oil and gas company that is even thinking about buying these leases should know that, if they do, they will be sending a clear message to the American people that no place in Alaska is too sacred to drill in a quest for corporate profits,” he said in a statement urging companies to sit out the sale.
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