Local 150 Wins Landmark NLRB Ruling Against Spike Enterprise

The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a decision of major significance to Local 150 and the entire American Labor Movement regarding the unfair labor practices committed by and the remedies issued against Spike. The immediate reinstatement of two terminated union supporters, as well as the NLRB ordering Spike to pay consequential damages to the employees and reimburse Local 150’s strike expenses passes a significant milestone in protecting the rights of hardworking men and women.

In the case involving Spike Enterprise, the employer engaged in a crusade of workplace terror against its employees because they exercised their right to organize with Local 150. Spike’s egregious misconduct included, among other things, terminating key union activists and subjecting employees to threats of reprisal for organizing, forcing Spike employees and Local 150 to go on strike to protest the employer’s unfair labor practices. The Board’s decision ordering the immediate reinstatement of jobs for two pro-union employees, coupled with the additional order that they receive consequential damages, is a significant victory for the wronged employees.

In particular, a remedy ordered by the Board—reimbursement to the Union for its costs of the strike, including economic assistance to the striking employees—is a very significant milestone in protecting workers’ rights to organize. The remedy sends a powerful message to employers that perpetrate unfair labor practices against their employees for engaging in statutorily protected pro-union conduct. Such employers face severe financial consequences for their illegal anti-union conduct. This remedy should not only deter employers from engaging in such egregious labor law violations in the future, but also bolster the power of striking employees.

“This is a significant win for our Local 150 members, as well as for unions nationwide. The NLRB’s decision is important and comes at a time when we see corporations doing everything within their means to take away employees’ rights to unionize,” said President-Business Manager James Sweeney. “It takes a victory this big in the courtroom and on picket lines to add pressure to the David-and-Goliath-matches of employees vs. employers we see mounting across the country. Local 150 will continue to fight each day to hold accountable the businesses that break the law and to ensure workers receive fair pay, benefits, and a safe workplace.”

Litigation Background with Spike Enterprise

Spike Enterprise is an industrial tank-cleaning company that contracts for its services with oil refineries, including ExxonMobil in Channahon, Citgo Petroleum in Lemont, and the Valero Terminal in Blue Island.  In 2020, Local 150 began organizing the Spike employees.  On August 11, 2021, with the support of the Spike employees, Local 150 petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold an election.

Spike immediately launched a ruthless antiunion crusade of threats and intimidation to force employees to abandon their support for Local 150 and effectively kill the organizing drive. One day after learning of the petition and witnessing one of the lead organizers, Robert Rossey, in a Local 150 shirt, Spike manager David Allen terminated him. On August 16, Allen held a mandatory “captive audience” meeting with a group of Spike employees and threatened to cut their pay if they voted for Local 150. He also said he would not let them return to work if they went on strike to protest Rossey’s termination. On August 17, Allen issued many more threats including termination of the employees if they went on strike; to strictly enforce workplace rules against the employees; that he would cut off communication between himself and the employees; and, if Local 150 won the election, to never sign a union contract. Then, on August 18, Allen terminated Local 150 supporter Cody Franzen. Spike’s illegal actions compelled nine Spike employees to go on strike on August 20, with economic assistance from Local 150, to try to convince Spike to abandon its unlawful campaign and to abide by the law. Unfortunately, as a result of Spike terrorizing its employees, only five of the employees voted for Local 150 in the election.

Local 150 contested Spike’s actions by filing unfair labor practice charges with NLRB Region 13 office. Subsequently NLRB Region 13, with the support of Local 150, expedited the case due to the severity of Spike’s misconduct, prosecuted Spike before an administrative law judge (ALJ), and pursued an injunction against Spike in federal court. The trial before the ALJ lasted eight days in January-February 2022. On May 16, the ALJ issued a determination that threw out the results of the election and found that Spike had so egregiously violated the law that holding another election would be pointless. The ALJ ordered Spike to immediately bargain with Local 150 and to reinstate the fired employees. On May 26, 2022, the federal judge issued an injunction against Spike. Local 150 and Spike then began negotiating a contract.  Unsurprisingly, contract negotiations have gone nowhere.

On April 10, 2024, the NLRB Board in Washington, DC, issued its scathing decision against Spike. The Board affirmed nearly every determination of the ALJ and ordered Spike to reimburse Local 150 for the costs incurred as a result of the unfair labor practice strike, including the economic assistance Local 150 provided to the strikers. Thus, in addition to the other significant remedies with which Spike must comply, Spike now faces dire financial consequences for its brutal illegal conduct. Local 150 will now work with the NLRB to ensure Spike’s compliance with the Board’s decision, all with the ultimate goal of signing Spike to a contract.

Additional Resources

Read the entire National Labor Relations Board decision here.

Read an article on Law360 regarding the ruling here.