Pittsburgh, PA (January 12, 2026) – Josh Hammaker, a driver for ABARTA Coca-Cola’s Houston, PA, distribution center, has notched a victory in his National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) case against Teamsters Local 585 union officials and his employer.
After filing federal charges stating that union officials and his employer threatened to fire him for refusing to join the union, ABARTA management backed down and settled its part of the case. Regional NLRB officials have also indicated that they will prosecute Teamsters officials for making forced-membership demands, pending the resolution of other elements of Hammaker’s case.
Hammaker pursued his case at the NLRB with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys. Under the National Labor Relations Act and Supreme Court cases like General Motors v. NLRB, neither union officials nor employers can require workers to maintain formal union membership as a condition of getting or keeping a job. According to Hammaker’s charges, Teamsters union officials and ABARTA management violated federal labor law by effectively telling him they would get him fired if he did not join.
As part of the settlement, ABARTA officials must post notices at Hammaker’s workplace stating that they “will not tell employees that we will discharge them if they do not sign and submit...
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