The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a certiorari bid from Garten Trucking of Covington, Virginia, leaving intact a federal appeals court order that compels the paper-products hauler to bargain with the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers.

The denial, issued without comment on the first day of the term, ends Garten's last legal avenue to overturn a Fourth Circuit decision that backed the National Labor Relations Board's finding that the carrier committed multiple unfair labor practices during a 2021 organizing drive.

What happened in 2021?

Drivers at Garten, whose primary business is hauling paper products, voted 65-30 against representation in August 2021. The union refused to accept the result and filed a series of unfair labor practice charges, contending the violations had fatally tainted the election.

An administrative law judge held a hearing in February 2023 and concluded Garten had unlawfully interrogated employees, created the impression that union activity was under surveillance, threatened closure of the business, and made disciplinary threats. The judge issued a Gissel order, a remedy derived from a 1969 Supreme Court precedent, requiring a rerun vote rather than simply certifying the original tally.

The NLRB affirmed the findings in September 2023. Garten then took the case to the Fourth Circuit, which upheld the bargaining order earlier this year.

Where did Garten cross the line?

The appellate court zeroed in on a single statement by management — "as a matter of fact if it wasn't for the union trying to steal money out of your paychecks you would already have your raises" — as evidence the carrier had moved from persuasion into coercion.

"There is a fundamental difference between speech imposing a proper quid pro quo and speech which merely attempts to persuade on the merits, leaving employees free to vote without penalty or reward dangling over their heads," the panel wrote.

The Fourth Circuit described the underlying labor dispute as featuring "bitter and lengthy disputes." There is no evidence in the record that a second election has been held since the ALJ's order, leaving the bargaining order as the live remedy.

What did Garten argue?

In its now-rejected cert petition, Garten insisted the organizing process was "fair and untainted." The carrier pointed to testimony from witnesses called by the NLRB's general counsel who said they discussed the union openly, wore union insignia without retaliation, and never heard management threaten adverse consequences for supporting representation.

Garten's filing also stressed that employees "were not asked to identify who supported the union, questioned about their own union activities or the union activities of others, asked who signed a card, or who attended union meetings."

The petition framed the case as a constitutional question about what an employer may say during a campaign without crossing into unlawful coercion.

What are the commercial stakes?

The cert denial leaves the bargaining order enforceable. Garten must now negotiate with the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers over wages, hours, and working conditions for its Covington-based drivers — even though those same drivers rejected the union by more than a 2-to-1 margin in the original 2021 vote.

For a small carrier, that obligation carries weight. A first contract typically resets wage scales, benefits, and grievance procedures for a fleet, and the union can claim bargaining leverage from the unfair labor practice findings, which may shorten the path to an initial agreement.

The case also gives small-fleet operators in the Fourth Circuit a clearer picture of the speech boundary during representation campaigns. Comments tying pay decisions to union activity now carry documented risk of being treated as coercive rather than protected persuasion.

Garten can still ask the NLRB to conduct a rerun election, but unless the board sets aside its earlier findings, the carrier's path forward runs through the bargaining table, and the precedent set by Monday's cert denial will shape how other small carriers manage communications when the next organizing drive arrives at the gate.