U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minn.
Petition says management interfered with IBB election
A GLOBAL MANUFACTURER of construction equipment is alleged to have violated the labor rights of its employees to such an extent that the National Labor Relations Board is seeking a court-ordered temporary injunction to protect the workers until a hearing can be held before an administrative law judge November 18 and all appeals considered.
The company, Terex Construction, operates a manufacturing plant in Grand Rapids, Minn. After paint department employees there voted to join the Boilermakers union this summer, Terex management began a campaign against the Boilermakers’ organizing efforts. The injunction petition alleges Terex management engaged in threats and coercion to prevent workers in the assembly unit from organizing. The Boilermakers filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB after Terex succeeded in turning the election their way.
The injunction petition further alleges that the actions of Terex management were so serious and substantial that there is only a slight possibility of conducting a fair rerun election in the Assembly Unit. Instead, the petition asserts that the serious and substantial actions should be remedied and the employees will be better protected by the issuance of a bargaining order. The bargaining order would require the company to recognize the union as the workers’ exclusive bargaining agent and begin negotiations.
Tyler Brown, Executive Director of Industrial Sector Operations, said the Board’s request for a temporary injunction (through the U.S. District Court in Minnesota) suggests just how much Terex poisoned the environment for a fair union election.
“The injunction petition alleges widespread interference from the company. From George Ellis, the president of Terex Construction, to the plant’s general manager, to department and frontline supervisors, it is charged that the company used coercion and threats to deny employees their legal right to union representation. It is also charged that Terex management threatened assembly workers with shutting down the plant, told them the company wouldn’t bargain in good faith, and implied that workers in the paint unit would face retribution for joining the union. Terex employees deserve better than that.”
The injunction petition asks the court to require that Terex cease threatening behavior toward employees; recognize the union and bargain in good faith on an interim basis; post copies of the District Court orders in employee areas; conduct a mandatory meeting at which Terex Construction President George Ellis or General Manager James DiBiagio would read the District Court orders in front of all employees and managers; allow NLRB agents access to company records to monitor Terex’s response to the court order; and provide a sworn affidavit to the District Court describing its compliance with the court order.
“At the beginning of this campaign I told the workers at Terex that the Boilermakers would not abandon them as long as they needed our help,” said Lead Organizer Jody Mauller, “and that is what we have done and will continue to do. I am thankful that the NLRB is seeking this relief through the courts, and I am confident that the workers in Minnesota will see justice.”
Mauller said the status of another ULP brought by the union, this one charging that Terex unlawfully terminated four employees who supported union organizing, has yet to be determined. The terminated employees include Tony Knight, Lee Kostel, Mike Kossow, and Kerry Esler.
Terex is headquartered in Westport, Conn. In the second quarter of 2014, the company had net sales of more than $2 billion, with income from continuing operations reported at nearly $88 million.
