Federal employees in Alaska face cost-of-living cut

[The Straight Story]

Federal employees in Alaska face cost-of-living cut

Expenses have dropped; economist says move will likely hurt Anchorage

By PAULA DOBBYN
Anchorage Daily News

Published: February 3, 2006
Last Modified: February 3, 2006 at 06:35 AM

Most white-collar federal workers in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau are expecting to see their paychecks shrink by about 1 percent soon, a trend that's likely to continue over several years.

The federal Office of Personnel Management is finalizing a proposed rule issued in August that would reduce the 25 percent, tax-free cost-of-living adjustment that most federal workers in Alaska have tacked onto their wages. The change is expected to take effect between March and June.

When the cost-of-living adjustment, known as COLA, began decades ago, it was meant to buffer federal workers in Alaska from the higher cost of living here. Over the years, the cost of living in Alaska's major cities has dropped while the 25 percent add-on has held.

The Office of Personnel Management wants to reduce the cost-of-living stipend over time from 25 percent to 14 percent in Anchorage, 16 percent in Fairbanks and 18 percent in Juneau, according to the COLA Defense Committee of Anchorage, a group of federal workers that tracks the issue.

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/7414410p-7326117c.html

[snowbear]

1. Alaska's COLA has been threatened for eons...

The thing is.. it comes up every single year.. :shrug: