Yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled in favor of Operating Engineers 324 in its eight-year effort to hold Reith-Riley Construction Company accountable to the Operating Engineers 324 members who worked for them. It is the most recent affirmation in a series of court decisions that have agreed with Operating Engineers 324 over these many years.

In its ruling, the court upheld an earlier comprehensive decision and order issued by the National Labor Relations Board to remedy the unfair labor practices committed by Reith-Riley during both its illegal lockout in 2018 and the subsequent strike by Operating Engineers 324 in 2019. The most significant outcome is the order for the company to pay Operating Engineers 324 members more than $2 million owed from the 2018 lockout period.

From the very start, Operating Engineers 324 has worked tirelessly to defend these Reith-Riley employees in the face of unprecedented mistreatment and legal challenges. The company was given the opportunity to do right by these employees for the better part of a decade, and instead chose to keep pursuing—and losing—in court, accumulating legal costs that must dwarf what it would have taken to simply treat its employees fairly and make them whole.

Each time Reith-Riley was told it was wrong, it chose to drag the process out further. The more its actions were proven unlawful, the harder it fought to avoid taking responsibility.

While there is a related case pending at the Sixth Circuit, Rieth-Riley is obligated under this ruling to meet and bargain in good faith with the Union.  Operating Engineers 324 is hopeful that all outstanding issues can be resolved and the Union and company can return to cooperative working moving forward.