Haines Borough Mayor Douglas Olerud has sent a settlement offer to Public Employees Local 71, the borough’s employees union, in an effort to resolve a grievance filed last July on behalf of former museum director Helen Alten. The museum board eliminated her position on June 30.
Those involved in the settlement talks including Alten, union business representative Trenton English, Olerud and interim borough manager Alekka Fullerton declined to comment on the specifics of the offer while the grievance remains active.
In a September interview, Alten said she decided to move forward with a grievance because she disagreed with the way her firing was handled. When the Haines Sheldon Museum board of trustees let Alten go, they said they eliminated the director’s position to save money, citing recent cuts to the borough’s portion of museum funding.
English disputes this logic in a July 14 letter to the board. “Since the borough’s recently approved budget reflects funding for Ms. Alten’s position, the ‘budget constraints’ reason appears a simple ruse to get rid of Ms. Alten,” he wrote. The July 14 letter requests that Alten be reinstated as museum director and compensated for lost wages, a request the board denied in late July.
Alten’s lay-off status is also a matter of dispute in relation to the grievance.
Under borough code, the names of laid-off borough employees must be added to a “lay-off list” maintained by the borough clerk. Code states that, “When suitable employment is again made available, employees shall be rehired from the lay-off list based on their qualifications,” and says that, “No permanent employee shall be laid off while there are emergency or temporary employees serving in the position classification in the same department or in the other position classifications performing work to which the permanent employee could reasonably be assigned.”
The museum board has brought on two emergency hires since Alten’s position was eliminated—Christine Carpenter, who served as interim curator, and Burl Sheldon, who is serving as interim accountant.
Olerud said he couldn’t comment on Alten’s lay-off status—whether she was fired or laid off, and whether she is considered a former borough employee—due to the unresolved grievance.
Alten said she believes the union has roughly another week to respond to the offer before the matter moves to arbitration for settlement.
The borough’s collective bargaining agreement outlines a four-step process for resolving grievances. The steps include filing a written grievance with the employee’s supervisor, in Alten’s case the museum board; putting the matter before the borough manager; appealing the matter to the Mayor; and finally, arbitration.