Rieth-Riley Constr. Co., Inc. v. NLRB

── Rieth-Riley Constr. Co., Inc. v. NLRB ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: April 13, 2026 Category: General RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION Pursuant to Sixth Circuit I.O.P. 32.1(b) File Name: 26a0113p.06 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT ┐ RIETH-RILEY CONSTRUCTION CO., INC., │ Petitioner/Cross-Respondent, │ │ v. │ > Nos. 24-2105/25-1073 │ NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, │ Respondent/Cross-Petitioner, │ │ │ LOCAL 324, INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING │ ENGINEERS, AFL-CIO, │ Intervenor (24-2105). │ ┘ On Petition for Review and Cross-Application for Enforcement of an Order of the National Labor Relations Board. Nos. 07-CA-285321; 07-CA-300190; 07-CA-300191. Argued: February 26, 2026 Decided and Filed: April 13, 2026 Before: MOORE, COLE, and MATHIS, Circuit Judges. _________________ COUNSEL ARGUED: Brian J. Paul, FAEGRE DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH LLP, Indianapolis, Indiana, for Rieth-Riley. Joel A. Heller, NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, Washington, D.C., for the NLRB. Amy Bachelder, LOCAL 324, INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, Bloomfield Township, Michigan, for Intervenor. ON BRIEF: Brian J. Paul, Stuart R. Buttrick, Ryan J. Funk, Alexander E. Preller, FAEGRE DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH LLP, Indianapolis, Indiana, for Rieth-Riley. Joel A. Heller, Elizabeth A. Heaney, Ruth E. Burdick, NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, Washington, D.C., for the NLRB. Amy Bachelder, LOCAL 324, INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, Bloomfield Township, Michigan, for Intervenor. Amanda K. Freeman, Glenn M. Taubman, NATIONAL RIGHT TO WORK LEGAL DEFENSE FOUNDATION, INC., Springfield, Virginia, for Amicus Curiae.  Nos. 24-2105/25-1073 Rieth-Riley Construction Co. Inc., v. NLRB Page 2 _________________ OPINION _________________ MATHIS, Circuit Judge. In 2018, Rieth-Riley Construction Company and its employees’ union representative began negotiating a new collective-bargaining contract. After eight years of battling on the picket line and in the courts, the parties still have no agreement. In its third appearance before this court against the National Labor Relations Board, Rieth-Riley petitions us to review the Board’s findings that the company engaged in unfair labor practices in 2021 and 2022. The Board asks us to enforce its order. For the reasons below, we deny Rieth-Riley’s petition and enforce the Board’s order. I. Rieth-Riley is an Indiana-based construction company that employs around 130 to 170 operating engineers in Michigan. Since at least 1993, Local 324, International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO (the “Union”), has been the engineers’ designated union representative. Until 2018, the Union was party to a multiemployer bargaining agreement (the “Road Agreement”). That meant it bargained with multiple companies—including Rieth-Riley—under a single collective-bargaining contra