Labor Board Is Accusing Caterpillar of Harassment
May 12, 2011
PEORIA, Ill. -- The National Labor Relations Board accused Caterpillar Inc. of illegally harassing, suspending or firing more than 100 United Auto Workers union members since their return from a strike last December. In an extensive complaint, the labor board alleged that some 160 Caterpillar managers at locations in Illinois, Denver and York, Pa., had participated in actions that violated the rights of workers. The complaint, issued late Thursday, also takes aim at the strict standards of conduct that Caterpillar imposed on returning strikers. Among other things, those standards limited what workers could say and slogans they could put on items such as T-shirts. The complaint says the slogans banned at some factories included ``UAW member'' and ``Families in Solidarity, UAW.'' The case is expected to be widely watched by employee-relations experts, as labor lawyers representing management and labor unions have described Kavanagh's rules as among the strictest ever issued against union members. A Caterpillar spokeswoman said the company had no comment late Thursday because it hadn't had enough time to evaluate the complaint.
