Carson, California

In May of 2012, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Port Division (Union) began organizing truck drivers at Green Fleet Systems, Inc (Employer), a company that employs around 110 truck drivers to transport goods in and around Southern California. Soon after the organizing campaign began, various representatives of the Employer began engaging in a multitude of unfair labor practices against the organizing employees. The unfair labor practices included soliciting signatures on anti-union petitions and promising increased benefits and improved terms and conditions to employees if they refused to support the Union.

The Union then filed charges with the NLRB's Los Angeles office. After investigating the charges, a complaint was issued, yet the Employer continued to violate the National Labor Relations Act. It instituted new rules that limited after-hour access to its facility, photographed truck drivers distributing union literature, interrogated employees about union activities, and encouraged employees to spy on union supporters and to provoke them into physical altercations so that they could then fire them.     

A short Union-led strike over two days in August 2013 led to further violations. The Employer videotaped and photographed striking truckers, threatened to fire union supporters, and encouraged employees to make derogatory remarks and gestures to striking truck drivers.

Such activities continued through another strike and, in late 2013 and early 2014, the Employer retaliated against two lease drivers by refusing to allow them to refuel until they withdrew their claims of employee status. The employees refused, and were fired.  A supervisor then allegedly told other employees, "that is how all of those that support the Union will end up. They are an example."

Because of the continued unfair labor practices, the Board authorized pursuit of injunctive relief on August 4, 2014 in order to force the Employer to stop its unlawful conduct and to return to the status quo. On October 10, 2014, the district court granted relief to preserve the conditions that existed before the Employer's alleged unlawful acts. The court ordered the Employer to cease and desist from unfair labor practices and reinstate the terminated employees.