The independent-minded Republican senator says she is focused on securing help for Alaska, which has been hit hard by the pandemic: ‘My state needs relief.’
Murkowski emerges as focus of Biden effort to find GOP support for his agenda Seung Min Kim, Paul Kane As early as December, the incoming Biden administration began to woo a Republican who could prove pivotal in their legislative efforts: Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. As transition officials sifted through an assortment of potential Cabinet picks, they would run lists of names by the veteran senator for her feedback: Does Murkowski know any of these people? How do you feel about them? Could they survive a difficult confirmation process? At a time when senior Democrats weren’t getting advance notice on key Cabinet picks and control of the Senate was up in the air, Murkowski had already held numerous conversations with transition aides a sign of her influence, no matter which party would be in power.
Lower-paying labor awaits oil and gas crews in the green energy transition By Josh Saul on 3/4/2021
Lower wages in renewables will impact both household budgets, and tax revenue streams on local and state levels.
(Bloomberg) Alfred Burt grew up following his father across the oil patches of Texas. He carried on the family tradition, working on rigs for 26 years until the pandemic crashed oil prices in April and he lost a drilling job with Apache Corp. that paid $1,600 a day.
He wasnât sure what was next for him when he got a message from a recruiter with Workrise, a staffing company. The scout wanted to know if the 46-year-old would consider a job in wind. Burt told him, âNo problem, Iâd work at anything if it pays.â He now spends his days running lines to raise or lower turbine blades, earning $20 an hour, or about as much in a month as he used to make in two days in the Permian basin.
Alaska labor commissioner cancels proposed $450,000 fine for seafood processor over health and safety problems
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Print article The commissioner of the Alaska Department of Labor personally intervened earlier this year to reject a proposed $450,000 fine against Copper River Seafoods despite an investigation that concluded the company disregarded health and safety regulations. The investigation was prompted by a COVID-19 outbreak last year that sickened more than three-quarters of the workers at an Anchorage processing plant and sent two people to the hospital. Investigators said Copper River acted negligently with its COVID-19 response and,
beyond that issue
, accused it of failing to fix known safety problems, including one that caused a man in Naknek to lose his arm during a gruesome conveyor belt accident in 2018.