Texas Public Radio Reporters Officially Free from Unwanted SAG-AFTRA Union Bosses after Successful Decertification Vote
Labor Board certifies vote to remove union officials who TPR employees say were unresponsive and ineffective
San Antonio, TX (August 6, 2026) – Employees of Texas Public Radio (TPR) have successfully regained their independence from Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) union bosses. The effort was led by Brian Kirkpatrick, who, with assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a “decertification” election.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal labor law, a task that includes administering elections to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Decertification petitions require the support of at least 30% of workers in the unit, and Kirkpatrick’s petition was signed by a majority of his colleagues. The election was held July 17, 2026, and a majority of workers voted to remove the union.
“The petitioners here at Texas Public Radio are very pleased with the outcome of the union decertification vote,” commented Kirkpatrick. “We also want to thank our attorney from the National Right to Work Foundation for the invaluable counsel throughout the decertification process. We encourage others in need of legal guidance on workplace matters such as this to do the same. Moving ahead, each of us looks forward to working with the responsive leadership of Texas Public Radio on issues of salary and benefits based on individual job performance and merit.”
Union Bosses Unresponsive to Workers
The NLRB certified the results of the election on July 31. This officially ended SAG-AFTRA union officials’ monopoly bargaining power over the TPR workers, which is the government-granted power to represent every worker in a unit, regardless of whether they support the union. Despite being installed over a year ago, union bosses had yet to negotiate a contract for the employees they claimed to “represent.”
Texas is one of 26 states with a Right to Work law, which safeguards workers by making union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary. However, even in Right to Work states, federal law grants union officials the power to impose exclusive “representation” over every employee in a work unit—including those who never voted for, joined, or supported the union—dictating their terms and conditions of employment. Now that the decertification election has been certified, Kirkpatrick and his coworkers are free from the union’s dictates.
“We are proud to have assisted the workers at Texas Public Radio as they fought for their freedom from union bosses they don’t support,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Around the country, workers are questioning union bosses’ priorities, as those officials demonstrate that they are out of step with the needs of the workers they supposedly ‘represent.’”
Florida Imperial Dade Drivers Oust Teamsters Despite Attempt by Union Bosses to Overturn Workers’ Election Result
Labor Board dismissed union block, formally certifies vote to revoke Teamsters’ monopoly bargaining powers over Imperial Dade employees
Orlando, FL (August 5, 2026) – Drivers at Imperial Dade have freed themselves from the unwanted “representation” of Teamsters Local 385 union bosses. The workers’ effort was spearheaded by Lionel Powell, who filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), seeking a “decertification” election to end the Teamsters’ monopoly bargaining control over the workers. Powell’s petition was filed with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal labor law, a task that includes administering elections to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Powell’s petition last year was signed by enough of his coworkers to trigger an NLRB-administrated secret-ballot election among all full-time and regular part-time drivers and shuttle drivers employed by Imperial Dade at its 4522 E. Wetherbee Road facility in Orlando.
The drivers’ election took place on August 7, 2025, in which a majority of the employees voted against the continued presence of Teamsters Local 385 at their workplace. However, before the workers’ election result could be certified, Teamsters union bosses filed baseless charges against the employer and objections to the election with the NLRB in an attempt to disenfranchise the drivers and overturn their vote.
Foundation Thwarts Teamsters Election Hijacking
The Teamsters’ tactics, seeking to cancel the drivers’ ballot count, kept Powell and his colleagues trapped for nearly an entire year under the union they opposed, until it became clear the union’s claims could not withstand scrutiny. Eventually, one of the Teamsters’ charges accusing Imperial Dade of misconduct was dismissed by the NLRB for lack of merit, while the second was withdrawn by the union officials earlier this month, likely in an effort to avoid the embarrassment of another NLRB dismissal.
With the Teamsters’ baseless charges no longer pending, the NLRB certified the workers’ 24-21 vote to remove Teamsters Local 385 on August 5.
“Teamsters officials could have just accepted our vote and let us be free, but instead they attempted to play legal games to overturn our election and trap us in a union we opposed for nearly a year,” stated Powell. “That disrespect of our choice shows exactly why we chose to remove the union in the first place, and why I’m confident we’ll be better off free of the Teamsters.”
Florida is one of 26 states with Right to Work protections, which safeguard workers by making union membership and dues payment strictly voluntary. However, even in Right to Work states, union bosses can impose exclusive bargaining control upon all workers in a workplace, meaning they can dictate working conditions even for employees who are not formal union members and who oppose the union.
“We congratulate Mr. Powell and his colleagues on successfully reclaiming their workplace from Teamsters bosses, who, considering their legal campaign to disenfranchise these employees, showed exactly why the workers have good reason to want the union out,” said National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix. “Imperial Dade drivers join the growing number of American workers moving to terminate their affiliation with the Teamsters, and their fight serves as another example of how Teamsters officials continue to abuse their government-granted privileges in order to hold onto power, even when that power is opposed by rank-and-file employees.”
Idaho Teamsters Face Federal Prosecution for Illegal Threats, Fines Targeting UPS Employee Post-Membership Resignation
Teamsters Local 983 falsely told worker that informing coworkers how to resign was a “federal crime,” then fined him for exercising his federally protected rights
Pocatello, ID (July 28, 2026) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has just issued a complaint against a Teamsters Local union for illegally threatening a United Parcel Service (UPS) worker and fining him after he resigned his union membership and filed federal charges against the union.
The UPS employee, Andrew Davis, filed his charges against the Teamsters with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
According to the July 22 complaint issued by NLRB Region 27, four Teamsters Local 983 officials told Davis in front of other workers that informing employees how to exercise their right to resign their union membership was “illegal” and a “federal crime.” This is blatantly false. Federal law protects the right of employees to resign formal union membership at any time and to inform coworkers of that right.
The complaint further states that after Davis submitted his membership resignation in writing, Local 983 officials violated his rights by refusing to promptly honor it. Davis then filed federal charges against the union for the threats.
In response, according to the complaint, Local 983 officials brought internal union “charges” against Davis for filing his NLRB charge, a violation of federal law. Additionally, this past April, the union issued a fine against Davis, even though he was no longer a union member and had the right, under federal law, to go to the NLRB.
The NLRB complaint states that Local 983 has maintained unlawful rules barring members from seeking recourse from any outside court or agency, including the NLRB, without first exhausting internal union appeals. Union officials invoked that rule to retaliate against Davis for exercising his rights under the National Labor Relations Act.
The Regional Director for NLRB Region 27 has determined the charges have merit and issued a formal complaint. A hearing before an NLRB Administrative Law Judge is scheduled for September 15, 2026, unless the Teamsters back down and settle beforehand.
“Union bosses lied to Mr. Davis and his coworkers about basic legal rights, then punished him for daring to go to federal authorities,” said National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix. “Even after being caught red handed lying to workers and violating Mr. Davis’ rights, Teamsters union bosses continued to double down on their unlawful coercion by attempting to fine him for defending his rights at the NLRB.
“Once again Teamsters bosses show their true colors, prioritizing their own power, even when it means violating the rights of the very rank-and-file workers they claim to ‘represent,’” added Mix.
Dissident Philly Port Worker Successfully Defeats ILA Union Attempt to Exclude Him from Federal Case Defending Win at NLRB
Labor Board found Longshoremen Local 1694 illegally blacklisted worker for raising concerns to national union official over operation of the union and its hiring hall
Wilmington, DE and Philadelphia, PA (July 27, 2026) – The United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a motion to intervene by Stanford Fowler, a longshore worker at the Ports of Philadelphia and Wilmington, in a suit between the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) Local 1694. The successful motion, filed with assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, comes over the objection of union lawyers, who attempted to keep Fowler out of a federal case that arose from his legal victory against that union at the NLRB.
Fowler filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB against ILA Local 1694, located in Wilmington, DE, in August of 2021, arguing that he had been discriminated against for voicing dissent against the union, including going to the national ILA Secretary-Treasurer when local officials ignored his complaints regarding operation of the hiring hall. The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the National Labor Relations Act, a task which includes adjudicating disputes between employers, unions, and individual employees.
An NLRB Administrative Law Judge found largely in Fowler’s favor. A unanimous decision from a bipartisan panel of NLRB Members affirmed and ordered the union to pay Fowler five years of back pay to remedy the loss of work due to its discrimination. ILA Local 1694 lawyers appealed the decision to the Court of Appeals. Fowler then moved to intervene in that appeal to preserve the legal and financial victory that he had won before the NLRB.
Union Bosses Deprived Longshoreman of Work and Seniority for Expressing Concerns
Fowler was the victim of a series of union moves that hindered his ability to get better benefits. He consistently accrued hours through the hiring hall, but also sent an inquiry to the Secretary-Treasurer of the ILA, complaining about issues with a recent union merger. When Local 1694 union bosses found out about the inquiry, they aggressively confronted him and refused to let him participate in their hiring hall. Union bosses continually interfered with Fowler’s ability to gain work, including by attempting to ban him from the Port of Wilmington without sufficiently explaining their actions, to the point that he had to begin seeking work at the Port of Philadelphia instead.
“We are proud to assist Mr. Fowler as he fights for his right to work, free of interference from the malicious actions of union bosses,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Mr. Fowler raised common sense concerns regarding his treatment both before and after his original ILA Local was merged into another, yet rather than take his concerns seriously and treat him fairly, union bosses began a campaign of retaliation designed to prevent him from working to put food on the table.
“We are proud to help him defend his NLRB victory at the court of appeals, and have already overcome the union’s underhanded attempt to block him from participating in the continuation of his own legal case,” added Mix.
Labor Board to Prosecute UFCW Union for Illegal Strike Fine Against Oregon Fred Meyer Grocery Worker Who Resigned
On appeal, NLRB General Counsel finds UFCW union bosses violated the law by fining worker nearly $1,000 for supposedly working one hour during strike
Portland, OR (July 24, 2026) – Portland-area Fred Meyer grocery store employee Coyesca Vasquez has been vindicated in her nearly two-year dispute with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 555 union bosses, as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel has just moved to prosecute the union for violating Vasquez’s rights.
Vasquez filed federal charges against UFCW Local 555 after union bosses targeted her with a strike fine for exercising her right to continue working during a union boss-ordered strike action in 2024. The charges were originally filed with NLRB Region 19, with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys. The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), a task that includes adjudicating disputes between employers, unions, and individual employees.
Vasquez exercised her legal right to resign UFCW union membership, in order to continue working, on August 28, 2024. However, UFCW officials claimed the resignation letter was not received until after she had returned to work for one hour.
UFCW bosses then apparently attempted to use this supposed one-hour delay as a technicality to justify a fine for $992, announced in a December 2024 letter, after finding her “guilty” of violating internal UFCW rules. Longstanding law says union bosses cannot impose “union discipline” against workers who are not voluntary union members. Such discipline frequently takes the form of four- or five-figure monetary fines payable to union boss-controlled funds.
Vasquez’s charge was initially dismissed by the NLRB Regional Director on May 11, 2026, following an “investigation” that only took into account the union’s timeline of events. Foundation staff attorneys appealed the decision to the NLRB General Counsel on May 26, detailing how Vasquez had validly resigned her union membership before returning to work and had significant evidence of her efforts to deliver her resignation to the union.
After examining the facts of the case, the General Counsel sustained Vasquez’s appeal, finding that UFCW union officials violated the NLRA by refusing to recognize her resignation. The case has now been remanded to the Regional Director where UFCW union bosses will be prosecuted for violating Vasquez’s rights under the NLRA unless they agree to settle the case, which would include rescinding the fine attempt and notifying other Fred Meyer employees of their legal rights in such situations.
Earlier this year, and with assistance from Foundation staff attorneys, fellow Oregon Fred Meyer grocery store employee Robert Wendelschafer—who was subjected to the same UFCW Local 555 illegal fining after he exercised his right to work during the 2024 strike by resigning his union membership—had his fine rescinded by the union.
“We welcome the General Counsel’s decision to move forward in Ms. Vasquez’s case against UFCW union bosses for ignoring her resignation and then attempting to claim a one hour delay justified a nearly $1,000 fine,” stated National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Union officials have a long history of attempting to obstruct workers’ union resignation requests, then using those obstruction tactics to attempt to justify punitive fines, and it is critical that the NLRB not look the other way when Big Labor deploys these anti-worker tactics.”
National Right to Work Foundation Files Brief in Support of Grad Students’ Legal Challenge to Being Forced to Fund Radical Campus Union
Amicus brief at Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals argues NLRB coercion over bargaining means mandatory union dues requirement violates First Amendment
Chicago, IL (July 16, 2026) – The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation has filed an amicus curiae brief with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in support of University of Chicago graduate students who are challenging the requirement that they pay fees to a union they oppose. Currently, these students must pay the union in order to keep their research and teaching jobs, which are a requirement of completing their graduate program.
The lawsuit, Graduate Students for Academic Freedom, Inc. v. United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, was brought by a group that includes Israeli and Jewish graduate students who oppose being forced to fund the union, especially due to UE union officials’ “virulent anti-Israel advocacy.”
The Foundation’s brief, filed on Wednesday, July 15, supports the graduate students by arguing that the compulsory fee requirement they are subjected to violates the First Amendment, because it is the direct result of extensive and coercive bargaining requirements mandated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB):
“[T]he First Amendment prohibits the government from coercing one private party to infringe on the speech rights of another private party. This is what the NLRB does when it requires employers to bargain over forced fee requirements—the NLRB coerces one private party (an employer) to agree to compel other private parties (employees) to subsidize union speech.
The NLRB would violate the First Amendment by directly compelling employees to pay for union speech. Three times in the last 25 years the Supreme Court has struck down compelled subsidies for third-party speech… There is no constitutionally meaningful distinction between the compelled payments invalidated in those cases and the compulsory union fees at issue.”
The brief notes that in multiple decisions, including Janus v. AFSCME and Harris v. Quinn (both argued by Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys), the Supreme Court held that the government violates the First Amendment by compelling employees to subsidize union speech. More recently, in the 2024 NRA v. Vullo decision, the court reiterated the “principle that a government official cannot do indirectly what she is barred from doing directly.”
The Foundation amicus brief argues that, under those Supreme Court precedents, the NLRB’s highly coercive requirements that force employers in non-Right to Work states to bargain with union officials over forced fee requirements mean that the resulting mandatory dues requirement is unconstitutional government-compelled speech. As the brief points out, employers face NLRB prosecution for refusing to consider such a requirement, and even seeking to defend the conscience rights or academic freedom of those subjected to forced dues does not allow an employer to escape this requirement.
“Union bosses’ forced dues powers are the direct result of government coercion, and it is past time that federal courts take a closer look at how this results in compelled funding of radical speech in violation of the First Amendment,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “These students would have never been forced to fund union boss speech they find abhorrent if it weren’t for the NLRB’s actions, which first controversially subject graduate students to monopoly unionism and then require bargaining with union officials over a forced dues requirement.”
New Jersey Cannabis Workers Beat Union Abuse and Delay Tactics, Win Freedom in Decertification Election
After nearly two year delay, Labor Board certifies vote to remove unwanted UFCW union originally installed in abuse-prone “card check” process
New Jersey (July 14, 2026) – Employees of Green Thumb Industries have finally regained their freedom, removing United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 360 union officials from their workplace. This comes over 21 months after an initial petition was filed by Michael Potter, a Lead Warehouse Technician for Green Thumb, on behalf of his coworkers at four locations across New Jersey.
With assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, Potter filed the petition for a “decertification” election with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in October of 2024. The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal labor law, a task that includes administering elections to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions.
The election was finally certified on July 14, 2026, freeing approximately 270 workers from UFCW union officials’ monopoly bargaining power, which is the government-granted power to represent every worker in a unit, regardless of whether they support the union. The workers voted 94-13 against the union. Union officials challenged ballots cast by 74 other employees causing them not to be counted, but not enough to change the outcome of the vote.
“The UFCW did not advance our interests here, and many of us believed we would be better off without them,” said Potter. “This was our opportunity to exercise the right to a secret-ballot election, which was denied to us when the union was installed. We are grateful the votes were finally counted, and we have determined for ourselves what the majority of Green Thumb employees want.”
Process Mired by Union Abuse Tactics from Beginning to End
Potter and his coworkers were angry that the union had been installed via an abuse-prone process called a “card check,” wherein union officials can bypass the secret-ballot election process that has long been recognized as the most secure and reliable way to determine if a majority of employees want to unionize. During card check drives, union officials can repeatedly solicit and pressure workers face-to-face, demanding they sign union authorization cards in front of union organizers, with those cards then counted as “votes” to impose the union on workers. Unsurprisingly, without the privacy of the secret ballot, such card check drives regularly result in union coercion, intimidation tactics, lies, or even sometimes threats of violence.
After Potter filed the decertification petition, local UFCW bosses opposed a stipulated election agreement they themselves had initially signed. Foundation staff attorneys won on that issue with the NLRB Regional Director, and the election was held on November 7 and 8, 2024.
However, union officials immediately threw up another road block by filing so-called “blocking charges,” which are disingenuous charges of misconduct against the employer. These charges often have nothing to do with the election, but because of NLRB rules not found anywhere in federal law, they prevent the votes from being counted. This issue was finally settled in 2026, which triggered the opening and counting of the ballots on June 29, with the certification issued on July 14.
“We are proud to have assisted the workers at Green Thumb Industries as they fought for their right to a secret-ballot election; however, workers should not have to wait the better part of two years just to have their votes counted,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix.
“This case demonstrates why the NLRB needs to take action to defend employees’ legal right to free themselves of unwanted unions, including by eliminating non-statutory rules, such as the current ‘blocking charge’ policy that lets union bosses trap workers in union ranks, no matter how overwhelming the opposition to the union is,” added Mix.
Phoenix Logistics Workers Send Teamsters Bosses Packing With Successful Petition for Decertification
Medical equipment operators supporting Fort Dix overwhelmingly vote out Teamsters Local 35 after being ignored for years
Fort Dix, NJ (July 6, 2026) – Employees at Phoenix Logistics, LLC in Fort Dix have successfully regained their independence from International Brotherhood of Teamsters union bosses. This came as a result of employee Nicholas Rapa filing a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which called for a “decertification” election to remove Teamsters Local 35 as the exclusive bargaining “representative” of Rapa and his coworkers, medical equipment operators assigned to Fort Dix for training.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal labor law, a task that includes administering elections to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. The petition, which Rapa filed with assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, surpassed the threshold of signatures necessary to trigger a decertification vote.
The election was administered on June 17, and the vast majority of workers voted to remove Teamsters bosses from power. New Jersey does not have state Right to Work protections, which means the union bosses at Phoenix Logistics were able to exercise both of their government-granted forced unionism powers: the ability to force workers into a contract they may not want (monopoly bargaining), and the ability to force workers to pay dues or fees to the union in order to keep their jobs (forced dues).
Successful Decertification Latest Blow to Teamsters Power
The election was certified by the NLRB on June 26, meaning that Rapa and his coworkers are now officially free from both of these abuses by Teamsters union officials. This comes after officials from Teamsters Local 35 had neglected these employees, despite supposedly “representing” the workers for over five years.
In the last few years, decertification efforts have been on the rise. This successful petition was the latest in a long line of decertification efforts specifically against Teamsters officials. Recent NLRB statistics suggest no union faces more decertification petitions than the Teamsters.
“Around the country, workers are questioning union bosses’ priorities, as those officials demonstrate that they are out of step with the needs of the workers they supposedly ‘represent,’” said National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “We are proud to have supported Mr. Rapa and his coworkers as they exercise their individual right to refuse union power.”
