Fall Creek, Wisconsin

Badger Unified (Employer) is a Wisconsin corporation engaged in the business of utility right-of-way clearing. In July of 2012, employees performing line clearance, tree trimming, and vegetation management voted to join a union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 953 (Union). Over the course of the next year, the Union attempted to bargain with the Employer on behalf of its employees. 

In November of 2013, a supervisor told employees that they could not be promoted to jobs with higher pay because of the Union. The supervisor repeated this claim in January and February 2014, adding that the Employer would fight the Union at every step, that it did not want the Union, and that Union representation was futile. 

The Employer continued refusing to bargain in good faith with the Union, which filed a charge with the NLRB’s Milwaukee office. Following an investigation, the Region issued a complaint on April 10, 2014. On May 20, 2014, the Board authorized the Region to initiate 10(j) injunctive proceedings against the Employer, which would direct that they bargain with the Union. The Union withdrew the charge on June 27, 2014, when the Union and the Employer reached a collective-bargaining agreement regarding employees’ wages and working conditions.