D.C. Circuit: Employer must bargain with a union that includes undocumented workers

In AGRI PROCESSOR CO., INC. v. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD, the D.C. Circuit (Jan. 4, 2008) addressed a case in which “[a] company whose workers recently voted to unionize refuses to bargain with them, claiming that most of those who voted are undocumented aliens. The company argues that undocumented aliens are prohibited from unionizing because they do not qualify as `employees’ protected by the National Labor Relations Act. Because the company’s argument ignores both the Act’s plain language and binding Supreme Court precedent, we deny its petition for review.”  In other words, the employer must bargain with a union that includes undocumented workers.

KJ