Anchorage opens contract talks with one of its unions

Anchorage and the Teamsters Local 959, which represents a group of city employees, have opened negotiations on a new labor contract. The current one expires Dec. 31, and the two sides sat down together in mid-August to start work on a replacement.

The existing contract, in place since late 2023, gives those employees a 3.3 percent raise each year through 2026, plus a one-time $600 payment. The city also puts about $2,195 a month toward each eligible employee's health insurance, or $350 for those who decline the coverage.

Whatever the two sides negotiate will be capped at three years and will need approval from both the union's members and the Anchorage Assembly before it takes effect. So far, neither side has put any wage proposals for the new contract on the table publicly.