‘Hear the bill’: Public safety employees protest as pension legislation continues to sit in House committeePublished: Apr. 23, 2024 at 10:44 PM AKDTJUNEAU, Alaska - Shouting “Hear the bill!” from the steps of the state capitol building on Tuesday, Alaska public safety employees and supporters urged House leadership to act on a bill that would create retirement security for state employees.
Dominic Lozano, President of the Alaska Professional Firefighters Association, said Alaska is the only state in the country that has a defined contribution for public safety. As a result, some people are leaving the state. “We have ambulances that are going unmanned,” he said. “You know, vacancies in departments are just tremendous. You know, you look at Alaska State Troopers’ vacancy rate, you look at Fairbanks fire, you look at Anchorage fire, you know, we have members working more and more hours of overtime, forced overtime, you know, all to try to curb this problem.”