The National Labor Relations Board has reversed a regional director’s decision and ruled that warehouse workers at a Kansas electric cooperative can proceed with a union election to join an existing bargaining unit. The decision demonstrates how the NLRB interprets bargaining unit scope and highlights ongoing disputes about which workers can be grouped together for collective bargaining purposes. The case carries practical implications for construction companies and employers with multiple workplace locations.
Wheatland Electric Cooperative operates warehouses and other facilities in Kansas. The company objected when employees sought to add warehouse workers to an existing unit represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. A regional NLRB official initially sided with the company, finding that warehouse workers were not an appropriate addition to the existing unit.
The Regional Director’s Initial Decision
The full NLRB Board disagreed, reversing the regional director’s analysis. The Board found that the warehouse workers shared sufficient community of interest with existing bargaining unit members to justify adding them to the unit. The decision allows the union election to proceed.
Construction contractors frequently operate multiple locations and employ workers in different roles—office staff, warehouse workers, field crews, and administrative personnel. Determining which employees can be grouped into bargaining units involves complex legal standards. This ruling confirms that NLRB will be relatively flexible in allowing diverse worker groups to combine if they share sufficient workplace interests.
NLRB Reversal and the Union Question
For construction companies, this means employers cannot easily prevent unionization by arguing that warehouse workers, for example, are fundamentally different from field crews. The NLRB will examine whether the workers share common supervision, work schedules, or other workplace factors suggesting they have sufficient community of interest.
Construction employers should consider:
• Review current workplace groupings and identify potential bargaining units
• Document differences between worker groups if they exist
• Maintain clear reporting structures and separate supervisory chains where possible
• Understand that similar work locations or functions may attract union organizing
• Prepare for requests to include workers across multiple job categories
• Consult counsel before responding to union organizing requests
What This Means for Employers
Preventing unionization by arguing unit scope often fails; employers should focus on substantive workplace policies and employee relations instead.
Wheatland Electric will proceed with a representation election at the warehouse facility. The outcome will determine whether workers select union representation. For other construction companies and employers, this decision signals that the NLRB will not impose strict limitations on bargaining unit scope merely because employees perform different functions.
For further details, please contact the lawyers at Tobia & Lovelace Esq., LLC at 201-638-0990.