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 told WyoFile. United Steelworkers Local 13214 President Marshal Cummings. (Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile) “It was a lot of work, and I think it took a management change to get to a place like this,” Cummings said.  The dispute was about how voluntary overtime opportunities are doled out among hourly surface operations workers, according to Cummings. 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, he said. Reached by WyoFile, 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.” Beyond resolving the overtime dispute, Cummings credited both his fellow union members and WE Soda for advancing safer and more productive operations. “When you’re up against some bad guys and run them out of town, and new guys come in and want to work together, you start making strides — not only in labor relations, but production, too.” Months after it bought the Wyoming operations last year, WE Soda cut 32 salaried management positions and 16 contract positions, commenting, “Post-acquisition, consolidations were needed for some salaried management positions to achieve efficiency, reduce redundancy and to strengthen the existing hourly 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 the production of glass, baking soda and myriad other products. Wyoming’s trona and soda ash industries, which employ about 2,500 workers, have been in “expansion” mode in recent years. The post Union workers at Wyoming trona mine reach $800K settlement appeared first on WyoFile . ...read more read less