Hecla, miners at impasse

The ability of lead miners to pick their work crew is an established tradition at the 75-year-old Lucky Friday Mine, an underground silver property near Mullan, Idaho.

Both production and safety depend on the compatibility of the team, the miners say.

“We work in very dangerous conditions, where everybody’s got to watch each other’s back,” said Phil Epler, president of United Steelworkers Local 5114. “This is the safest way to work in the stopes, and we’ve broken production records with it.”

Proposed changes to work assignments are one of the main reasons the Lucky Friday miners voted to strike March 12. Union and management remain far apart on a variety of issues, most of which are unrelated to pay/ Becky Kramer , SR. More here.