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PRICE - A gun turret above the town of Sunnyside is a reminder of past labor disputes in this region's coal mine industry.
Built during miner unrest in the 1920s, the turret was used by state militia snipers who could shoot anyone threatening to attack the mine ownership.
It's been a long time since Utah mining disputes deteriorated into gunfire, but the nonunion status of workers has been a subplot in the Crandall Canyon collapses that have killed three workers and trapped six others since Aug. 6.
On Friday, the United Mine Workers of America served written notices saying a group of Crandall Canyon miners had asked the union to represent them in discussions with federal regulators. A union official on Sunday said the ongoing disaster could spur a new effort to organize mines in the area.
"We're ready at any time," said Bob Butero, the UMWA director for a Western region, which includes Utah. "I think we've got to try to step up our educational campaign a little bit in the area, but it's got to be the workers. The workers themselves have to decide, 'Is this something I want to do or not?' " Unionizing could give miners working for Crandall Canyon mine co-owner Bob Murray a united front, Butero said.
"It should be clear to them that when things are going good, there's no problems, but when there's a problem there, they need a voice," he said.
Maintaining he cares deeply for his employees, Murray has accused the UMWA of using the collapses to criticize him and unionize his employees. The Deer Creek mine and the Emery mine are the only organized coal mines in Utah.
Mike Dalpiaz, international vice president of the UMWA office in Price, and the mayor of Helper, said the union had no strong interest in organizing the Crandall Canyon mine. He pointed to indications the mine was due to close soon anyway.
"For us to go out beat on [miners'] doors or whatever, I've kind of got away from that," he said. "I figure if they want to live with that uncertainty in their life, that's probably best for them."
Even so, Dalpiaz said since the Aug. 6 collapse he's received "a zillion" questions from miners he meets on the street wanting to know about their rights.
Utah's coal mining history is dotted with struggles between workers seeking to organize or gain wages and benefits from owners who did not want to surrender their profits or control.
Violence sometimes accompanied the disputes. In 1911, one labor dispute erupted into gunfire at the Kenilworth mine near Spring Glen, killing both strikers and workers siding with mine ownership.
From the time of the New Deal to the 1970s, all but a handful of miners were union card members, according to The Next Time We Strike, written by Utah historian Allan Kent Powell. Then, he wrote, a coal boom arrived, mine owners began offering better wages and benefits to nonunion workers competitive to what organized mines gave and union membership declined.
The UMWA argues that its members on average receive better benefits and working conditions than nonunion workers. Nonunion workers often complain that union membership saps some of their pay through dues and favors long-tenured miners over young ones.
As far as safety, the Crandall Canyon mine had fewer citations than the industry standard, according to federal records. But Butero said Sunday union workers would have been more inclined to voice concern about an event at that mine in March where a resettling of the mountain, or "bump," caused a collapse that did not cause any injuries. There's no indication the event was reported to federal regulators, as is required by law.
"In a union setting, I'm very sure that people would have at least written letters to [the Mine Safety and Health Administration] talking about the dangers," Butero said.
Dave Berdan, 40, of Price, was one of 170 miners laid off by Murray over the weekend. But Berdan, with 18 years of experience, said being out of work still doesn't make him more inclined to seek a union card.
"It's just a thing of the past," Berdan said.
He noted that wages at Murray's mines are higher than a lot of union mines, though he acknowledged unions might offer better medical and retirement benefits. Murray's company said Sunday wages in his Utah mines range from $20 to $28 an hour.
SueAnn Martell, director of the Western Mining and Railroad Museum in Helper, said labor issues "have always been an issue in the back of people's minds around here."
" 'Is it a union or nonunion mine?' People base their employment decisions on that."