Red Dog electricians spark union debate

Management and employees at the Red Dog zinc mine near Kotzebue expect a decision from the National Labor Relations Board in February on holding a union election there. The mine's electrical workers have asked to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, but owner Teck Cominco opposes the move. The company believes the group of 16 electricians is too small to unionize by itself.

"The company would prefer the workforce to stay non-union, but at the end of the day it's up to the employees," Red Dog's general manager, Rob Scott, told Mining News. "If they are non-union there is more flexibility. We have the ability to deal more with individuals. A union adds a middleman in the process."

The National Labor Relations Board held three days of hearings in Anchorage to consider the dispute, after 30 percent of the work group signed union cards. Currently Usibelli Coal Mine is the only unionized mine in Alaska.