Salt of the Earth

Members in Western New York Part of Largest-Producing U.S. Salt Mine

From a control room nestled more than 1,400 feet below ground, Amanda Nahalka monitors the process gallery at the American Rock Salt Co. mine in Mount Morris, N.Y.

With a large television screen and a collection of computer monitors in front of her, Nahalka keeps close track of the salt her fellow members of Local 763 are producing during her shift. A third-generation miner, she is proud to hold the kind of job she had her heart set on since childhood.

“I always wanted to do something with a hard hat,” she said, recalling her admiration for her mother’s career in highway construction. “I’ve done a little bit of everything here.”

‘Unbelievable Break’

Like Nahalka, American Rock Salt CEO Joe Bucci Sr. is a third-generation miner who has worn many hats. A former schoolteacher, he entered real estate as a second career, an endeavor that led to his purchase of mineral rights following the 1994 closure of a salt mine in nearby Retsof.

“It was an unbelievable break,” Bucci said of that decision. “I happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

Construction of the American Rock Salt mine began in 1998, and the facility opened in 2001, becoming the first new U.S. salt mine in more than 50 years.

USW members at the site, now the largest-producing salt mine in the United States, supply road salt to much of the northeastern United States, where municipalities rely on the steady supply to combat wintry conditions on their streets and highways.

As the winter months approach, Local 763 members often work extra shifts to keep up with the anticipated demand for their product, said Shane Chiappone, who has served as local union president for nine years.

Chiappone is one of about two-thirds of the 250-member USW workforce who spend most of their time underground, removing salt from the earth. Others work above ground, unloading, processing, sorting, testing, packing and preparing the product for distribution, while making sure the whole operation is running smoothly.

Christine Boyd, a bag machine tender, said the fall and winter months typically are busier than spring and summer. No matter the season, Boyd said, the presence of the USW makes a big difference for workers at the Mount Morris site, about 50 miles east of Buffalo, not far from the Finger Lakes.

A fourth-generation mine worker and longtime Women of Steel activist at the mine, Boyd said that, in addition to strong pay and benefits, health and safety is one of the most important issues the union addresses.

“If they listen when we talk,” she said of company management, “it makes a big difference.”

A strong relationship between the company and the union helps ensure management listens to workers’ concerns, making the workplace safer and healthier, said maintenance technician Mark Lubanski.

Below the Surface

When Chiappone and his fellow underground workers begin their shifts, they board a large elevator that carries them on the more than 1,400-foot journey below the earth’s surface. It’s a distance as far below ground as the Empire State Building stretches above it.

“It can be a pain to go down, and it’s a blessing to come back up,” Chiappone said. “We want everyone to come up safely at the end of the day.”

As part of their efforts to ensure that happens each day, members make certain that systems are in place to control dust, monitor air quality, and meticulously track the location of every person underground. Each miner also carries special personal protective equipment in case of an emergency.

Inside the underground maze of white-walled caves and chambers, workers use huge drills to cut 10-foot holes into the rock before blasting and scraping chunks of salt free and loading them onto some of the nearly 40 miles of conveyor belts that help to carry them to the surface.

“I had no idea of the complexity” of the operation before coming to work at the mine, said Chiappone, who runs an undercutter machine that creates slots in the walls, one of the first steps toward removing salt from the rock face.

Fair Treatment

Lubanski, a third-generation miner who serves as the local financial secretary, said the USW presence at the mine ensures a safer environment, fair wages and benefits, and fair treatment for members.

“We fought for it,” said Lubanski, who pointed out that the jobs at American Rock Salt are some of the best around. “For this area, you’re not going to find a better job.”

Local 763 members take pride in their work at American Rock Salt and in their role in standing up for each other while supporting the local economy.

Chiappone said the most recent contract that Local 763 signed with American Rock Salt is the union’s best agreement yet, and he credited the solidarity of the membership for making sure of that.

“There is a lot of strength in the USW,” he said. “For a guy like me, the union is the only way to go.”

Buy American

Members at the mine build their strength with strong participation in the USW’s wide range of programs, including Veterans of Steel, Next Gen, Women of Steel, and Rapid Response. Local activism, Chiappone said, helped secure a bright future for the mine, through the passage of “Buy American” legislation at the state level.

In December 2022, New York passed the Buy American Salt Act, requiring the state’s public agencies and authorities that use rock salt to purchase it from U.S. mines.

Gov. Kathleen Hochul, who signed the legislation, called it “an important step to support good-paying jobs in our upstate communities, while growing New York’s economy.”

Other states have similar statutes, designed not just to protect jobs like those in Mount Morris, but to grow them for future generations. Mining, whether it’s salt, iron ore or other minerals, is critical to the nation’s future, said District 4 Director David Wasiura, whose region includes New York and eight other northeastern states, as well as Puerto Rico.

“Having a strong mining industry is critical to creating good jobs, to supporting our nation’s supply chains, to ensuring the safety of our communities, and to making sure our economy continues to lead the world,” Wasiura said.

Local Impact

The mine is one of the largest employers in the area, and members say that having the USW at the plant ensures that their jobs are the kind that support families and create thriving communities.

“We have such an impact locally,” Bucci said. “There is a real ripple effect.”

Bucci says he is thankful for the labor-management relationship at the mine, and points to the fact that his father worked in the salt business, even helping to organize a union at the Retsof facility. Many of those workers came to American Rock Salt when the company launched.

“We had trust in who the people were,” Bucci said. “Why not bring in people who know what they’re doing?”

Into the Future

The salt deposits that USW members are mining today are about 350 million years old, formed from a trapped ocean basin that was buried over time beneath layer upon layer of earth.

American Rock Salt owns about 13,000 acres of mineral rights, giving the company access to enough salt to keep the mine running for several generations to come, said Environmental Manager Joe Bucci Jr.

David Irwin, a member for 24 years, has done “just about everything” at the mine over that time and said that the quality of life that USW membership provides is one of the best parts of the job.

“The best part,” he said, “is the people.”

Local 763 member Scott Baumgardner agreed, saying that he shares a love of mining with many of his co-workers.

“I’ve fallen in love with the whole mining industry,” he said.

The best benefit the union offers, Baumgardner said, is the feeling of being part of a family.

“You are your brother’s keeper,” he said. “We’re always watching out for each other, and we always try to get what’s best for each other.”