150 days and counting…

MULLAN — It has been almost five months since the miners of United Steelworkers (USW) Union local 5114 chapter took to the picket line outside the Lucky Friday Mine in Mullan.

Since the miners voted nearly unanimously for a strike over what they claim to be unfair labor practices by Hecla Mining Co. back on March 12, the two sides have essentially been locked in an economic cold war.

Aside from rumor and speculation, there has been little sign that an end is near.

Slivers of hope cropped up in mid-June when news came out the two sides had agreed to sit down in July.

This was the first time the two sides had met since March 14, just two days after the strike began.

Although that meeting yielded no agreement, the two sides did agree to meet again on Aug. 3.

Miners held a large rally in Coeur d’Alene outside of Hecla’s headquarters the day before to show strength before the talks.

This most recent meeting that occurred last Thursday also failed to produce an agreement, but it did highlight the main issue that is keeping the two sides apart: the job selection system.

Being almost five months into this expensive game of chicken, simply identifying the main area of disagreement is a huge step.

Before the strike, it seemed as though USW 5114 and Hecla had zero common ground.

The two sides have been in disagreement on almost every aspect of what the miners new contract should look like after their previous one expired on May 1, 2016.

Everything from hours of work and health plans to recall rights and profit-sharing plans have been points of contention.

Though there has been no evidence to suggest that an agreement has been reached on any of the aforementioned issues, narrowing down the main issue is progress (albeit small).

Phil Epler, USW 5114 president, said that the mood at the recent meeting at the Mullan City Hall was “optimistic.”

Luke Russell, Hecla’s Vice President of External Affairs, told the News-Press that the meeting was “informative to both sides” and that “the primary focus of the discussion was on the dispute over the job progression system.”

To understand why this issue has taken center stage, one must first understand the two systems Hecla and USW 5114 are wanting to be instituted at the Luck Friday.

USW 5114 and the miners wish to keep the current “bid system” that has been used in the past.

Under this system, the miners essentially have the power to manage personnel in the mine.

Senior miners have the ability to decide which stope they work in and who they work with in that stope.

If a miner wishes to change jobs or locations, the decision falls to the senior miners- not management.

The same situation applies if a miner wants to stay in the current job or location they are in; the decision comes down to the senior miners.

This bid system is only present in the mine and does not apply to mill or maintenance workers.

USW 5114 stands by the bid system by essentially taking the “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” approach.

Rick Norman, a 36-year veteran Lucky Friday miner, explained in a letter to the editor why USW 5114 believe this system works.

“Our bid system has reached and exceeded production and safety goals time and time again,” he said, “and it will do the same thing in the future.”

The union backs this “record breaking system” by citing increased production numbers over the years, which have occurred under the current system.

In addition to this point, they also say that the bid system keeps miners safe.

USW 5114’s argument is that the experienced/ veteran miners are more knowledgeable when it comes to worker’s abilities and mine conditions compared to management.

Because of this, they believe that conditions in the mine are safer when these senior miners choose where people work and what locations they work in.

Hecla wishes to replace the bid system with what they call a “progression system.”

The progression system allows management (not the senior miners) to decided who works with who and where.

Russell argues that under this system, “employees choose a career path where they have the ability to learn multiple tasks (example: the “Mining Support” career path includes caging, nipping, truck driving, loader operation, road maintenance). This system incentivizes employees to build diversity into their skill sets and allows them to grow within the pay schedule.”

He added that “when the company has multiple employees with diverse skill-sets, it has flexibility to manage the needs of the mine.”

Under this system, Hecla says that employees would receive higher wages when they progress to a higher Technician (Tech) level by increasing their skills.

“The system is designed to broaden expertise in employees and crews and reward the increase in skill level with a higher base wage,” Helca’s Lucky Friday Labor Relations page states.

On the safety front, Russell believes that the progression system is “proven to be safe and benefits both the employees and the company.”

To back up his point, Hecla’s labor relations page attributes overall safety in the mine to the National Mining Association’s CORESafety program- “a risk-based management system approach which has resulted in the Lucky Friday’s safety performance substantially improving.”

Lastly, Russell and Hecla say that systems like this are the way of the future when it comes to mining and that this system has already been proven to work at the Lucky Friday in other departments.

“Progression system formats have become the industry standard and no other mine in this country works under the outdated system used by the Lucky Friday,” Russell said.

“The mill employees, maintenance, and electrical employees have been working under a progression system since 2010 and make up approximately half of the hourly work force.”

USW 5114 disputes the claim that they are the only mine in the country to use a bid system.

This dispute stems from what the two sides define as a “bid system.”

Russell clarified by saying that “while there are other systems where workers bid on positions and jobs, the ‘bid’ system at Lucky Friday, where miners tell management where and with whom they will work, is not repeated anywhere in the US today.”

The disagreement between the two sides regarding job selection systems essentially come down to a difference in ideological beliefs.

Should the power to call the shots rest with management or senior employees?

Is a veteran miner, more often than not, the best person for the job in regards to work ethic and skill?

Should a manager have the ability to supervise and assign whoever he/she feels is most qualified to a certain task?

Both sides will give you different answers to these questions.

The miners stance on the Hecla’s purposed job system is that it is simply a “union breaking power grab” that will make the mine less efficient and less safe.

On their Facebook page, USW stated that a change to the progression system would devalue veteran workers and put lives at risk.

“Experience and seniority will no longer have any value or meaning. The company will have total control over job assignments,” the post read.

“This may sound all well and good for a workplace such as your office building, but in an atmosphere that is as dangerous as underground can get, we will insist on having a say in our own safety.”

In regard to employees and hiring practices, the union also thinks that the progression system is a way for the company to phase out veteran miners and replace them with cheaper, arguably less-efficient/ safe, miners.

Hecla is just as much against the bid system as the miners are against the progressive system for roughly the same reasons, efficiency and safety.

Russell argues that, “under the current ‘bid’ system in the mine department, a few select senior miners decide where and with whom they mine. Because miners can make up to $50,000 per year in mining bonuses, non-senior miners are often worried if they will continue to be selected by a senior miner.”

Russel added that with the bid system, “the company has had trouble hiring experienced and skilled miners because applicants know that regardless of their qualifications, their ability to earn the large mining bonuses is dependent upon being selected by a senior miner.”

Hecla states on its labor relations page that it is common to refer to these senior miners that choose who works where and, essentially, if miners can earn bonus based on production, as “sugar daddies.”

On the safety side, Russell and Hecla believe that “there are no modern safety systems built on a seniority bid system as the union is suggesting.”

Frequent crew rearrangements that occur when new bids are awarded and little to no incentives for individuals to improve their skills also top the list of problems Hecla has with the bid system.

As of Monday, August 7, the two sides have yet to schedule a new meeting.