Peak employees nix union representation

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

Peak Oilfield Service Co. workers soundly rejected a proposal for union representation in a May 31 election.

The company, which has offices in Anchorage, Kenai and Prudhoe Bay, said 421 employees, representing 70 percent of its eligible work force, voted to remain union-free.

The Operating Engineers Local 302 and the Laborers International Union garnered 121 ballots, while 51 workers cast ballots favoring representation by Teamsters Union Local 959.

A group of 76 challenged ballots were disregarded because they wouldn’t affect the outcome of the election. Four ballots were voided.

“We feel we treat employees as best we can and our employees are loyal to us,” said Dan Ungrue, Peak’s superintendent for oil and gas operations. “They felt we were taking pretty good care of them as far as benefits go and we’re keeping pay up as high as we can without going broke.”

Ungrue said high oil prices created a false hope that the sky was the limit for wages and benefits. In actuality, he said, workers are better off when the company’s cost structure is competitive enough to keep them on the job.