The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona issued a temporary injunction Friday against the automaker Lucid and ordered it to reinstate two employees fired during an ongoing union drive.
The rare 10(j) injunction stems from unfair labor practice (ULP) charges that the UAW filed with the National Labor Relations Board over the firing of Lucid workers Amie Begay and Chad Brewer in early 2023. Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act allows the Board to request temporary injunctions from federal district courts to stop serious ULPs while a case moves through the Board’s process. The Board found merit to the UAW’s charges that the company had fired Begay and Brewer for their union activity and sought the injunction from the court.
One human resources official at Lucid wrote in an email that she would do “anything” to end the workers’ union drive.
“Lucid management said they would do anything to stop us from winning our union. Yesterday’s decision shows we’re not going to be stopped,” said Lucid worker Chad Brewer. “The court has called out Lucid for their outrageous conduct and protected our right to form our union. The company tried to silence us, but they have made our voice even stronger.”
“Workers at Lucid, and autoworkers everywhere, won justice yesterday,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “This decision tells rogue employers like Lucid that they won’t get away with attacking workers. The union-busting bullies of corporate America need to understand it’s a new day. Autoworkers are not going to be intimidated anymore. They are fed up and they are fired up. They are standing up to win their union and the UAW has their back.”
“This decision reaffirms that workers at electric-vehicle makers like Lucid have the right to form unions and win justice on the job,” said UAW Region 6 Director Mike Miller. “Our nation is investing billions in the EV industry. Our investment in the climate economy shouldn’t shortchange climate workers. We need to make sure that the green economy is a just economy.”
The court’s decision to issue the 10(j) injunction indicates the severity of the ULP charges against Lucid and their chilling impact on the workers’ organizing efforts. The NLRB petitioned for just seven 10(j) injunctions nationwide in 2023.
The ULP against Lucid includes charges that Lucid: fired Brewer and Begay for their union support; surveilled them; confiscated union literature; solicited grievances from potential union supporters; and offered a supervisory position to Begay to encourage her to abandon her efforts. (Begay’s last name was Hansen in early 2023, but she married in Oct. 2023 and changed it.)
The court agreed with the Board that the injunction against Lucid was necessary “to prevent irreparable harm to employees’ rights and the Board’s remedial powers.” While the Board further adjudicates the ULP against Lucid, the court has ordered the company to offer interim reinstatement to Begay and Brewer, enjoined the company from making any further violations, and to publicly post and read the court’s order to employees.
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