Appeals court upholds NLRB actions in labor dispute

The nation’s second most powerful court on Friday sided with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in a case challenging actions the board took against a company that tried to keep employees from joining a union.

{mosads}The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said it found no basis to disturb the NLRB’s “well-reasoned decisions” and denied Ozburn-Hessey Logistics’s petition for review.

The appeal was the latest chapter in an ongoing labor dispute between the Tennessee-based company, which provides other companies with transportation, warehousing and supply-chain management services, and United Steelworkers.

NLRB found that the Ozburb-Hessey committed multiple unfair labor practices during the months leading up to the 2011 union representation election, which the union won by a one-vote margin.

According to court documents, the company threatened, interrogated and surveilled employees; confiscated union-related materials; urged union supporters to resign; and disciplined two employees for their pro-union views.