Workers at Mountain West Holding Company voted on April 6 to remove Laborers International Union (LIUNA) Local 1686 from representing them at their Montana facilities. The final tally was 62-19, freeing more than 150 employees from union representation and the obligation to pay union dues.
The decision follows a petition led by employee John Fisher, who filed for a decertification election with the National Labor Relations Board in January. Fisher received free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. The NLRB scheduled the vote after enough signatures were collected among employees in Billings, Butte, Bozeman, and Missoula.
Montana does not have Right to Work protections, which means unions can require private sector workers to pay dues as a condition of employment. In neighboring states like Idaho and Wyoming, such payments are voluntary. Now that LIUNA has been decertified at Mountain West Holding Company, employees are no longer subject to mandatory dues or exclusive union representation.
Fisher said: “LIUNA union officials’ agenda both inside and outside the workplace didn’t resonate with me and a huge number of my coworkers. It was even worse that they could force us to pay them just to keep our jobs. Our overwhelming vote against the union demonstrates pretty clearly that we’d had enough, and we look forward to continuing to support ourselves and our families free of the union.”
This is not the first time Mountain West workers have voted out LIUNA; in 2024 another group of equipment operators also chose decertification with legal help from the Foundation. According to NLRB statistics cited in the release, decertification petitions increased by nearly 40 percent between 2020 and 2025.
Mark Mix, president of National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, said: “Mr. Fisher and his colleagues sent a strong message to LIUNA union officials with their vote, as their work unit spanned well over 150 workers all across the Big Sky State.” Mix added: “Foundation attorneys were proud to help them exercise their right to free themselves. But it’s outrageous that, despite how heavy the opposition to the union was among his coworkers, LIUNA bosses still had the power to force them to pay dues as a condition of employment.” He continued: “Workers in Montana and across America deserve the protection of a Right to Work law, so they can freely decide whether or not union officials at their workplace have earned their financial support.”
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation provides free legal aid for employees facing compulsory unionism through litigation efforts and public education according to its official website. The organization advances worker freedom through strategic litigation related specifically on issues involving compulsory membership according its official website. It also delivers educational resources designed for safeguarding rights against mandatory fees as noted on its official website, focusing broadly on labor rights advocacy according its official website.
