ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – It’s not the Polar Express, exactly, but families rode a train with Santa and his elves for a festive family event.

The Holiday Train is one of several event-oriented train rides hosted by Alaska Railroads. The train made three holiday runs in the month of December, this Saturday was it’s last. Tickets to ride were completely sold out for both the afternoon and evening ride.

Passengers sang carols and shared snacks on the two and a half hour ride, but one special passenger aboard the train was a real Christmas celebrity. Santa Claus accompanied riders on their trip as they enjoyed entertainment by a magician, and left the train with holiday-themed balloon animals.

The train pulled into the Anchorage depot after it’s tour, each end of the locomotive decorated in holiday lights.

The Johnsons, a family of four who just disembarked from the train, said 2024 was their second year on the holiday train. Addie, 9, said there was a lot of entertainment and she hopes to eventually come again. Her younger brother Liam said he got to meet Santa while riding, and would like a toy truck for Christmas.

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The Senate advanced legislation that will cost hundreds of billions of dollars by eliminating what is called the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). It’s a double-edged sword for Alaska unions and Democrats (and some Republicans) in the Alaska House and Senate.

Many public-sector workers’ Social Security payments are drastically reduced because of the WEP and GPO. If they get a pension or defined benefit, their Social Security payment gets a big haircut, although this financial penalty only impacts a portion of public sector retirees who meet certain requirements in terms of longevity of public service.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski has co-sponsored legislation repeatedly since she was appointed to the Senate to end the penalties that impact Alaska public workers more than any in the country. She celebrated the victory Friday, while highlighting the massive support from union leaders in Alaska:

“I have been working on the Social Security Fairness Act for as long as I’ve been representing Alaska in the United States Senate,” Murkowski said. “There is no doubt that Congress has taken too long to address this inequity, but I am grateful to the diligent bipartisan work of my colleagues to help us finally get this over the finish line. This legislation takes care of Alaskans who have dedicated years of service to our communities, serving in integral roles such as teachers, firefighters, and police officers. Hardworking public servants should not be denied the benefits that they paid for because of their career choices, and I’m relieved that this longstanding injustice has been remedied.”

Unintended consequence – defined benefits for state workers

The new law will invalidate one of the most often-repeated arguments that unions and Democrats in Alaska are making to return defined benefits to certain employees in the state. They have said that defined benefits are necessary because of the federal Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset.

Defined benefits for state workers is expected to be front-and-center in the coming Alaska Legislature, which is controlled by Democrats and union-aligned Republicans.

In fact, many of the same people fighting for a return to state defined benefits in Alaska were quoted in Murkowski’s press release:

Joelle Hall, president of Alaska AFL-CIO: “The Alaska AFL-CIO and all of its affiliated unions are elated with the passage of the Social Security Fairness Act. The GPO/ WEP provisions have existed for far too long impacting the lives of thousands of Alaska workers and their heirs. Punishing public employees and their heirs for dedicating their lives to their community is wrong and we want to thank Senator Murkowski for her long-standing support for fixing this policy that has hurt so many families.”

Heidi Drygas, executive director of ASEA/AFSCME Local 52: “Today’s vote is incredibly welcome news to thousands of Alaska’s current and former public employees who have been unfairly punished simply for their public service. We thank Senator Murkowski for her leadership on this critically important issue for our membership. So many Alaska families will breathe easier tonight knowing they will receive the full retirement that they deserve. Thank you to the thousands of AFSCME employees and retirees for their decades of persistent advocacy on this issue.”

Sean Kuzakin, president of Public Safety Employees Association Local 803: “Alaska’s law enforcement personnel have worked too hard and put too much on the line in service of our communities to not receive their fully deserved Social Security benefits. I’m relieved that this long-standing injustice has been corrected and grateful to Senator Murkowski for her support for Alaska’s public safety employees.”

Dominic Lozano, president of Alaska Professional Fire Fighters: “Alaska’s firefighters applaud Senator Murkowski for standing up for public workers across Alaska,. For too long the federal government has been withholding portions of our social security benefits unfairly.  Senator Murkowski understands the importance of this legislation and has been advocating for Alaskans since she started in the Senate. Retirees throughout Alaska know the importance of this legislation as well as future generations of Alaskans who will now receive their full social security benefit.”

Kathy Simpler, director of National Education Association-Alaska: “Passage of H.R. 82 is historic and will immediately make a positive difference in the lives of thousands of former military members, public servants and educators. We’re grateful that Senator Murkowski has been fighting alongside Alaska’s educators on this issue for her entire career in the US Senate.”

Paul McIntosh, president, National Active and Retired Employees Association:“More than 17,000 former public servants in Alaska, and over 2.8 million nationally, are unfairly penalized by WEP and GPO. With this Senate vote, backed by Senator Murkowski, we will finally receive the full benefits we earned through our hard work. The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) will be forever grateful for Senator Murkowski’s leadership in the effort to repeal WEP and GPO, which NARFE has been advocating for 40 years.”

None of the Alaska union leaders mentioned that they will now drop their push for the costly defined benefits for State of Alaska employees, pensions that would impact city, borough, and school district employees across Alaska.

The State of Alaska still owes at least $6 billion to the former defined-benefit recipients who were enrolled in the program before it was discontinued in 2006 and replaced with a defined-contribution system, similar to what is found in the private sector.

More details

The WEP was enacted in 1983. It trims or drastically cuts Social Security benefits of workers who receive pensions from a federal, state, or local government for employment not covered by Social Security.

Alaska, a state that has a massive government workforce, has thousands of retirees impacted by the provision.

Likewise, the GPO, which was enacted in 1977, reduces Social Security benefits for spouses, widows, and widowers whose spouses receive pensions from a federal, state, or local government.

Together, these provisions reduce Social Security benefits for nearly 3 million American workers and retirees, Murkowski’s office said.

The bill had the support of all Democrats in the Senate, and 24 Republicans, including Murkowski, Sen. Dan Sullivan, and Vice President-elect Sen. JD Vance.

The bill now heads to the desk of President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign it. It will cost nearly $200 million over a decade and will increase the risk of Social Security being insolvent by the mid 2030s.

Reported cases of extreme blood loss during or after childbirth have increased in Alaska over the past eight years, and an education initiative for health providers is planned as a response, state health officials said.

The cases are known as obstetric hemorrhage, which is defined as the loss of at least 1,000 milliliters — or more than 2 pints — of blood during pregnancy or within 24 hours of childbirth. It is the leading cause of maternal death globally. Nonfatal cases can also have long-term health consequences.

In Alaska, reported rates of obstetric hemorrhage increased from 7.9% of hospital deliveries from 2016 to 2019 to 9% of hospital deliveries from 2020 to 2023, according to a bulletin issued by the Alaska Division of Public Health’s epidemiology section.

Reported rates in Alaska increased for nearly all geographic regions and demographic groups in the period evaluated, the epidemiology bulletin said. However, it is not clear whether the statistics reflects a true increase in case numbers or better identification and reporting of cases, the bulletin noted.

The highest rates are in the southwestern part of the state, where 15.6% of hospital deliveries from 2020 to 2023 involved such hemorrhages, and the northern part of the state, where the rate during that period was 12.6%, according to the bulletin.

Among ethnic groups, Pacific Islanders had the highest rates of obstetric hemorrhage, at 14.2% of hospital deliveries from 2020 to 2023, according to the bulletin. Indigenous patients had the second highest rate, at 12.7% during those years, the bulletin said.

A new campaign to educate health providers about obstetric hemorrhage will be launched in January by the Alaska Perinatal Quality Collaborative, a volunteer group of maternity health care specialists from around the state.

Rebekah Porter, a nurse consultant with the Alaska Division of Public Health and an author of the bulletin, described the plans for that initiative.

“The Alaska Perinatal Quality Collaborative’s Obstetric Hemorrhage Initiative will focus on both prevention and treatment of obstetric hemorrhage by promoting evidence-based change ideas that facilities can select based on their specific needs,” she said by email.

Through education and use of an American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists tool called the Obstetric Hemorrhage Patient Safety Bundle, “the initiative aims to standardize care, improve outcomes, and enhance the readiness of healthcare providers across the state,” Porter said.

Excessive bleeding after childbirth causes about 70,000 maternal deaths a year, according to the World Health Organization. Those deaths are concentrated in low-income nations.

In Alaska, bleeding-related maternal deaths are rare.

From 2012 to 2016, there were no recorded maternal deaths in Alaska that were attributed to obstetric hemorrhage, according to state data. In the past five years, there have been fewer than five cases, Porter said.

However, health officials who are monitoring what is known as “severe maternal morbidity” – defined as unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery that have severe health impacts – have noticed an uptick in hemorrhage cases in recent years, Porter said. 

“This increase is another key reason for launching the AKPQC initiative at this time,” she said.

Most pregnancy-related deaths in Alaska are from some kind of trauma rather than from pregnancy-related medical causes, with domestic violence a prominent feature, according to state records. Unintentional injuries, homicides, assaults, suicides and overdoses together accounted for about two-thirds of pregnancy-related deaths from 2015 to 2019, according to state records.

Nationally, rates of hemorrhage after childbirth have increased over the past two decades, according to a study published last year by the National Institutes of Health. From 2000 to 2019, the rate of postpartum hemorrhage increased from 2.7% to 4.3%, the study said.