Application for Interest Arbitration Financial Assistance

Granting of funds by NEA-Alaska requires the following conditions are met:

1. The local must have participated in statewide, regional, or local bargaining training.
2. Local dues must be at least $120 per member ($60 per ESP member). This requirement may be waived (see board policy).
3. The local must have a signed Dues Transmittal Agreement on file.
4. The local should be current in its dues obligations to both NEA and NEA-Alaska (see board policy).
5. The local must be able to demonstrate a significant commitment to bargaining in terms of its resources, both human and financial. An example of such a commitment would be a bargaining line item in the local’s budget.
6. The local must have an annual budget that contains funding for bargaining in place before the expenses are incurred. The budget must be at least $36 per member, $18 per ESP members. The funding for bargaining could include activities such as training of bargaining team members and/or bargaining support activists, expenses for the bargaining team meetings, bargaining support activities (including public relations events directly related to bargaining), release time for bargaining team members and activists and the proportional expenses of a release time officer as appropriate. The UniServ staff person assisting the local should be involved in the development of the local’s bargaining budget. If the UniServ staff person is not involved, the local’s request for assistance may receive a negative recommendation and shall require a two-thirds (2/3) vote for approval by the NEA-Alaska Board of Directors.
7. The recommendation of the staff person assigned to assist the local and/or the regional director will be given high priority by the Board in considering the request for assistance.
8. Any request for bargaining assistance must be made annually.
9. Requests for Direct Financial Assistance to locals shall be limited to $3,600 or $18 per member, whichever is the greater amount.
10. If possible, locals anticipating the need for Direct Financial Assistance under C. 1) shall present a budget and a bargaining plan to the NEA-Alaska Board of Directors for approval prior to making any such request.
11. A local which spends $12 per association member per membership year on Advisory Interest Arbitration, is eligible to apply for financial assistance. This expenditure is separate from bargaining expenses and may be funded from a designated account established by the local outside the annual budget.

Requests for NEA-Alaska assistance in the funding of Interest Arbitration cases should, whenever possible, be referred to the Board of Directors by the local association/NEA-Alaska staff.