At Juneau Forum, Alaska Gubernatorial Candidates Split Over Repealing Voter-Approved Wage and Sick Leave Laws
Labor standards took center stage in Alaska's 2026 race for governor at a candidate forum hosted by the Juneau Chamber of Commerce. Republican candidates Dave Bronson and Bernadette Wilson told the forum they would seek to eliminate the minimum wage increase voters approved in a 2024 ballot measure and roll back the state's mandatory paid sick leave law if elected.
Wilson explicitly backed an exemption for seasonal workers. The Juneau Chamber favors repealing the sick leave mandate, and seasonal employers in the seafood and tourism industries have pushed for changes, saying some workers use accrued sick leave as terminal pay at the end of the summer season. Bronson took a broader deregulation stance: "Mandatory sick leave, minimum wage – I would repeal them both because small business will figure this out."
Other candidates staked out different positions. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins supports paid sick leave in general but favors amendments accounting for seasonal industries, and opposes lowering the minimum wage. Treg Taylor, who did not attend, said through his campaign manager that he supports amending the sick leave law. Alaska's general election is Nov. 3.
Source:The American Star News
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Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 阿拉斯加州议会大厦参议院财政委员会会议室，CC BY-SA 4.0，摄影：Ifly6（Wikimedia Commons）
