Ferry strike means Alaska woman may be leaving Whitehorse without her stuff

Corinna Cook has to figure out what to do with her truck and most of her possessions. She has to leave Whitehorse —and Canada — today. But she may have to leave most of her things behind. 

Cook has been living in the Yukon for the past year, working and studying as part of a Fulbright fellowship researching material for an essay collection. Her work visa expires July 31 and the ongoing Alaska ferry strike is making it difficult to get her stuff back home to Juneau, Alaska. 

"I really am supposed to leave the country," she said. "My one option is to leave the truck parked with some very good friends here in Whitehorse and improvise a solution later in the fall.

"Every day I'm waiting and seeing what happens," she said. "The question is whether it will be myself and the dog who will go, my dog, myself and the bicycle that will go, or the dog, myself, the bicycle and the truck."     

Cook is able to put her truck on the barge but that's expected to cost nearly five times as much as a ticket on the ferry to Juneau. 

"It's not ideal, but it is great that the option exists. If I decide I'm desperate to have my truck, the option exists," she said.  

Alaska state ferries serve many communities not connected by road in southeast Alaska, the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. That includes Juneau, which does not have road access and relies on boats and planes to stay connected. 

'I've been doing a lot of phone calls' 

Hundreds of workers with Alaska's Marine Highway System went on strike July 24. The union representing workers and officials with the state remain far apart on issues such as pay, overtime, and allowing workers to choose which ships they work on. 

Over the past week, private ferry operators in Alaska have reported being flooded with passengers, but many do not carry cars. 

Cook says she's been in contact with five different companies, but so far, has been unable to find a company able to accommodate her needs. Luckily, Alaska Seaplanes found a way to get Cook's dog Pepper onto one of its cargo flights. 

"I've been doing a lot of phone calls," she said. 

Employees who are still working at the ferry system are answering the phones and have been helpful so far, as Cook's tried to get to the bottom of things.

"They've been fantastic," she said. "They are in way over their heads, they are fielding phone calls from some of the most stressful people out there, they're doing really spectacular work." 

No matter what happens when she has to leave Wednesday, Cook plans on coming back to Whitehorse soon.