United Electrical, Radio and M v. NLRB

**Union Wins Fight Over Withheld Wage Increases** This case involved a dispute between the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers union and Aluminum Casting & Engineering Company over wage increases that were wrongfully withheld from workers in 1995. The company had failed to give employees a wage increase they were entitled to that year, and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had previously found this was illegal retaliation against workers. However, when calculating future wage increases for these employees, the NLRB made an error. They failed to include the wrongfully withheld 1995 wage increase as part of the workers' base wages when determining later raises. This meant workers were getting smaller increases than they should have received. The federal appeals court sided with the union, ruling that the NLRB was wrong. The court ordered the case to be reconsidered and said the withheld 1995 wage increase must be added to workers' base wages before calculating any subsequent raises. **Why this matters for workers:** This decision ensures that when employers illegally withhold wage increases, workers don't continue to be penalized in future years. Any back pay or withheld wages should become part of your permanent wage base for calculating future raises, preventing ongoing financial harm from employer retaliation.