Strike Replacement Has Right to Union Steward, Labor Board Rules

A mining company violated a strike replacement worker’s right to a union representative in a disciplinary meeting, the National Labor Relations Board ruled.

The NLRB on Wednesday rejected Riverstone Group Inc.’s argument that Matt Kelly—who was hired to replace a worker on strike—had no such rights because unions don’t represent the interests of permanent replacements. The company had likened Kelly to a worker in a non-union setting.

The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 represented the bargaining unit at issue in the case, and a bargaining unit includes nonstrikers, strikers, returning strikers, and strike replacements, the NLRB said. Moreover, ...