Workers at the Mountain Cement Company Plant in Laramie, Wyoming have voted to join the Boilermakers and the local Labor Movement is celebrating this Union victory in a Right-To-Work (for less) State. While the facility has been considered a cornerstone of the town’s economy for almost a century, Workers say over the past decade management’s attitude toward their essential contributions has gotten worse. The newly-minted Boilermaker M embers cite high rates of turnover, safety concerns, unscheduled overtime and alleged intimidation from management as core motivations for organizing their workplace. “Just to talk about (the successful vote to organize) makes me teary eyed,” said Alex Hicks, a Mechanic and Welder. “I was threatened with my job, so now that this is here, I feel like it’s a big weight off my shoulders. Now I don’t have to worry about looking over my shoulder everyday wondering: ‘Is this going to be my day or not?’” Marcie Kindred, who serves as Executive Director of the Wyoming State AFL-CIO, said: “This means so much to Wyoming Workers who feel voiceless, like there’s nowhere to turn. We’re the ‘reddest’ Right-To-Work State ‘in the Nation’ and they just proved that, even in Wyoming, you can fight and freaking win.”

For More On This Organizing Labor News Story, Go To: Laramie cement plant workers buck Wyoming's anti-union politics, vote to organize - WyoFile