Employers Blame Unions for Recent Shutdowns

Written on February 06, 2026.

Tag(s): Unions, NLRB (National Labor Relations Board), February 2026 Newsletter

A good amount of publicity has come out recently about two major closings that employers blame on their unions. In the most recent, at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the company announced it will stop publication on May 3 because a court decision required it to operate under a previous labor contract that made continued publication impossible. The case is PG Publishing Co. v. NLRB, No. 25A725, a stay denied by U.S. Supreme Court on 1/7/26.

In a related development, a federal appeals court ruled in November that Yellow Transportation’s breach of contract lawsuit against the Teamsters union and several local unions, could continue. The company claims that Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien orchestrated contractual breaches to defeat the company’s efforts to stay in business by restructuring its operations. The company claims O’Brien was willing to let Yellow collapse in a show of Teamsters’ strength. The case is Yellow Corp. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, No. 24-3111, 10th Cir. 11/5/25.

In still another related development, the monitor overseeing the United Auto Workers Union after a major scandal said in a November report that the union still has a culture steeped in fear and division and is stalling needed change, making it difficult for current leadership to keep corruption from creeping back in. The UAW was put under monitoring in 2021 after a federal investigation into a kick-back scheme involving union officials and certain auto industry executives, leading to more than a dozen convictions, including guilty pleas from former presidents. Unfortunately, the monitor said the president’s office used the newly created compliance department as a “Trojan horse” to pursue false accusations against the treasurer and limit her ability to check union spending. Members have reported that they fear they will lose their jobs if they don’t follow the president’s “marching orders.”

This article is part of our February 2026 Newsletter.

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