Attempt to leave union stymied
The full National Labor Relations Board decided not to review a petition to remove the carpenters union from Neises Construction Co. in Crown Point that was reportedly signed by all eight impacted employees, likely putting an end to the workers’ quest, according to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
The petition, which was submitted by Neises employee Mike Halkias in January, had been rejected in February by Paul Hitterman, acting director of NLRB Region 13. Halkias hoped the full NLRB in Washington D.C. would overturn Hitterman’s decision.
“Generally, there are no real appeals that can be taken from here, but our attorneys will be monitoring the situation,” said Patrick Semmens, vice president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which provided free legal aid to Halkias and the other employees of Neises Construction Co.
“Unfortunately, these eight workers are all trapped under a union they oppose,” Semmens said.
Semmens said none of the employees at the construction company are members of the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters union and none pay union dues. However, federal law empowers IKORCC officials to represent these employees as their exclusive bargaining agent.
In his petition, Halkias asked that IKORCC be decertified as the bargaining agent for him and his co-workers, all of whom are fulltime or part-time wall and footer carpenters.
In his Feb. 17 ruling, Hitterman, wrote that he rejected the petition based on the finding that Neises violated the law by failing and refusing to bargain in good faith with the union since the union was certified as the workers’ bargaining agent in October 2017. Hitterman
said Neises must show that employee dissatisfaction with the union came after the employer and union had resumed bargaining for a reasonable amount of time and without additional unfair labor practices.
The full NLRB board denied Halkias’ request to review the regional board’s decision, saying his petition raised no substantial issues warranting a review. The full board also pointed out that Neises’ failure to comply with a previous court order is the subject of an ongoing contempt proceeding currently pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
An attempt to reach Halkias through the foundation was not successful as of press time. The carpenters local in Merrillville did not return a phone call seeking comment as of press time.
Foundation attorneys argued in their appeal to the full NLRB that the employer’s dispute with the IKORCC did not take away the workers’ right to remove the union.
“That’s a pretty wild unfair outcome for these workers. It treats the workers like children who can’t make an informed decision,” Semmens said.
The appeal implored the board to at least investigate whether the alleged employer wrongdoing had diminished the employees’ ability to make an informed choice about union representation. Semmens said there is still some hope for the workers.
“If the court ends up siding against the NLRB it would probably mean the vote (to decertify the union) can proceed. But it’s a long process,” Semmens said.