An important case, Nestle Dreyer’s Ice Cream Company v. NLRB, is currently pending before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Nestle is challenging a National Labor Relations Board ruling that, in a manufacturing setting, the Union can organize just maintenance employees rather than including all production and maintenance employees in the voting group. This sort of cherry-picking of smaller groups of employees will lead to increased numbers of small bargaining units, which increases the likelihood of disruption to business operations, stable labor relations and collective bargaining. The NLRB’s ruling runs contrary to over 50 years of Board precedent and is part of a series of decisions that flout Board precedent in an attempt to increase union membership. Trade associations such as the United States Chamber of Commerce have joined in Nestle’s effort to overturn the decision. A copy of the Chamber’s amicus brief can be found here.