The Alaska Marine Highway System’s shutdown of regional service till March is having ripple effects for Southeast Alaska’s mining sector. Some of the 30 miners living in Haines are struggling to get to work… and keep their jobs.

David and Nikki Lorentz cuddle their son at their home in Haines, Alaska. (Stremple/KHNS)

David Lorentz works at the Kensington Mine. The mine runs a shuttle ferry from Juneau’s road system. But he has to commute about 100 miles south from his home in Haines to make the connection. For that leg of the trip, he’s long relied on the Alaska Marine Highway System.

“But now there’s no more ferry. So I’m trying to fly in between the weather when it looks good,” he said.

Recently it hasn’t been looking good. Winter Storm Warnings have grounded flights for weeks. Which is usual for this time of year.

“In the wintertime, I try not to chance not making it to work. I’ve only got so many days of vacation. So I usually try to schedule around the ferry,” explained Lorentz.

That hasn’t been an option lately. The Alaska Marine Highway System’s sole mainliner broke down last month. Now it’s expected to be out for at least four more weeks.

There are few options. One of two regional airlines—Harris Air—shut down flight service last year. That leaves just Alaska Seaplanes, which doesn’t always have flights available. So in the meantime, Lorentz is burning vacation days if he misses work. He says he has two left.

“If I miss more than two days of work after that point in time, then I’m fired,” he said.

He realizes it’s not personal. It’s company policy. But it’s been a source of stress for him and his wife Nikki.

“There’s nothing around it. But, yeah, losing insurance. And I mean, I might, they might give me a chance after 90 days, or maybe I can get the next opening, but that’s still…” he trails off. It’s an uncertainty.

Kensington schedules him two weeks on—two weeks off. With fewer ferries in the schedule even when it is running, that leaves less time at home. His wife Nikki says the reality is he’s gone more than he’s home to help raise their two children.

“When he has to schedule to go four days early, just to catch the ferry, and then it doesn’t even work out. And then he gets stuck in Juneau for three to four days. He’s at home for one week, and he’s gone for three. And Porter’s teeny tiny and three weeks away from him makes a huge difference,” she said.

Porter’s their six-month-old son. She says don’t get her wrong. Overall, the job at the mine’s been a blessing for their family. There’s health insurance and the pay is unlike anything else he could find in Haines.

So close, yet so far

It’s not just Kensington Mine employees. The Greens Creek Mine on Admiralty Island runs a commuter ferry from the Juneau road system, too. All told there’s about 30 Haines area miners working at both mines.

“Obviously, the ferry situation is tough right now, both from funding and a maintenance perspective,” said Mike Satre, a manager at Greens Creek.

“We always recommend that they keep some of their short notice vacation days in their back pocket to ensure they can leave shift a day or two early to get home, if the weather allows, or come into Juneau day or two early to make sure they can get to work on time.”

Both mines run around the clock. They’re underground, so stormy weather isn’t a reason not to come to work.

The Nash family in the snow near their home in Haines. (Image courtesy of Adrian Nash)

Haines miner Adrian Nash works at Greens Creek. He says the Alaska Marine Highway System was really convenient—when it was running. His employer’s shuttle ferry pulls up next to the state ferry terminal in Juneau’s Auke Bay.

“So I was able to just go right from my boat, walk over to the ferry, hop right on the ferry, and make it home and be home within four and a half hours of getting off of shifts. So it was it was pretty easy. It was a good situation,” he said.

His daughter naps while we talk and a kitten claws over his lap. He and five co-workers are slated to be at work on Monday and he’s nervous that planes won’t fly. He said by the end of January this year, he’d used up a third of his paid time off.

Ferry uncertainty means tough choices for Haines miners

Liz Cornejo is the president of the local chapter of the Alaska Miners Association. She says mine workers who commute from other states don’t have to worry about this. Their jets make it to Juneau.

“When it’s easier to get to Juneau from Montana than it is from Haines, that becomes an issue for workers and local hire or regional hire,” she said.

Miners like Lorentz and Nash take home around $100,000 a year. Multiply that by the 30-odd miners in Haines and you have a gross local payroll of around $3 million. That money could go out of state.

The families have roots here. Their children’s grandparents live in town.

But Nikki Lorentz says she’s thought about leaving.

“It’s frustrating. He has co workers that live as far away as Florida, but get home sooner than he does. You know?”

Her husband David isn’t as sure.

It’s crossed my mind,” he said.

“I mean, it definitely has. We’ve already invested in trying to stay in Haines with buying a house and trying to fix it up and stuff like that. And I don’t want to leave it mid-project, but if it boils down to something, I mean, who knows?”

Their infant son Porter flashes his dad a smile from his mother’s arms.  His father will be leaving for his two-week shift next week. But it won’t be two weeks. It’ll be longer. He’s flying out three days early—to be sure he keeps his job at the mine.