G&D Integrated Lays Off Union Ironworkers in Retaliation for Forming a Union

On Tuesday, March 1, 2022, Central Illinois-based manufacturer G&D Integrated Manufacturing LLC laid off workers represented by the Iron Workers Union at their Morton facility in retaliation for organizing a union. This discriminatory act is the latest unacceptable attack in a nonstop anti-worker assault by the company targeting the only unit across their facilities that organized and formed a union. The company’s assault is designed to suppress the rights of workers who have given years of dedicated service to this company, and it continues to gravely impact these workers, their families, and the wider Morton community.

On September 7, 2021, Ironworkers at G&D Integrated marched on their boss to demand free and fair union recognition, but the employer refused to recognize their union. The workers pushed forward, filed for a union election, and an overwhelming majority voted for union representation with the Iron Workers Union on October 13. The company started retaliating immediately. Since the election, workers along with their union representatives have filed more than 100 and counting federal violations—or “unfair labor practices”—committed by the company against its workers, including direct threats of termination for organizing and forming a union, discrimination, surveillance, and interrogation. When the company took drastic action Tuesday, workers and union representatives were in the process of negotiating the first union contract. The Iron Workers Union is calling on G&D Integrated Manufacturing LLC to end its abuse of workers and return to negotiations in good faith.

“The ironworkers at G&D Integrated were being berated by management daily and wanted to form a union to protect themselves against the abusive treatment by management. They simply wanted to go to work, continue supporting their families, without the hostile environment. They stood together; they organized their union for themselves. They’ve put in all the work to try to make G&D a better place to work, and the company’s done nothing to listen or improve things—all they’ve poured their money and time into is building up their attack on employees and hiring union busters to break their union. This is the worst conduct I’ve ever witnessed by a company. This is absolutely about suppressing their rights” - Ben Scroggins, District Council Organizer, Iron Workers Union.

The Iron Workers Union is also asking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to reinstate a policy known as the “Joy Silk” doctrine. The reversal of this policy in 1971 overly burdened workers who’ve already done the work to prove majority support for their union and allowed employers the advantage of time. Again and again, employers use that time to stall, discourage any organizing efforts, and build a campaign to suppress workers’ rights and voices. The Union believes under Joy Silk, G&D Integrated would have been in violation of federal labor law after refusing to negotiate with their employees on September 7, 2021.

“Because Joy Silk has been suspended for generations, it’s so much harder than it needs to be or should be to exercise your basic rights as a worker. We should have been able to walk in that day in September and say, ‘ok, let’s negotiate,’ and not have to continue fighting for months to gain what the workers had already proven—that they are a union. We know companies will stop at nothing to keep workers from standing up. We need strong protections in the law that deal with that reality, so workers have a real shot exercising their right to organize. It should not be that if you stand up for your rights you will lose your jobs, your future, and your family's future. Companies should not have this much power to stop workers from standing up for their rights.” - Ben Scroggins, District Council Organizer, Iron Workers Union