The Sixth District Court of Appeals has refused to enforce a landmark NLRB decision that Teamsters and other unions have used to organize the unorganized and stand up to employers who violate labor law.

Under Cemex, if a union demonstrates that a majority of employees support the union, the employer has to either voluntarily recognize the union or file for an election. 

The Teamsters have used this rule to organize thousands of workers, including at Amazon. 

The Appeals Court has sent the issue back to the National Labor Relations Board, where employer-friendly members are expected to overturn Cemex nationwide. 

The Teamsters won the landmark decision in 2023 after a long legal battle stemming from an organizing campaign in Southern California and Nevada. 

The company, Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, committed over two dozen unfair labor practices, including threats, intimidation, threats of plant closures and surveillance, after drivers tried to unionize with the Teamsters.

Under the Cemex decision, if an employer committed violations during a union representation election that were egregious enough to invalidate the election, the NLRB could order the employer to bargain with the union. 

The Teamsters and other unions have used the Cemex framework to increase organizing. Today’s decision is a victory for employers. But organizing the unorganized will continue.