NLRB Judge Faults Smurfit WestRock Offshoot for Health Plan

A Smurfit WestRock PLC subsidiary violated federal labor law by imposing a healthcare plan on workers without fully bargaining in good faith with their union, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled.

WestRock Services LLC changed healthcare plans for workers at a cardboard box making facility in Salinas, Calif., weeks after they switched unions to an International Brotherhood of Teamsters affiliate in 2023, Administrative Law Judge John Giannopoulos held Tuesday.

The case highlights constraints on employers when negotiating with a newly certified union that’s representing an already organized workforce.

The union switch stemmed from the dissolution of a merger agreement ...