IUOE News - Fall 2012

Line Creek Mine
by Leslie Dyson
Line Creek Mine, one of five in Elk Valley in the southeast
of the province, commenced operation in June 1981.
Member Rep Gordie Chaisson, formerly a heavy duty
mechanic, was hired by Line Creek Mine and joined the union
in March 1984. In 1987, he accepted the position of assistant
chief shop steward.
The coal industry is sensitive to peaks and valleys in the
marketplace. Chaisson got caught up in one of the layoff periods
in 1987 and was out of work for 10 months.
The market saw significant improvements in 1989 and
the mine began hiring again. Chaisson became the chief shop
steward and held the post until 1994. He accepted the role of
member rep in Local 115 in ’96.
There are many mines on either side of the Rocky
Mountains. Line Creek is the only one in the area represented
by IUOE Local 115. In the fall of 1989, negotiations broke
down over the number of breaks on a shift and banked time.
The members went on a seven-week strike. They returned to
Focus on Line Creek Mine
There’s a rule of thumb in mining. For every mine job, there are up to seven spinoff
jobs. There are 425 IUOE members working at Line Creek Mine. There are a total
of 3,000 mine workers in the area. Multiply that figure by seven and you can see the
degree to which the communities of Sparwood, Fernie, Elkford and Crowsnest Pass
rely on the mines for their very existence.
work in September after agreeing to a trial period in
which the number of breaks was reduced from five to
three and banked time up to 48 hours was introduced.
continued next page
Line Creek’s founding fathers
Among the original hires at the mine, the
“founding fathers,” according to Member Rep
Gord Chaisson, were Brothers Rick Adams,
Graham Atkinson, Murray Auld, Carl Cimolini,
Kim Filipuzzi, Skip Gettman, Warren Jones, Dan
Jungert, Jerry Kumiszizo, Derek Luznar, Dan
McKay, Dave Munro, Phil North, Percy Rector,
Lou Tait, Darrell Vance and Terry Walsh. “They
had next to nothing to work with,” said Chaisson.
“Basically, they turned on the lights.”
September 2012 News 17