In a recent case before NLRB Region 19 in Seattle, Mara Vinnedge convinced the Regional Director to dismiss an organizing petition filed by UA Local 32 against a client HVAC contractor. The petition sought to represent a unit of maintenance and service technicians. The client opposed the petition on the ground that the proposed unit was not an appropriate unit because it excluded project technicians and control technicians, employees who shared similar wages, benefits and working conditions. Mara and the client went to a hearing on this issue and argued successfully that the excluded employees shared a community of interest with the group the union was seeking to represent. These cases are often very difficult to win because the case law is structured in a way that places the burden on employers to prove the proposed unit would not be appropriate. Despite the odds, Mara secured an excellent result for the client resulting in the petition’s dismissal.
