Dive summary:

• Judges in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a centralized application-collection process that independent electrical contractors ran in the Houston area, but the decision was based on the National Labor Relations Board's behavior in the case, and it does not protect similar arrangements from being challenged.
• In the Houston case, the Houston chapter of the Independent Electrical Contractors acted as the central point for people who wanted to apply to companies that were members of the group, and contractors who needed help could look through the pool for candidates.
• The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers got a number of people to apply, filed a lawsuit after none got jobs, won an NLRB ruling and then lost because of how the appeals court said the NLRB based its decision.

From the article:

" ...the Board found that the referral system violated NLRA Sec. 8(a)(1) because it tended to interfere with the NLRA rights of union members and salts, including their right to seek employment on equal terms with other applicants." ...