As Green River braces for the loss of 350 jobs at WE Soda over the next two years, a Utah-based company is moving into town with plans to fill part of that employment gap with union jobs that offer pay and benefits comparable to mine work.
BCS Mechanical is a Utah-based commercial mechanical contractor that provides HVAC, sheet metal, building automation controls, plumbing and design-build engineering services.
Chad Hustad, president of the company, told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday that BCS has already hired Strat Friel, a former engineer at FMC Trona Mine and a Green River local, to spearhead the southwest Wyoming expansion.
“He knows a lot of the people getting laid off,” Hustad said. “It’s very personal to him.”
‘Full Speed Ahead’
Hustad said the expansion started about a month ago, when BCS Mechanical bid on a chiller project at a school in Green River. The company was awarded the bid Wednesday, but Hustad said locals raised concerns that BCS would bring in out-of-state workers to take local jobs.
“That’s not true,” Hustad said. “Our goal is to keep local people doing projects, not bringing in outside help. We want to keep all the work in Wyoming.”
Hustad said BCS Mechanical moved up its timeline after WE Soda announced the layoffs last week.
“We’re moving full speed ahead to try to capture all the work we can and keep it local,” Hustad said.
BCS Mechanical plans to open an office in Green River, Hustad said, and is looking for a location there or in Rock Springs — or might even build its own office. The company hopes to hire 20 to 30 people over the next six months and has been bidding aggressively on projects.
“That means we’re going aggressively after projects,” Hustad said. “We’re going to go after future work.”
‘Give People Hope’
Hustad said BCS expects a wide mix of projects, which will call for many different types of workers, and the company wants to train people to fill those roles, including some who are losing their jobs at the mines.
“We’re working with the unions to figure out how to train everybody,” Hustad said. “There’s a lot that we’re trying to put together.”
Hustad said he signed an agreement Thursday with the Plumbers and Pipefitters union in Cheyenne, and BCS is working with the Steelworkers and other area unions. He said the company hopes to bring on more workers in the coming months, knowing that so many people in the area will soon be looking for jobs.
“We’ve got a bunch of different jobs we’re going to need,” Hustad said. “If we can get the right people trained we can keep a lot of people employed who are going to be laid off. At least give people hope.”
To Hustad, it’s not just about offering more jobs but about offering jobs with pay and benefits comparable to those at the mines.
“It’s important to me as the president of the company that our employees have a good work-life balance,” Hustad said. “They need good pay. They need vacations.”
Some companies might see that approach as a costly way to start, but Hustad said he believes it pays off in the long run.
“I’ll take less profit in order to give people a good life,” Hustad said. “In return, we typically get better work from people. People want to work for a company that will take care of them.”
‘Pull Something Through’
Marshal Cummings, president of United Steelworkers Local 13214, which represents the WE Soda workers facing layoffs, told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday that he had not yet heard about BCS Mechanical’s plans to expand but any opportunity for employment is needed in Sweetwater County right now.
“Any kind of business that’s moving in, especially if it’s a union shop, that’s a good thing,” Cummings said.
But Cummings is still hoping for some help to keep the mine open. He said he met with U.S. Sen. John Barrasso on Wednesday, with plans to meet with U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, U.S. Sen.-elect Harriet Hageman and U.S. Rep.-elect Chuck Gray in the coming days.
“They’ve all seemed pretty emphatic that they want to do everything they can,” Cummings said. “I’m really hoping that they pull something through.”
He said relief could come in the form of lowering the rail rates so shipping the trona out via Union Pacific doesn’t eat into the company’s bottom line as much. He also said there could be incentives for sodium ion car batteries or solar panels, both products that would utilize trona.
“I hope that we lift up the entire trona industry,” Cummings said. “That would be the best-case scenario. But I haven’t seen anything of substance yet that could change that.”
In the meantime, he knows that people need jobs. He said his top priority right now is getting into negotiations with the company to come up with a proposal to save some WE Soda jobs.
“Our membership will always come first,” Cummings said.
Sweetwater County Commissioner Taylor Jones told Cowboy State Daily that he also wasn’t yet aware of the BCS Mechanical expansion. But he said the anxiety has been heightened for the miners and their families since the announcement.
He also warned that the looming mass layoffs will have ripple effects for the wider economy.
“It reaches far into the county not just one or two towns,” Jones said. “It’ll affect other businesses in Sweetwater County.”
Emma Jane Jackson can be reached at emma@cowboystatedaily.com.
