UFCW 400 Members Affected by High Court Ruling

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

The ripple effect for employers, workers and unions seeking legal clarity is huge, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent decision on presidential recess powers. The justices unanimously ruled that President Obama’s appointments to the NLRB in 2012 and 2013 were invalid, as were all the decisions they helped hand down while serving. Among the cases affected by the decision are those of UFCW Local 400 members Maria Yliquin and Esam Amireh, who the NLRB in June 2013 found to be wrongfully fired by Fresh & Green’s (which has since gone out of business). The company then appealed the case to the D.C. Circuit Court, where it hung, in limbo, as the recess appointment case made its way to the high court. Now, the Circuit Court is likely to send the case back to the NLRB to be reheard, restarting the whole process. “What that means is more delay,” said union lawyer Carey Butsavage. “There are already intolerable delays for employees trying to exercise their labor rights.” Nevertheless, “We’re going to continue to fight,” Butsavage promised.
- adapted from Chloe Johnson’s 6/26 report in The Washington Times