Roy Moyer, L-S1978 president, winner of the Wyoming AFL-CIO 2018 Labor Leader of the Year award.
Humble leader honored for going “above and beyond”
ROY MOYER NEVER expected to be put in the spotlight during the Wyoming AFL-CIO’s annual conference this past September. Moyer, who is president of Local S1978 (Rock Springs, Wyoming), said he went from a moment of confusion to surprise to disbelief, as it registered that he was being presented with the 2018 Labor Leader of the Year Award, the state labor council’s top honor.
“I don’t think anyone expects to win an award. They were reading a letter about the person who would receive the Labor Leader of the Year award, and it wasn’t until about three-fourths of the way through that I realized they were talking about me,” Moyer says. “You never expect it for yourself. You see a lot of people who you’ve worked with for years and are maybe more deserving than me. It was hard for me to accept that I would deserve it more than anyone else.”
L-S1978 Recording Secretary Mario McKeever wrote the nominating letter on behalf of the local’s executive board.
“Roy is just a good president. He goes above and beyond what he needs to do as a union president,” McKeever says. “A lot of members don’t see all that he does, because he’s humble. He’s generous and has even given personally to help members. He goes to battle for everyone — and that’s even harder for a union president in a right-to-work state — but he does what he can for everybody. He’s got the whole board’s respect.”
Moyer has been a Boilermaker since 1998 and is a heavy equipment operator; though, he notes, serving as president is nearly a full-time job by itself.
“Being honored like this, it’s humbling,” he says. “Sometimes in a role like this, you hear a lot of the negative. It’s overwhelming when something like this happens. It makes all the hard work worthwhile — the time that goes into it. Your whole family is involved, and I’m in a right-to-work state, so it’s even harder.
“I’ve got the best executive board, and I give credit to everyone whose involved with this local.”
Local S1978 represents two coal mines for Bridger Coal Company.
