bartender

processor

forklift operator

customer service representative

warehouse worker

UniSea

To start off, the work is not all that hard. A lot of the positions involve standing around and doing menial tasks. The enjoyable and fulfilling jobs seem like they are off limits and are granted to friends or family of leads. In my time with Unisea I have seen countless hardworking people turned down for jobs while friends and family of the blue and red hats (leads and supervisors) move up. It's like most corporations; Oversight in all the wrong places. Another thing I didn't like about Unisea is that spoken English is a requirement for employment, but my leads couldn't speak it well enough to train me on an especially physically demanding job. I was injured on that same job. Three of my ribs became dislocated and was causing intense pain. When i went to make an injury report, I had to continue pressing the two safety personnel to record it and make an actual report. They kept making excuses as to why they don't shouldn't need to. I went to the clinic and got my ribs popped into place. What followed over the next four days was bizarre. I was woken up by security at 3am the next day to be escorted to the main security office. I was questioned about my injury. The man kept insisting that my injury was not caused by the job I was doing, yet there was another employee who suffered a similar injury on the same job (plate freezer, loading) I missed the next two days of work. I tried to go back to the clinic on the fourth day because of increasing pain. As I was about to head to the clinic i was pulled aside and told that I had to talk to security again, this time the head of security. Same questioning. I was prevented from going to the clinic. I felt intimidated. I wasn't ever interested in workers comp. I just wanted my ribs to heal so i could continue making money.

The pay (7.75 at my time of employment) is not worth the work. I still cannot figure out how Alaska has that low of a minimum wage compared to it's cost of living. Or why Unisea pays minimum wage to begin with. Granted, it's not completely necessary to buy food and drink because it's provided four times a day, but other things like clothing, phone cards or cellphones, stuff to pass time, etc, cost a lot of money. Also you need to buy drinks for your room because the galley isn't always open. The room and board charge is steep for a place that wouldn't be able to find employees if it didn't provide it's own housing. I think they should provide it free of charge like they used to. They already offer hefty bonuses and nice apartment housing to almost everyone except processors, yet they charge for the 4-6 person dorms. The only good I found during my work at Unisea was the food, people, and scenery. Everyone should conquer bunker hill and make an effort to hike the island. Very peaceful outside of the processing facility. The only reason i will work there is because I have to. They know this, and I believe that is why they get away with underpaying. That, and every dollar is 41 peso in the Philippines, so the majority of employees actually make a living wage, just not the Americans.

*Everything contained in this review is what I experienced while working for Unisea Dutch Harbor. Everything stated as actual events did in fact happen in my time of employment. I provide this review so that any prospective employees can get a better idea of the type of corporation Unisea is.

Life in secluded Alaska.  UniSea is located in the Aleutian Island of Unalaska- Port of Dutch Harbor. You work here, you live here. Company provides housing, food, shelter in addition to paying for your work. It is not a place for everyone. It is a fish processing plant. Most of the work for processing is in seasons. "A" season is the "Fast and Furious" season. Goes from January to April/May. Work days are long, usually work 6 days a week.  "B" season is steady and long. Runs from June to December.  There are other opportunities here such as Maintenance Technicians, Safety and Security, Power Plant, Facilities Maintenance, Fabrication Shop, Motor Pool, and Hospitality Division.  Advancement opportunities are there but you have to take advantage when they come up. The company takes very good care of employees. Necessary training is provided. The hardest part of the job is that you are away from everything. As a processor, you are placed with other employees whom you may not know and you are expected to live together in dormitory style setting. As you can imagine, not all persons are compatible with others.  Full time employees are entitled to an apartment, so there are families here. Great opportunity to save money while you work.  Again, it is not the place for everybody but a great opportunity for those who plan carefully and stick to a plan.

Having a general manager that is a place sitter and who earned his position through nepotism isn’t a great start. But I mean I guess if you marry into the right family…things are gifted to you whether you’ve earned them or not. I digress. Overall- being a hotelier isn’t difficult. Being engaging to the guests and your own staff comes to mind should one want to foster a warm and hospitable environment. However, when these two principals are neglected poor attrition rates will ensue. From here the rest goes downhill. Leadership always begins at the top and anything else that could be written would just be an account of all of the mishandling from the top down. 
Lastly. Before embarking on moving to alaska more specifically Dutch Harbor. Do your own research. Flights to and from are rather expensive and the wifi that you will need to purchase in order to communicate with the outside world tends to be rather spendy!


What is the best part of working at the company?
Will keep busy, get your hours, a few years ago, Uni Sea, upgraded processing plant, state of the art, increased productivity 150 %....
location is nice, everything on property, Key bank, retail stores, restaurant, hair care, rec room for employees, and food is top notch, variety for the employees.....

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
sometimes dealing with people, alcohol problem with some people!
the work, not rocket science, it's easy, just do your job.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
You can see favoritism. It could be difficult to advance, but you can get promoted, good thing, they will train in different areas... forklift operator, 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
12 hours standard,  2 shifts, from 6 to 6 , sometimes there's overlap, depends on production and the harvest.

Major participant in the largest fishery in North America - the volume of manufacturing is absolutely seductive.  The accelerated learning environment gave me twice the level of experience to match the actual duration of employment.  Loved working with the majority of the executive staff and especially my team.

You can move up if you demonstrate a skill set that is difficult to replace, but management is reluctant to be proactive in rewarding individuals that are contributing significant value, so you have to make a case for yourself.  Sadly, many employees can be categorized as relatively complacent and originating from a background that is not of their current position; the were just willing to stick around long enough.

Typical day is getting up getting ready for work by stopping at the Galley for breakfast or supper, depending on your work schedule.
Afterwards, going to work, putting on raingear, and heading out to your assigned area. This is where you learn how much you can take, learn, and how well your body is either in or out of shape. You get to meet people from all over the world because they live in the same dormitories as you. The hardest part is being away from home and family, but after 3 weeks, you get used to it and your body and mind do very well after those 3 weeks. The best part is making new friends and at the end, you want to go back for that hard and strenuous work. Dutch Harbor is beautiful!

A typical day at work started at 7 am to 11pm. A huge amount of overtime available!..I learned so many things here i dont know where to start,but the biggest thing i learned was that it honestly does pay off to work hard. Management was always very involved with all employees and on top of things to make sure everyone was taken care of and safe at work and away from work. The job is located in the middle of the bering sea,very remote place called dutch harbour, Alaska which was also the hardest part of the job and in a weird way the most enjoyable part of the job also. It was a great experience, I always loved alaska and being able to travel to different warehouses to work in such a beautiful place was extremely satisfying.

My personal experience at the short time at Unisea.
 
Pros...

-The food is not bad. There's a variety of options and the Galley is open frequently.

-The location of Unalaska is a beautiful, remote location within the Aleutians.

-The co-workers are cool for the most part.

Cons.....

-Very poor communication between corporate, plant office and employees. We don't know any information until the last minute or it's too late.

-The management and leads have very poor leadership skills.

-Little to no training skills from management. You're basically on your own.

-Several.key points were missed in orientation (e.g. pay periods, etc)

-The roommate situation could be a bit dicey, which could result in conflicts.

-During my time there, the campus is on Covid lockdown, meaning that no.one is allowed to leave the facility. You only work, eat and go to your dorm.



Hospitality at Unisea, the benefits are fabulus.You get two months off every  5 months. Your housing is free, you usually have one roommate. Your meals are provided at the Galley, and at your  place off employment.They have laundry service , shuttles to and from work. The best part is the view, it s magical The wildlife and other birds on the island are very unique. Its like National Geographic live, eagles fall from the sky, some times fish  falls at your feet because the eagles are fighting right above your head. The only negative is that your on a island  far away from the norm there qr.are no cross walks, sidewalks, or sounds you would here in the city.There is a variety of cultures and everyone is there with the same goal.I will continue to work for Unsea because its a good deal.

I love the work I did there even though the hours are long. It thought me a lot. If I can work in this kind of environment then there's no labor work out there I can't handle. The management was fair as long as your working they leave you alone. The workplace culture was great. Almost everyone got along and worked as a team. The hardest part of my work was standing for 12hrs in freezing temperatures. The most enjoyable part of my job was that I learned a lot and gain experience. Plus you get to save so much money because everything was free and that's the biggest benefit of them all.That's the only place where you work hard and it all pays off. You can't do that anywhere else.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Bartender 8 salaries reported	$15.00 per hour
Processor 4 salaries reported	$19.94 per hour
Forklift operator 1 salary reported	$31.50 per hour
Customer service representative 2 salaries reported	$25.80 per hour
Warehouse worker 4 salaries reported	$21.66 per hour

Working at UniSea: Company Overview and Reviews

UniSea

UniSea Ratings

Popular jobs at UniSea

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected