Sixth Circuit upholds unfair labor practice findings against construction firm
A federal appeals court upheld findings that a construction company committed multiple unfair labor practices in a years-long union dispute.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on April 8 denied a petition by Rieth-Riley Construction Co. and enforced a National Labor Relations Board order against the Indiana-based contractor. The ruling caps a dispute that has stretched nearly a decade between the company and Local 324, International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO – the union representing roughly 130 to 170 of its operating engineers in Michigan.
The trouble started in 2018. The union decided it no longer wanted to bargain as part of a multiemployer group through the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, an employer coalition. Instead, it wanted to negotiate directly with each employer, including Rieth-Riley. The court found the union's withdrawal from the group arrangement was timely and lawful because it came before any successor contract negotiations had actually started.
Rieth-Riley disagreed and kept pushing for multiemployer bargaining. When the union refused, a lockout followed on September 4, 2018, lasting more than three weeks. It took the personal intervention of then-Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to bring both sides back to the table.
The court found the lockout was unlawful. Under federal labor law, the scope of a bargaining unit is not something...
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