04/10/1996 01:30 PM Senate JUD

          HB 311 MINERS:  PAY & MAXIMUM HOURS OF WORK                         
                                                                               
 DOUG ROBERTS, Mayor of Wrangell, stated support for HB 311 as it             
 will provide an employment opportunity for Southeast Alaskans.                
 Kennecott Greens Creek Mining Co. representatives came to Wrangell            
 recently to discuss work opportunities at the mine.  With an                  
 unemployment rate of about 30 percent in Wrangell, that industry              
 can provide much needed jobs.                                                 
          HB 311 MINERS:  PAY & MAXIMUM HOURS OF WORK                         
                                                                              
 CLYNTON NAUMAN, General Manager of the Kennecott Greens Creek Mine            
 on Admiralty Island testified in support of HB 311, which extends             
 the number of hours a person can work underground from eight to               
 ten, at the face.  Greens Creek plans to reopen in the fourth                 
 quarter of 1996, and at that time will have about 250 employees.              
 Greens Creek currently hires 150 employees, 80 percent are                    
 Alaskans. If HB 311 passes, Greens Creek intends to offer jobs to             
 qualified people in Southeast Alaska, subsidize transportation                
 costs from their home community to Admiralty Island where they                
 would be housed for possibly 20 days, and transport them back to              
 their communities for 10 days.  This plan would avoid a housing               
 problem in Juneau, and allow people from Southeast to work without            
 relocating their families.  If HB 311 does not pass, and Greens               
 Creek is locked into eight hour underground shifts, it will have to           
 run three shifts per day which will change the economics of the               
 mine.                                                                         
                                                                               
 MR. NAUMAN explained Greens Creek is requesting a change to ten               
 hours in statute, rather than using the variance method proposed by           
 the Department of Labor, because to implement the Southeast hire              
 plan, Greens Creek will need to construct facilities with a cost of           
 several million dollars.  Greens Creek needs the certainty of a               
 statute in order to amortize that investment and needs the                    
 stability and two-shift rotation in order to provide sustained,               
 lower operating costs that will eventually provide more job                   
 security for employees by allowing Greens Creek to withstand                  
 volatility in a commodities market and in the global marketplace.             
 A permit approach is less certain, and contains vague requirements,           
 such as whether changing the eight hour underground work day to ten           
 hours is in the best interest of the workers of the state.  That              
 will be difficult to determine before the workers are doing it.               
 Greens Creek does not believe that standard is objective.  Greens             
 Creek is also uncertain about the length of the permit and the                
 possibility of revocation.   Permit regulations do not exist at               
 this time, yet Greens Creek is ready to hire at this time.  Greens            
 Creek has spent considerable time with Commissioner Cashen trying             
 to find common ground and appreciates the effort he has made, but             
 needs the certainty of a statute to make the necessary investments.           
 A ten-hour work day is safe, and promotes an opportunity for                  
 Alaskan jobs for qualified people, reduces the economic exposure of           
 Greens Creek to inevitable fluctuations in the market, and allows             
 it to be competitive on a global basis.                                       
                                                                               
 Number 263                                                                    
                                                                               
 WENDY NATKONG, representing the workforce at Greens Creek Mine,               
 submitted a letter to the editor she wrote to the Juneau Empire               
 which was endorsed by 34 underground workers at the Greens Creek              
 Mine, and a petition signed by 128 Greens Creek employees.  As the            
 medical coordinator, she does not believe safety is an issue with             
 this bill.  The original restriction on hours worked at the face of           
 a mine was legislated in 1913; working conditions have improved               
 substantially since that time.  Current Greens Creek workers only             
 spend about six hours at the face of the mine.  Greens Creek                  
 employees support this measure because it will decrease the amount            
 of commuting time to Admiralty, will allow for more time with their           
 families, and for more productive shifts.  The employees understand           
 this schedule will not be dictated; that will be allowed to present           
 proposals for the schedule to the management.                                 
                                                                               
 BERNIE MILLER, Executive Director of the Southeast Conference,                
 testified in support of HB 311 because it will make it easier for             
 mining companies in Southeast Alaska to hire local residents.  The            
 economy in Southeast Alaska has changed dramatically in the last              
 few years, and further changes may occur in the immediate future.             
 The visitor industry has grown steadily, the timber industry has              
 contracted significantly, and the fishing industry is confronted by           
 new challenges daily.  If mining companies are afforded the                   
 conditions they need to run a camp-type operation, workers will be            
 able to commute from where they live now.  More jobs should go to             
 Southeasterners as a result which could be critical to the well               
 being of communities in Southeast if further economic dislocations            
 occur.  For the Southeast Conference, the bottom line is high                 
 paying, full-time, private sector jobs.  The Conference has no                
 preference with respect to whether the relief mining companies need           
 comes in statute or regulation, so long as companies operating in             
 Southeast Alaska can hire people who live here.                               
                                                                               
 Number 189                                                                    
                                                                               
 ED FLANAGAN, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Labor, stated           
 DOL supports the concept of allowing a ten-hour work day.                     
 Commissioner Cashen has met with all of the mining interests that             
 are proposing projects in the area and is personally interested in            
 mining, however believes this legislation to be special interest              
 because it meets the concerns of one company, however valid,                  
 despite the fact that those concerns can be met under an acceptable           
 alternative.  The variance procedure is not a permit: variances are           
 routinely granted under Title 18, Chapter 60, for all OSHA                    
 regulations.  For example, OSHA regulations ban night blasting,               
 which would be a critical problem in Prudhoe Bay in the winter,               
 therefore DOL grants a variance.                                              
                                                                               
 MR. FLANAGAN continued.  If HB 311 is enacted, this change will not           
 only apply to Greens Creek, it will apply to every mine in the                
 state.  The law passed in 1913 may be old but has stood the state             
 in good stead all of this time.  In this community alone, there               
 were three fatalities since 1989 in other mines in the development            
 phase.  Mining is a hazardous industry, however responsible                   
 companies can allow for safety to ensure that fatigue is not a                
 factor.  The Greens Creek camp is not a done deal.  In previous               
 testimony, Mr. Nauman stated his workers spend a 12 hour day to do            
 5.7 hours of work at the face.  Those workers could be working up             
 to 8 hours at the face at this time.  If Greens Creek does not put            
 in its camp, the workers will be putting in a 16 hour day.  The               
 variance procedure is responsive, and although it is time consuming           
 on occasion, the Commissioner could issue an interim order ex parte           
 and grant the variance pending resolution of the formal variance              
 procedure.                                                                    
                                                                               
 MR. FLANAGAN stated DOL commends Green Creek for trying to hire               
 Southeast residents, however repeated the variance procedure can              
 address Greens Creek's concerns.   He was unaware of any variances            
 revoked by DOL.  He thanked the committee for their time.                     
                                                                               
 Number 103                                                                    
                                                                               
 GARY PAXTON, Sitka City Manager, testified via teleconference.                
 Greens Creek representatives recently came to Sitka for a two-hour            
 briefing on its hiring plan.  The meeting had a substantial                   
 turnout.  The City and Borough of Sitka supports HB 311.                      
                                                                               
 KEITH PERKINS, Sitka Assembly Member, voiced support for HB 311.              
 Many people in Sitka are looking for work as Sitka has had a soft             
 landing but its economy has finally hit bottom.  The potential for            
 high paying blue collar jobs is important for this reason.                    
                                                                               
 JENNIFER TENNY, testifying from Ketchikan, commented her husband              
 was laid off as a logger, and recently became employed by Greens              
 Creek Mine.  HB 311 would allow her family to continue to work and            
 live in Southeast Alaska.  Because of the price and scarcity of               
 housing in Juneau, she is not able to move her family.  If he could           
 work 20 days on and 10 off, the family could remain where they are.           
 Her husband worked in two mines in Montana, one an underground                
 mine.  In both mines, he worked ten hour shifts, and sometimes 12             
 hours.  He also worked in the sawmill industry with ten hour                  
 shifts.  In 17 years of working full-time, he has never had a time-           
 loss accident.  Safety lies in the environmental and attitude that            
 both the employee and employer must participate in.  If a company             
 spends time and resources in making a workplace safe, conditions              
 will be as safe as possible.                                                  
                                                                               
 TAPE 96-35, SIDE A                                                            
 Number 000                                                                    
                                                                               
 MS. TENNY did not believe conditions are any more dangerous in a              
 mine than they are in a sawmill, and questioned whether the 1913              
 was a special interest law to begin with.                                     
                                                                               
 SENATOR GREEN moved CSHB 311(JUD) out of committee with individual            
 recommendations.  There being no objection, the motion carried.