Marathon Petroleum Gets Second Chance in 6th Cir. Labor Spat

Marathon Petroleum Co. will have another chance to defend itself from a union’s unfair labor charge over subcontracting at a Kentucky oil refinery.

The Sixth Circuit ordered the National Labor Relations Board to reconsider whether Marathon had an obligation to bargain with a United Steelworkers union over the continued subcontracting of maintenance work to non-union contractors. The NLRB ruled against Marathon without adequately explaining why an agreement to “discuss” subcontracting issues created an obligation to bargain, the Sixth Circuit said Aug. 16.

The dispute began in 2015, when Marathon signed a letter agreement with the Steelworkers union promising to “meet ...