The right of the Teamsters union to represent four contested Overnite terminals is once again up in the air.

In April, Overnite said it would abide by an appeals court ruling upholding a National Labor Relations Board decision ordering the company to bargain with the union in the four contested location. But in May, the court ordered the NLRB to file a written answer to Overnite's petition.
Now the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch reports that the full 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has granted Richmond-based Overnite a new hearing. The court rescinded the February ruling by a three-judge panel of the court.
The service centers in question are located in Detroit, Bowling Green and Lexington, Ky., and Buffalo, N.Y.
Overnite has argued, under board law, that employees should be given a new election where they are the victims of a widespread campaign of violence and intimidation. The company submitted evidence that the ongoing strike initiated by the Teamsters on Oct. 24, 1999, "has been plagued with serious, premeditated violence and other intimidation," and that action had invalidated the board's prior recognition of the Teamsters as their bargaining agent at the four centers. Overnite also argued that the board made mistakes when it held elections in 1995 and 1996 where the Teamsters intimidated employees by videotaping and photographing them before the vote.