NLRB Region 27-Denver Secures Settlement Requiring International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 111 to Pay $768,000 to Make-Whole Employees

Denver, CO — On April 10, 2026, Regional Director Matthew Lomax approved a comprehensive compliance settlement that ends nearly three and a half years of litigation centered on employees’ right to organize under the Union Professionals International (UPI).  

The cases originated on June 13, 2022, when International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 111 (Local 111) voluntarily recognized UPI as the bargaining representative for a group of business agents and organizers. Just one month later, a charge was filed alleging that a business agent was unlawfully discharged. Over time, four related charges were filed, all investigated and found meritorious by February 2023. 

Local 111 filed a Unit Clarification petition seeking to exclude all business representatives and similar classifications by deeming them “managerial employees.” In May 2023, Regional Director Lomax issued a decision concluding that the contested unit classifications were not managerial and should not be excluded, and in March 2024, the National Labor Relations Board denied Local 111’s request for review—effectively affirming that these employees were statutory and entitled to union representation. 
 

Following a three-day hearing in November 2024, an Administrative Law Judge issued a decision on April 7, 2025, finding that Local 111 unlawfully threatened employees, terminated the business agent and made prohibited unilateral changes in violation of Sections 8(a)(1), (3) and (5) of the Act. After limited progress in mediation, Local 111 resumed meaningful settlement discussions in early 2026. 

Under the settlement agreement Local 111 will:
• Reinstate the business agent to the position he would have attained absent the unlawful termination
• Provide a make whole remedy of approximately $530,000
• Make $229,000 in contributions to the relevant benefit funds
• Make whole two additional employees impacted by unilateral changes, totaling about $9,000

 
“This outcome represents the significant efforts of our talented and dedicated staff to uphold employees’ rights by securing a remedy that ensures justice, reinstatement, and full economic restitution for those harmed.” said Regional Director Lomax.

Established in 1935, the National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency that protects employees, employers, and unions from unfair labor practices and protects the right of private sector employees to join together, with or without a union, to improve wages, benefits and working conditions. The NLRB conducts hundreds of workplace elections and investigates thousands of unfair labor practice charges each year. Region 27 serves the states of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and parts of Montana, Idaho, and Nebraska from our regional office in Denver.
 

Established in 1935, the National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency that protects employees, employers, and unions from unfair labor practices and protects the right of private sector employees to join together, with or without a union, to improve wages, benefits and working conditions. The NLRB conducts hundreds of workplace elections and investigates thousands of unfair labor practice charges each year. Region 27 serves areas in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Nebraska from its Regional Office in Denver.