Unalaska, AK – Employees of two of the three fuel providers in Unalaska are now on strike.

Teamsters-affiliated employees at Delta Western Fuels joined half a dozen pro-union workers from North Pacific Fuels on the picket lines yesterday.

The two companies' employees are striking for different reasons. Delta Western employees are striking for recognition of their proposed union, the Anchorage-based Teamsters Local 959. Union officials say that all six of the company's eligible Unalaska-based employees have signed Teamster representation cards, and that the union has asked for voluntary recognition from Delta Western. Company representatives didn't return calls for comment today.

Teamsters organizer Derek Musto said that the employees aren't demanding higher wages, just a seat at the table in negotiations.

"They're tired of being taken advantage of," he said. "They wanted to have the opportunity to sit across from their employer and to basically talk about the issues. I think they'd had enough of not being listened to."

The North Pacific strike, which began on February 24, is over a proposed clause in the company's contract, which would require all North Pacific employees to join the union. The company has resisted including that clause in contract negotiations for the past year, and six of the company's 14 eligible workers in Unalaska are on strike.

Don Castle, the vice president for marketing at North Pacific parent company Petro Star, said that as long as the majority of the company's Unalaska employees don't want to join the union, the company plans to stand by them. Castle said that he doesn't see much room for negotiation at this point.

"The Teamsters had indicated that the union security clause and the dues check-off were non-negotiable items during the negotiation process," he said. "We feel that if they're non-negotiable for the Teamsters, then they're non-negotiable for North Pacific Fuel as well."

Both the Teamsters and North Pacific have appealed to the National Labor Relations Board.

The standoff has led to some tensions in the community. The Unalaska Department of Public Safety has received reports of half a dozen incidents on the picket lines since the North Pacific strike began, with complaints coming from people on both sides of the debate. Charges were only brought in relation to one of those incidents, an alleged case of trespassing involving a pro-union North Pacific employee, which is likely to be contested.

Over the past four days, the Teamsters have chartered boats for water pickets around North Pacific and now Delta Western dock facilities where fuel is delivered. Musto said that barges belonging to Crowley Maritime have respected the pickets.

Because Delta Western and North Pacific represent the vast majority of fuel deliveries to Dutch Harbor, city officials have begun speaking to the parties involved. Musto says that he and the striking employees had met twice with City Manager Chris Hladick and once with Mayor Shirley Marquardt to discuss the state of negotiations.