Workers
El sistema de oleoductos Trans-Alaska se construyó íntegramente con mano de obra sindicada. Como la construcción estaba en declive en todo Estados Unidos, el oleoducto atrajo a trabajadores de todo el país. Estos trabajadores tuvieron que seguir un estricto proceso de contratación basado en la antigüedad sindical y en la mano de obra que se necesitaba. Se dio prioridad a la contratación de residentes y nativos de Alaska,[28] así como de mujeres, que se consideraban minoría, y el acuerdo laboral entre Alyeska y los sindicatos prohibía las huelgas.[29] A cambio de cumplir estas restricciones, los trabajadores recibían un salario muy alto y prestaciones adicionales.[30]Según el contrato laboral, se garantizaba a todos los trabajadores 40 horas semanales de sueldo, incluso si el tiempo hacía imposible el trabajo.[31] Además, los subcontratistas tenían contratos de coste incrementado con Alyeska para la dotación de personal,[18] por lo que no había incentivos para mantener bajos los niveles de personal. Estos factores hicieron que a menudo se asignara a un trabajo más personal del que había para intentar recuperar el tiempo perdido por los retrasos meteorológicos.[32] En el punto álgido de la construcción, en otoño de 1975, más de 28.000 personas trabajaban en el oleoducto. Entre el 14% y el 19% de los trabajadores pertenecían a minorías y entre el 5% y el 10% eran mujeres.[33] Debido a la elevada rotación de personal en el proyecto, más de 70.000 personas trabajaron al menos en una parte del oleoducto.[34].
Welders
The welders who worked on the pipeline came from Pipeliners Local 798 of Tulsa, Oklahoma, which specializes in providing welders for large-scale pipeline projects. Members of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing, Pipefitting and Sprinkler Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada performed all welding that was not part of the pipeline itself. said, including pump stations, feeder pipelines, and work at the Valdez Marine Terminal.[36] Welders were the highest paid of all pipeline workers, with a regular rate of $18.25 per hour.[37] To be hired on the pipeline project, welders had to go through an intense certification process that included a series of test welds. If a welder failed any of the test welds, he was not hired and was not allowed to try again for several weeks.[38].
Most of the 798 were characterized by their southern accents, cowboy boots, and unique welding hats.[37][39] They were the only ones who welded the 48-inch (120 cm) main pipes, and outside observers called them arrogant and "hillbillies." An example of their attitude was how they dealt with the lunch situation in late 1975. Alyeska had said she would provide hot lunches where possible, but in reality she ended up being the one who worked closest to the camps, while those who worked further away carried bagged lunches to their workplace. After complaints about the unfairness of this policy (as some unions were much more favored than others), Alyeska decided that no one would receive hot lunches. But then the welders of the 798th began cooking their own lunches (against camp rules) using steaks taken from the kitchen freezers on makeshift grills whose burners were their acetylene torches.[40] [41]As a fellow welder stated at the time: "Take your typical 798 pipeline welder and give him a drink, and he'll probably tell you that he's God's greatest gift to the welding"[42] This attitude generated resentment from other pipeline workers, and the conflict led to large-scale brawls. In some cases, Alaska State Troopers had to go to pipeline camps to break up minor disturbances. Toward the end of the pipeline project, a series of bumper stickers were produced with the slogan "Happiness is 10,000 Okies going south with a Texan under each arm."
Teamsters
The Teamsters union was by far the largest and most notable contributor of workers to the pipeline project. The Teamsters worked on the transportation and supply aspects of the project. All the trucks were driven by Teamsters, the supply warehouses were managed by Teamsters, and the buses that transported workers from the camps to the job sites were managed by Teamsters.[44]Teamsters Local 959, with more than 23,000 employees at its peak,[45] was by far the most dominant workforce on the pipeline project.[46]There were frequent accusations of corruption by Teamsters in the project, and the Anchorage Daily News won a Pulitzer Prize for a 15-part series on the rise of Local 959 and its influence on state politics.[45] Repeated accusations of ties to organized crime were never supported by evidence, but two Teamsters leaders were murdered in 1976 while investigating drug trafficking activities on the pipeline project.[47] Workers for the Teamsters Teamsters strongly denied any involvement with organized crime and pointed to the fact that 80% of the Teamsters in the project had college degrees or professional and management experience.[48].
The Teamsters' control over the tools and equipment in the warehouses they ran led to conflicts with other workers. In some cases, the Teamsters were attacked by workers from other unions.[43][49][50] In other cases, the Teamsters used their position to obtain concessions from Alyeska and subcontractors. Although they were prohibited from striking, they were allowed to stop work to hold safety meetings, and this excuse was used on a handful of occasions.[51] The most notable was in February 1975, following a series of serious truck accidents on the Elliott Highway, which connected to the newly built Dalton. The Elliott, which had not been improved, was a treacherous road for trucks carrying 80-foot (24 m) pipe. After his attempts to get Alyeska to improve the highway were rebuffed, Teamsters leader Jesse Carr halted all truck traffic in the state during four days of safety meetings. Alyeska and the State promised to improve the road and traffic resumed.[52].
Operators
The International Union of Exploitation Engineers (abbreviated Operators) represented the men and women who sat at the controls of the heavy machinery used in the construction of the pipeline:[46] bulldozers, cranes, drills and sidebooms, a cross between a bulldozer and a crane that could place a section of pipe in a trench parallel to its tracks. Since most of the heavy equipment was unheated, six operators were assigned to each piece, allowing for frequent breaks. A popular joke on the pipeline was that the only qualification to be a worker was: "You must be able to sit in a sideboom at 40 below zero and not freeze." More seriously, one worker wrote that there was nothing more terrifying than being in a trench and having a drunk or inexperienced worker handle the pipe being placed in the trench.
Workers
The International Workers Union represented the bulk of the project's less-skilled workforce. The laborers, as they were commonly known, performed most of the project's odd jobs: digging trenches in areas inaccessible to heavy machinery, drilling holes for pipeline vertical supports, spreading gravel, crushing rock, and moving supplies by hand. Fairbanks Local 942 was the most prominent group of workers on the project, and because no special qualifications were required for the positions it filled, it attracted the majority. of the people who came to Alaska specifically for the pipeline project.[56] As one worker put it, they were people who were "just looking for the easiest possible way to spend the day."[57].
Because laborers had more applicants than positions available, the process for getting a job on the pipeline through Laborers Local 942 was multi-tiered. There were several levels of eligibility, depending on each person's seniority. Level A members were the first to choose jobs, but they had to have worked at least 800 hours with the union in the previous year. Level B members must have worked between 100 and 800 hours with the union. Level C enrollees were required to have at least two years of experience outside of Alaska or have resided in Alaska for at least one year. Level D was for everyone else, and jobs were rarely found.[58] That didn't stop people from trying. At 11 a.m. on January 1, 1974, shortly before the pipeline right-of-way was signed, more than 100 people spent the night outside the Fairbanks office of the Labor Union, waiting for the first job option when the office opened.[59]
Life on the pipeline
Life during the pipeline construction project was characterized by long hours, poor conditions, and limited entertainment offset by excellent benefits and salaries. Each worker was given a small booklet with the 23 rules of the camp,[60] but the rules (which included not drinking alcohol or smoking) were frequently broken[61] and they became the target of mocking humor.
In the accommodation, the atmosphere was similar to that of a university residence.[62] Cleaning and laundry services were provided, but the accommodation was small and there was little entertainment. Television broadcasts were delayed by two days due to the need to transport tapes from California,[63] and most workers had to develop their own forms of entertainment. In winter, some skied or sightseeed; in summer, they went hiking.[64] In general, however, there was little time for leisure due to the long work hours of most people.
In the early years of the project, workers often ate prime rib, steaks, and other exotic delicacies, thanks to a cost-plus contract between food preparers and subcontractors.[64] In later years, these cost-plus contracts were replaced and institutional kitchens and boxed lunches became common, but the project's food was still appreciated by many workers.[65][66] Once the haul road was built, later called Dalton Highway "Dalton (Georgia)"), food and overtime for some unions changed. The construction of the highway was carried out by the federal and state governments and was supposed to be cost-plus. Gone are the steak nights once or twice a week and gone are the Australian lobster tails. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) LU 1547 was one of the unions that changed Sunday overtime from double time to time and a half upon completion of the highway.
In 1976, the average wage for workers ranged from $11 to $18 per hour, depending on the position. With workweeks averaging between 70 and 84 hours a week, the problem for many workers was what to do with so much extra money. Truck driver Jerry Thornhill, a typical worker, wrote to Money magazine asking for advice. Thornhill detailed a salary of $57,000 a year at a time when members of Congress earned $42,500 annually, professional football players averaged $40,000, and U.S. Vice President Nelson Rockefeller earned $62,500. dollars.[61][69] Instead of gambling, other workers saved their money for a month-long vacation to Hawaii or other warm climates, and then returned to work with no money left.[70].