Opinion: Supporting Alaska’s workers through times of change

The end of the legislative session last month brought a major milestone for Alaska’s workforce and the families who keep our state running. We passed a bill to better support Alaskans navigating work transitions and unavoidable seasonal insecurity in important industries such as fishing, tourism, construction and mining.

As freshman legislators, we joined forces this session with a shared conviction: to modernize and update Alaska’s fraying economic safety net and put our workers first. The state unemployment program is that safety net. It helps catch workers so they can stay in Alaska while they look for new jobs or look forward to their next work season.

Before this session’s historic reform, the weekly unemployment insurance benefit had not been adjusted since 2009.

While the cost of essentials such as housing, fuel and groceries skyrocketed, the maximum weekly benefit remained frozen at $370. The dependent allowance was stuck at $24 for those who depend on them. For a state that relies heavily on a highly skilled, seasonal workforce, letting unemployment insurance benefits wither wasn’t just a gross legislative oversight; it threatened our state’s economy.

Unemployment benefits are a critical bridge to keep families afloat during temporary, seasonal shutdowns or routine layoffs between major projects. They keep workers from falling into severe financial hardship and protect employers from permanently losing a trained workforce. Workers who can’t afford to feed their children or pay their bills leave the state in search of greater stability elsewhere.

The bill we passed this session ensures that Alaska retains its local talent, stabilizes our workforce, keeps our construction and natural resource sectors competitive and helps Alaskans stay in the communities they love.

This victory took collaboration and mutual support in the Legislature. Last year, Rep. Ted Eischeid introduced an unemployment reform bill, House Bill 192, to update and then inflation-proof unemployment benefits and modernize the system. That bill proposed increasing the dependent benefit and adjusting the unemployment benefit each year. Rep. Carolyn Hall introduced House Bill 193, Paid Parental Leave, which, in addition to updating unemployment benefits, sought to create a first-ever paid parental leave program for Alaskans.

Recognizing our shared goals of strengthening working families, Rep. Eischeid’s unemployment provisions were merged into Rep. Hall’s paid parental leave proposal, HB 193. Robust policy debates refined the final package and earned bipartisan support.

The final hours of a legislative session demand swift, coordinated action to move bills across the finish line. On the final night of the legislative session, Rep. Hall worked closely with Sen. Jesse Kiehl, who moved a critical amendment to attach the core unemployment insurance reforms to a fast-moving, related vehicle: another Rep. Hall bill, House Bill 302. Thanks to this collaborative, multichamber strategy, the unemployment components of our bill passed. We prevailed, increasing the maximum weekly unemployment benefit 27% to $470 and tripling the dependent allowance to $72.

HB 302 will soon be sent to Gov. Mike Dunleavy. If he lets it become law, Alaskans will get direct, meaningful relief. In addition to the benefit increases, we’ll ensure Alaska doesn’t fall behind again by tying annual benefit adjustments to Alaskans’ average weekly wage.

Best of all, these changes don’t affect the state’s general fund. The benefits are paid out of Alaska’s Federal Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, restricted dollars that are heavily overcapitalized with hundreds of millions of excess dollars while workers struggle to pay their bills and feed their families.

The nonpartisan, cross-chamber collaboration is a blueprint for how we can, and should, work together. Economic resilience and common-sense adaptability aren’t built and maintained through partisan gridlock or House-versus-Senate silos. They’re forged when lawmakers listen to working families, work together and build practical, cost-effective solutions.

Rep. Ted Eischeid represents House District 22, North Muldoon, in the Alaska House of Representatives.

Rep. Carolyn Hall represents House District 16, West Anchorage, in the Alaska House of Representatives.

• • •

The Anchorage Daily News welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.