OPINION: Want to revitalize Anchorage? Fix our labor issues.

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I’m a small business owner here in town. My business relies on employees who are committed to food safety, doing things the right way, and being proactive. I have to admit that since the pandemic, it has become increasingly difficult to find such people. Anchorage is experiencing a severe labor shortage. Really, all over the state.

If you can show up on time, be ready for work, and have basic skills, you can write your own ticket in this town. It’s a great time to enter the job market in Alaska. For employers and the long-term health of the state, this isn’t pretty.

The labor market is like any other market in economics: When supply exceeds demand, labor is cheap. When it’s scarce, prices go up. And entry-level jobs, like starting a sprouter, are harder to fill. And frankly, when labor is scarce, some jobs are higher paying but in low demand.

I’m not writing an opinion piece because Sprouts’ new employees should be paid more. It’s the cost of doing business and ultimately, when you go to your favorite pho restaurant, you’re going to pay more. I’m writing about this because we have an opportunity with a new administration to focus on new labor policies. We need more people in Alaska if we want to grow this state. I don’t believe the Governor’s office is paying attention to this issue, but I hope the new Mayor is.

There are four things I would like the new mayor to focus on. They are all education, housing, quality of life, and workforce recruitment. These are all things that make my life easier as an employer. Each of these goals should shape policies that make people want to move here. They must be at the heart of any government.

Education is not under the direct jurisdiction of the mayor. We elect a school board to run our school. But with all due respect to my friends who are educators, our school system needs to be taken seriously. I am hopeful that this educational and vocational academy model will work for high school students and look forward to later start times. But our education system is missing something fundamental, perhaps in terms of expectations, that is causing children to underperform. If our schools perform poorly, new families will leave the state. Our mayor needs to be a supporter and champion of our school district.

Housing is also an area in which the mayor has little influence. It is nearly impossible to build in this town, and several mayors have attempted to streamline Anchorage’s construction process without success. We need policies that prioritize wealth. What can we do to increase housing? Whatever options are available, I think the answer has to be all of the above. If people can’t afford to buy a home here, how can we expect them to stay here?

Quality of life is entirely the purview of the Mayor. In the past, we have had great Mayors who worked hard to improve quality of life with a world-class parks and trail system, a commitment to the arts, keeping our streets clear, and cleaning up trash. This is what we expect from our Mayor. The new Mayor has his own challenges. Our downtown has been given over to the homeless, as have many of our public spaces. People don’t feel connected to Anchorage as a community. Broadway Alaska shows that people want a vibrant, active downtown. The new Mayor needs to make Anchorage a welcoming and open place for all.

The final challenge, human resource development, is a Gordian knot. The past two U.S. presidents have restricted immigration, believing it has a positive impact on labor policy. Anyone can find a job if they want to. But they think of it the other way around. Employers are the engine of growth in our economy. And if you can’t secure employees, you can’t grow.

My family immigrated to the United States four generations ago. They lived in immigrant communities in New York and were part of the workforce that built the U.S. garment industry. If you want to make something competitive, you need cheap labor. That’s not an option for most employers in this town right now. We need to bring more people to this town for jobs at all levels of the economy. If we don’t focus on that, we won’t have a growing, thriving city. We’ll have more boarded up stores and dilapidated buildings.

I want to see great things happen in our city. I know Anchorage is a place where anything is possible if you have vision and drive. I think better things will happen if our new mayor focuses on making people want to live here, build here, and call here home. I hope we can all support that vision. I wish the new mayor the best of luck. She has some big mountains to climb.

SJ Klein He is the owner of Alaska Sprouts, a member of the Fairview Community Council, past chair of the Homeless, Housing and Neighborhood Development Committee, and a member of the AMATS Citizen Advisory Committee.

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