Managing a Strike Crisis with Humanity: The Aluna Story

Isabel Montes, People Vice President, Newmont Corporation

Isabel Montes, People Vice President, Newmont Corporation

Like in any good story, the names have been changed to protect the identity of those involved.

In June 2023, the Aluna mine faced one of its most challenging moments in history. The union declared a strike over disagreements about the profit-sharing bonus. For four months, the mine was shut down—every day representing a loss of $3 million USD in value.

On the surface, the issue appeared to be financial. But the deeper reality was very different.

Looking Beneath the Surface

From a compliance standpoint, the company was not at fault. A traditional path would have been to negotiate a quick return to work. Instead, we chose to pause and ask: What is really going on?

Through roundtables with frontline leaders, the truth emerged:

• Lack of trust in leaders and the company

• Weak relationships across teams

• Poor communication and understanding of reward processes

• A prevailing culture of “them vs. us”

The bonus was only the spark. The real issues were trust, communication, and a sense of belonging.

Choosing the Hard Road

Rather than treating this as a transaction, we committed to upholding our values and addressing the root causes. Guided by a robust change management approach that creates the necessary awareness to be open to change, enabled by the appropriate knowledge and ability to produce and sustain it, we developed an Aluna Transformation Plan to rebuild trust, strengthen leadership, and ensure every employee felt part of a community.

“Todos Somos Aluna”

One principle was clear: this could not be seen as an “HR initiative.” For real change to last, ownership had to rest with operations leaders, with visible sponsorship from the general manager.

Together we launched “Todos Somos Aluna”—a call to unite as one community and secure the mine’s longterm future.

Concrete steps included:

• 1:1 conversations between leaders and employees upon returning to the site

• Town halls and area manager sessions are designed for listening, not just instructing

• New symbols of inclusion, such as building and email access for all, recognition moments, and welcome gifts

• Leadership summits on trust, active listening, and difficult conversations

The message was simple but powerful: we are stronger together.

A New Foundation for the Future

When the strike ended in October 2023, operations resumed not with resentment but with a renewed sense of unity. There were no “winners” or “losers.” Instead, there was one community determined to learn from the crisis.

Employees themselves captured the shift best:

• “Huge symbol taking the first days to talk about people, giving leaders a voice instead of rushing everyone into production.”

• “We never want this to happen again, and it can’t.”

Lessons Learned

This experience transformed the way we lead at Aluna.

1. Crises reveal the truth. What appears to be a financial dispute may actually be a cultural one.

2. Values matter most in adversity. The easy path may resolve the surface, but the hard path builds the future.

3. Community is the ultimate strategy. Organizations thrive when people trust, feel a sense of belonging, and are valued.

The strike was undeniably a crisis. But it also became a turning point—a chance to reset, rebuild, and remember that the greatest asset of a mine is not the gold beneath the ground, but the people who work above it.

Todos somos Aluna.

Note: The reflections shared here are personal and based on the author’s own experience.

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