The company's own settlement left it just one argument to make - and it fell short
A plumbing company that dropped its union must go back to bargaining, after an appeals court upheld a labor board order.
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit turned down American Backflow & Fire Prevention's challenge to a National Labor Relations Board order and enforced it. The upshot: the company has to sit down and bargain in good faith with Plumbers Local 130, the union representing its workers. The court released its decision on September 8, 2026.
The story starts with a deal the company signed, then walked away from.
In June 2021, the company's plumbers voted to unionize. Six months later, the union filed charges with the labor board, accusing the company of a run of unfair labor practices. Among them: posting a petition to decertify the union on the staff bulletin board, emailing employees to encourage them to sign it, and refusing to meet for bargaining.
To settle those charges, the company signed an agreement in April 2022. It promised to "meet at reasonable times and intervals and bargain in good faith with the Union." The deal came with a sting. If the company broke it and failed to fix the breach within 14 days, the board could file a fresh complaint, and the company agreed in advance that every allegation in that complaint would be "deemed admitted." By signing, in other words, it gave away most of its room to argue later.
That is close to what unfolded. In March...
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