Legislature(1995 - 1996)
03/06/1996 03:10 PM House L&C
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 311 - CHANGE LIMIT ON HOURS EMPLOYED IN MINES CHAIRMAN KOTT announced the committee would hear HB 311, "An Act repealing the limitation on the hours a person may be employed in a mine; and making a related technical amendment to avoid changing the penalties for failing to make payments into an employee benefit fund." He informed the committee has a proposed committee substitute. Number 2340 REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG moved to adopt CSHB 311(L&C), Version 9- LS0970\F, Cramer, 3/6/96. Hearing no objection, it was so ordered. DWIGHT PERKINS, Special Assistant, Office of the Commissioner, Department of Labor, came forward to comment. He said Deputy Commission Flanagan spoke on the issue at a previous meeting. Mr. Perkins said, "What we talked about - agreed to in the committee and to come up with language is pretty much here except that on line 7, it is the department's position and view that on line 7 where the number `10' is should be `8'. Also on page 1, line 13, where the number is `10', it should be `8'. And then on page 2, on line 2, it should say where it says `10' it should say `8' and where the number `12' appears, it should be `10.'" REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG referred to the language on line 1, page 2, "the commissioner may grant a variance that permits employment," and asked if that is adequate language under the variance procedure. MR. PERKINS said he believes it is adequate language. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG asked if there was a variance procedure in place. MR. PERKINS said he believes Deputy Commissioner Flanagan said there was various language to fall back on. TAPE 96-17, SIDE B Number 001 JOE THOMAS, Business Manager, Laborers, Local 942, testified via teleconference from Fairbanks. He noted he is also testifying on behalf the Alaska State Federation of Laborers. He informed the members he didn't have a copy of the committee substitute and isn't sure how to testify. CHAIRMAN KOTT said, "It places a restriction - eight hours at the mine face, with the proposed changes that is, with a variance any more than that." MR. THOMAS said his organization would probably be in agreement with that language. He noted he couldn't speak for everybody as he hasn't presented them with the committee substitute. Mr. Thomas explained their concerns are with safety and they have faith in the Department of Labor and their ability to look at it. He referred to the conclusions of Mr. Duchon's report and said he thinks he also alludes in his conclusions that there does need to be some monitoring of the situation. If the Department of Labor could do that in their variance procedure, that would make him happy. Number 072 DIXIE HOOD, Marriage and Family Therapist, came forward to testify. She explained she is in private practice in Juneau and has, in the past, had a number of miners and family members come to her for counselling. She said she has learned some things in terms of the amount of stress involved in their work and the impact it has on their own mental health and their family's well being. There are many problems with miners being dislocated from their family situations. She said she thinks the additional fatigue and safety issues involved in extending mining work beyond the eight hour shift would be detrimental. Ms. Hood said she has told her son-in- law, who has been a miner in Alaska, about the legislation and he wrote a letter. Ms. Hood explained he is a 49 year resident and fishes six months of the year in Port Alexander. She noted he is currently in Bellingham doing construction work. Ms. Hood read the letter into the record. "As someone who has worked in both the Sheep Creek Mine and in power tunnels on two dams in Southeast, I would like to urge a cautious and compassionate look at the situation before overturning laws meant to protect miners, for instance the eight hour work day. Being a construction worker myself as well as a commercial fisherman I have often worked long hours at physical and dangerous work and sure, I like my overtime pay. "However, I would like to point out that if you are concerned about jobs for Alaskans that if you support giving fewer workers more hours you will in effect be reducing the total number of jobs available. We must keep circumspect priorities in mind. Certainly many people would encourage industries to come to Alaska to help the economy, but most people would agree that worker safety should be paramount. Our natural resources are not going to go anywhere by themselves, and they will last only so long once they are tapped. And if a corporation finds that it is to their economic advantage to harvest these resources, they should be made to do so in a socially acceptable way, keeping worker safety as a high value. Why allow some corporation to take the state's natural resources while bolstering their profits by cutting on worker safety? Many people fought long and hard for the eight hour workday. "One factor which should cause us to look closely at overturning the eight hour day for miners is that miners often have to spend several hours coming and going to their work for which they are often not paid. For instance, those who work at Greens Creek have a long boat ride before they even start their shift, and another boat ride at the end of their shift before they can go home to rest. When I worked at the Sheep Creek mine, there was also a fairly long and dangerous drive to work which was the first of the strenuous and tiring tasks before I even went on the payroll. "I have great respect for miners and I believe them to be some of the hardest working people on earth. Like John Henry many miners will not turn down a challenge or long hours, even if it means working themselves into the ground. I hope that those who make laws and vote on laws will take their jobs as seriously as miners do and consider the effect of their actions on the people affected by the laws. Sincerely, A. Marcus Livingston." Number 246 DON ETHERIDGE, Alaska AFL-CIO, came before the committee. He said his organization can support the amendment if the department's eight hour rules are included. He said they would be willing to support eight hours of actual working time at the face. Mr. Etheridge said he would also like to see paid compensation from portal-to-portal. CHAIRMAN KOTT indicated there were no further witnesses and closed public testimony. Number 327 REPRESENTATIVE PORTER made a motion to amend CSHB 311, Version F, by changing the number "10" to "Eight" on page 1, lines 7 and 13. On page 2, line 2, replace "12" with "10". CHAIRMAN KOTT said there is a motion to conceptually amend the bill as stated. He asked if there was an objection, hearing none the amendment was adopted. CHAIRMAN KOTT said he would like to bring the committee's attention to one other detail that is included in the committee substitute that wasn't in the department's committee substitute. On page 2, line 6, the last word of the sentence was changed to "and". In the department's committee substitute it was "or". Number 390 REPRESENTATIVE SANDERS said he feels a lot more comfortable with the word "and" because looking down the road, you never know who the commissioner will be and the situation might change. He said he would feel comfortable including the word "or" with the current Administration. MR. PERKINS referred to the "and" language, if it is read in its entirety, and said things will have to play together. He said Deputy Commissioner Flanagan had put "or". REPRESENTATIVE PORTER asked what the significance is of "or workings". MR. PERKINS said the way he read the committee substitute is that everything has to apply. The commissioner cannot grant the waiver unless it is a collective bargaining agreement and is in the best interest of the resident workers of the state. CHAIRMAN KOTT said as he understands it to get a variance, the commissioner must agree that it is in the best interest of the state or (indisc.) plus it must be an organized mine. MR. PERKINS said that is how he reads it. Number 533 REPRESENTATIVE SANDERS asked Mr. Perkins if he has a problem with the word "and" as opposed to "or". MR. PERKINS said he would say the department doesn't have a problem with the word "and", but noted he wouldn't take a strong position in the issue one way or the other. REPRESENTATIVE PORTER noted he was on the wrong page. He said there is "or" on page 1 that doesn't make a lot of sense. CHAIRMAN KOTT said, "If you left the `and' in there, the number 2, that is the commissioner would make a best interest finding so to speak. It would really be nullified because I don't think he would enter into the collective bargaining arrangement if that is what has occurred previously. Since both of them have to be present for a variance to occur, it would seem to me that his position would be very very weakened. REPRESENTATIVE PORTER said he would read it as requiring both (1) and (2) before a variance can be issued. He noted that isn't the testimony he recalls. It was a labor agreement that your fine with. If there isn't a labor agreement, they want the variance capability and that would be "or" not "and". MR. PERKINS said he believes Representative Porter is correct. Number 664 REPRESENTATIVE PORTER made a motion that on page 2, line 6, after the word "variance" replace the word "and" with the word "or". CHAIRMAN KOTT said it is a conceptual amendment. He asked if there was an objection. Hearing none, the amendment was adopted. Number 740 REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG made a motion to pass CSHB 311, as amended, with attached fiscal notes and individual recommendations, out of committee. CHAIRMAN KOTT asked if there were an objection. Hearing none, CSHB 311, as amended, was moved out of the House Labor and Commerce Committee.
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