West Coxsackie, Newyork

In May 2013, the drivers at Hogan Transports, Inc. (Employer), a trucking company, began a union organizing campaign at their workplace in West Coxsackie, New York, with the assistance of Teamsters, Local 294, International Brotherhood of Teamsters (the Union). A majority of employees signed union authorization cards and the Union filed a petition and sought to become the bargaining representative for the workers. The Employer responded by threatening employees with job loss, questioning employees about their union support, promising and granting wage increases, and discharging a pro-union employee.

As a result of the investigation of the unfair labor practice charges, the NLRB sought an injunction in federal court to return the discharged employee to work pending final resolution of the matter before the NLRB and to stop the Employer from continuing to engage in unlawful conduct. On November 22, 2013, a district court judge granted interim relief sought by the NLRB and ordered the Employer to stop firing employees because of their union activities, questioning employees about their union support, promising and granting wage increases to discourage union support, and threatening employees with job loss if they continue to support the Union. On February 26, 2014, an NLRB administrative law judge similarly found that the Employer's conduct violated the National Labor Relations Act. The ALJ recommended to the Board that the pro-union employee be permanently reinstated with full backpay and that the Employer should be ordered to bargain with the Union without an election because the Employer's coercive conduct made a free and fair election impossible.

On October 14, 2014, a further Circuit Court order reversed the portions of the District Court's order under appeal, including the provisions related to backpay, and directed the court to revise its decision that found an interim bargaining order unwarranted; in light of the serious violations it found.