In a headline-grabbing move on Aug. 25, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a ruling hailed by some labor lawyers and union organizers as a potential game-changer. The “Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC and International Brotherhood of Teamsters” decision takes place in today’s

The NLRB Cemex ruling throws out the ill-gotten election — borne of blatant lies, fearmongering and intimidation — and orders Cemex to recognize and bargain with the Teamsters. Ornelas is to be reinstated with full back pay and benefits, upholding a previous judge’s order.

The decision also overturns corporate-backed NLRB decisions which had systematically negated the 1935 National Labor Relations Act’s (NLRA) original intention and practice. The Labor Board’s 1949 “Joy Silk doctrine” required that, in order to be recognized, unions show by a signed card checkoff that a majority of workers wish to join the union. The burden of demonstrating the need for an election was put on the employer.