Union workers at Wyoming trona mine reach $800K settlement

It’s been about a year since WE Soda acquired Genesis Alkali’s trona mining and soda ash operations in southwest Wyoming, and it’s made all the difference in employee relations with management, according to a union representative there.

United Steel Workers Local 13214 recently settled an overtime structure dispute, resulting in an $800,000 payout for the union’s bargaining unit—a “pretty good” outcome after butting heads for about five years with previous management, Local 13214 President Marshal Cummings said.

The dispute was about how voluntary overtime opportunities are doled out among hourly surface operations workers. Details of the settlement were not made public, but it includes “enforceable language” to thwart favoritism and adds a new digital tracking system to help ensure overtime fairness.

WE Soda said it cannot discuss the confidential settlement agreement, but wrote, “We are proud of our collaborative relationship with our union and remain focused on the safety and wellbeing of our workforce.”

London-based WE Soda employs about 900 workers in Wyoming, primarily at its Westvaco and Granger facilities. Southwest Wyoming holds the world’s largest known deposit of trona, which is processed into “natural” soda ash—a key component in glass production, baking soda and myriad other products.