About a half-dozen North Pacific Fuel employees picketed on Friday. (Lauren Rosenthal/KUCB)

Laborers from North Pacific Fuel walked off the job in Unalaska on Friday to protest the firing of a co-worker. As KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal reports, it follows a rising tide of interest in unionizing among local fuelers.

Rasoul Charkhandaz is standing outside the North Pacific Fuel office when one of the company’s tanker trucks drives by.

Charkhandaz: "This is my job. Yesterday, I’m the one that do this job. Every day I start work, I’m driving the truck until I’m done."

Except for today. Charkhandaz is holding a picket sign, asking the company to give back his job as a truck driver -- which he had for the last year and a half.

Charkhandaz: "It’s because I’m joining the union. All of us people going to join union. That’s why he fire me."

Charkhandaz and about a half-dozen others want to join the Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific.

That didn't come up when he was called into his manager's office on July 10, though. He got scolded for alleged misconduct during a fueling job. Usually, there would be a step system, with verbal and written warnings.

But Charkhandaz says his manager, Norman Bautista, decided to fire him instead. On the official pink slip, Bautista didn't give a reason for his decision -- and he checked a box that disqualifies Rasoul Charkhandaz from getting rehired down the road.

Bautista referred all questions to North Pacific Fuel’s parent company. That’s Petro Star, based in Anchorage. Their CEO could not be reached for comment on Friday.

The Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific had a labor organizer on hand at the strike in Unalaska. Adam Dalton says the union has filed a federal complaint against Petro Star:

Dalton: "For harassment of employees as well as the termination of [Charkhandaz]. Starting on the 4th of July, [Bautista] started pulling guys aside and basically talking about the union and started asking questions, and then a couple days later this happened."

The only workers who'd be eligible to join the Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific are fuelers and dock workers.

Dalton estimates there are about 13 or 14 who fit that description at North Pacific Fuel.

Dalton: "It's close to the size of Delta, I believe."

He means Delta Western -- another fuel supplier in Unalaska. Their employees staged two walkouts this winter before they voted to join the Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific.

Contract negotiations at that shop should start next week.

Dalton came to Unalaska in February to handle that case. He's been here on and off since then, organizing.

Dalton: "If people contact me, I deal with them. We don't necessarily go out and recruit people. Guys have to be interested in it."

Dalton wouldn't say whether other shops are interested in unionizing -- or what's next for North Pacific Fuel.