NLRB Orders Mail Ballot for Montana Construction Workers Seeking Union Decertification

The National Labor Relations Board Regional Director for Region 27 directed a mail ballot election for approximately 155 construction workers at Mountain West Holding Company, a Montana-based traffic safety services firm, after individual employee John Fisher filed a decertification petition seeking to remove Montana Laborers Local No. 1686 as the collective bargaining representative.

The February 12, 2026 decision by Regional Director Matthew S. Lomax centered on a procedural dispute over election methodology. Mountain West Holding and the petitioner advocated for manual voting at the company's four Montana facilities in Billings, Bozeman, Butte, and Missoula, while the union requested a mail ballot election. The Regional Director applied the framework established in San Diego Gas & Electric, 325 NLRB 1143 (1998), which permits mail ballot elections when eligible voters are scattered geographically or temporally, making in-person voting impractical.

The decision emphasized that only 28 of the 155 eligible voters were actively working at the time of the hearing, with the majority laid off during Montana's winter months when construction activity is minimal. Regional Director Lomax noted that while traveling throughout Montana may be routine for employees during active work periods, there was no evidence that laid-off workers would be accustomed to traveling long distances during their off-season to cast ballots.

The employer's proposed manual election would have required a Board agent to travel at least 519 miles across four facilities over four days, plus additional travel from the Region 27 office in Denver, Colorado. The Director determined this arrangement would inefficiently serve only 18 percent of eligible voters. The decision cited Masiongale Electrical-Mechanical, Inc., 326 NLRB 493 (1998), where the Board upheld a mail ballot election for a construction employer with scattered jobsites requiring far less extensive travel than proposed in this case.

The election will employ the eligibility formula established in Daniel Construction Co., 133 NLRB 264 (1961) and Steiny & Co., 308 NLRB 1323 (1992), which addresses seasonal construction industry employment patterns. Under this formula, employees are eligible if they either worked 30 or more days within the 12 months preceding the election, or had some employment in the prior 12 months and worked 45 or more days within the 24 months preceding the election.

The bargaining unit includes all full-time and regular part-time employees performing work within Montana Laborers Local 1686's jurisdiction at Mountain West Holding's Montana facilities. However, employees in the Traffic Control Supervisors classification will vote under challenge, with their ballots placed in special envelopes pending resolution of their supervisory status.

Ballots will be mailed to eligible voters on March 2, 2026, with counting scheduled for March 30, 2026, via videoconference. The election will determine whether Montana Laborers Local No. 1686, affiliated with the Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA), continues as the exclusive bargaining representative for the unit.

The decision reflects longstanding Board practice balancing its preference for manual elections, which permit in-person supervision and promote employee participation, against practical considerations when workforce characteristics make in-person voting impractical. As stated in Aspirus Keweenaw, 370 NLRB No. 45 (2020), the Board recognizes circumstances where it becomes difficult for eligible employees to vote in manual elections, particularly when voters are scattered geographically or temporally.

Key Points

• Regional Director ordered full mail ballot election for 155-person bargaining unit at Montana traffic safety company
• Only 28 employees (18%) currently working due to seasonal construction industry layoffs during winter months
• Employer's proposed manual election would require Board agent to travel 519 miles across four Montana facilities
• Decision applied San Diego Gas & Electric framework allowing mail ballots when voters are geographically or temporally scattered
• Construction industry eligibility formula accounts for seasonal employment patterns spanning 12-24 months
• Traffic Control Supervisors will vote by challenged ballot pending supervisory status determination
• Ballots to be mailed March 2, 2026; counted March 30, 2026, via videoconference

Primary Source Author: Matthew S. Lomax, Regional Director

Primary Source: Decision and Direction of Election, Mountain West Holding Company, Case 27-RD-378868

Primary Source Link: https://apps.nlrb.gov/link/document.aspx/09031d45841a8d30

Supplemental Links

• NLRB Decertification Elections Overview
• San Diego Gas & Electric, 325 NLRB 1143 (1998) - Mail Ballot Framework
• Aspirus Keweenaw, 370 NLRB No. 45 (2020) - Manual vs. Mail Ballot Standards
• NLRB Representation Case Procedures
• Construction Industry Election Procedures (NLRB Form 4812)
• Montana Laborers Local 1686 Information
• LIUNA - Laborers' International Union of North America
• NLRB Region 27 Office Information
• National Labor Relations Act - Section 9 (Elections and Certifications)
• NLRB Election Process Overview