Security Guards Overwhelmingly Vote to Remove SPFPA Union Officials from Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant
Guards avoid runoff with clear vote to reject two different unions
Waynesboro, GA (February 10, 2026) – Security guards working for Southern Nuclear Operating Company have freed themselves from the control of Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) union officials in their workplace. The guards, who in January filed a petition seeking a “union decertification vote” with free assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, work at Plant Vogtle, a major nuclear power plant in Waynesboro, Georgia.
In a vote conducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a majority of voting security guards decided against having any union at all in their workplace, rejecting both the SPFPA and a rival union that was trying to work its way into power. By voting overwhelmingly to reject union “representation,” the guards avoided a runoff election and sent a clear message in favor of their individual freedom.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal labor law, a task that includes administering votes to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions in workplaces. Under NLRB rules, the Board should administer a decertification election if employees submit a petition in which at least 30% of workers in a work unit demand such an election.
Security Guards Restore Individual Freedom in Their Workplace
Georgia is a Right to Work state, meaning that SPFPA officials could not enforce union contracts that require workers to pay union dues or fees to keep their jobs. Now, the nearly 250 security guards at the power plant are also free from SFPFA’s exclusive “representation,” a power used by union officials to impose restrictive, one-size-fits-all contracts on every employee in a workplace, even those who don’t support the union.
The Foundation has seen unprecedented levels of worker-backed decertification efforts in the wake of the radical, pro-Big Labor policies instituted by the Biden Administration. There were several successful decertification efforts in 2025 involving the Teamsters, the Operating Engineers, the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, and the Service Employees International Union. This successful effort continues this trend into 2026.
“Contrary to union boss propaganda, workers all across America desire to make a living independent of union rules and strictures. Plant Vogtle security guards have just joined the vast majority of American workers who are not under union control and have no ambitions to join a union,” said National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “While Georgia’s Right to Work law guards employees from the forced-dues demands of union officials, no worker should be forced under the control of union chiefs who are self-interested or simply aren’t doing a good job.”
Security Guards at Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant Demand Vote to Remove SPFPA Union Officials
Guards collect enough signatures to prompt federal labor board to administer union removal vote
Waynesboro, GA (January 8, 2026) – Security guards working for Southern Nuclear Operating Company have recently filed a petition asking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold a vote to remove the Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) union from their workplace. The guards, who filed the petition with assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, work at Plant Vogtle, a major nuclear power plant in Waynesboro, Georgia.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal labor law, a task that includes administering votes to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions in workplaces. Under NLRB rules, the Board should administer a decertification election if employees submit a petition in which a required number of workers in a work unit demand such an election. The Southern Nuclear Operating Company workers’ petition, which Dallas Howard submitted on behalf of his coworkers, met this threshold.
Security Guards Dissatisfied with Union ‘Representation’
Georgia is a Right to Work state, meaning that SPFPA officials cannot enforce union contracts that require workers to pay union dues or fees to keep their jobs. In non-Right to Work states, union bosses can have workers fired solely for refusing to financially support union officials’ activities.
However, in both Right to Work and non-Right to Work states, union officials can wield exclusive “representation” power over every employee in a workplace, even those that don’t want to be represented by the union. A successful decertification election would strip SPFPA union bosses of exclusive bargaining power over these 250 security guards, enabling the workers to negotiate for themselves.
SPFPA Union Officials Continue to Ignore Worker Interests
The Foundation has seen a history of unwanted “representation” by the SPFPA. In 2024, the Foundation provided free legal aid to security guards in Delaware after the SPFPA negotiated a contract behind their backs. In Las Vegas, security guards scored a settlement returning thousands of dollars in illegally-seized union dues after SPFPA officials failed to acknowledge many employees’ attempts to revoke their union memberships and cut off dues deductions.
“SPFPA union officials have repeatedly shown that they care little about workers they claim to ‘represent.’ They only care about maintaining control and power, and we are proud to assist these security guards as they try to restore their individual freedom,” said National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “While Georgia’s Right to Work law guards employees from the forced-dues demands of union officials, no worker should be forced under the control of union chiefs who are self-interested or simply aren’t doing a good job.”
Penske Leasing Workers Free Themselves from Teamsters’ ‘Representation’
Dallas area workers increasingly demanding individual freedom from unions
Dallas, TX (December 22, 2025) – Employees of Penske Truck Leasing’s facility in the Redbird neighborhood of Dallas have freed themselves from the control of Teamsters Local 745 union officials. A majority of workers, with assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, filed a petition requesting decertification of the local union with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on November 14, 2025.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal labor law, a task that includes administering votes to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions in workplaces. By law, the NLRB should administer a decertification election if employees submit a petition in which at least 30% of workers demand such an election (this petition far exceeded that threshold).
The decertification election was scheduled for December 18, but on the day of the election, union officials formally disclaimed interest in continuing as the workers’ “representative,” removing the need for an election. Teamsters bosses presumably knew they would have lost the vote overwhelmingly, and preemptively conceded defeat.
Texas Employees Free from Union’s Twin Coercive Powers
Texas is a Right to Work state, meaning that Teamsters union officials cannot enforce union contracts that require workers to pay union dues or fees to keep their jobs. In non-Right to Work states, union bosses can have workers fired solely for refusing to financially support union officials’ activities.
However, in both Right to Work and non-Right to Work states, union officials can wield exclusive “representation” power over every employee in a workplace, unless the union is decertified. The workers at Penske’s Redbird facility are now free of both of these powers granted to union bosses by the government.
“I support decertifying the Teamsters union because the union isn’t benefiting us the way it should,” commented Penske employee Epifanio Hernandez in early December, shortly after his petition for decertification was filed. “The union rules aren’t beneficial to everyone, and instead of helping us progress, they end up holding many of us back. We deserve the freedom to exercise our own rights, speak for ourselves, and make decisions that reflect what we actually want — not what the union decides for us.”
Teamsters Union Continues Streak of Decertification
In just the last year, Foundation staff attorneys have helped several groups of employees free themselves from unwanted union “representation” by the Teamsters. These include two other cases in Dallas, where both delivery drivers for Restaurant Technologies, Inc. and employees at FCC Environmental Services recently booted Teamsters Local 745 bosses from their workplaces, the same union as in this case.
Foundation staff attorneys have also noticed a marked rise in requests from workers seeking legal assistance in Teamsters decertification cases. Recent NLRB statistics also suggest no union faces more decertification petitions than the Teamsters.
“More and more, American workers across the country are deciding they are better off without Teamsters union bosses who prioritize their own interests over that of the workers they claim to ‘represent,’” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “We’re proud to support the growing number of workers engaged in the transportation and trucking industries who are demanding freedom from coercive unionism.”
Texas Workers at Multiple Workplaces Latest to Successfully Free Themselves from Unwanted Teamsters Union ‘Representation’
Dallas-based workers at two companies petitioned the NLRB for decertification elections to remove Teamsters Local 745 bosses
Dallas, TX (October 3, 2025) – Two successful union decertification efforts have freed workers from the control of International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 745 Union bosses in Dallas, Texas. Both Dallas-based delivery drivers for Restaurant Technologies, Inc. and employees at FCC Environmental Services in Dallas filed decertification petitions at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) 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) and adjudicating disputes between employers, unions, and individual employees. When employees are dissatisfied with union officials and want to remove the union from their workplace, they may file a “decertification” petition with the NLRB.
Union bosses often try to block elections with charges of unfair labor practices, and vigorously campaign to keep workers under their control. In both of these cases, workers ultimately were able to remove the union.
Teamsters Local 745 Can’t Win Decertification Efforts
Local Teamsters officers tried to block a decertification election at FCC Environmental Services last year, filing numerous charges of unfair labor practices, but despite these stalling attempts, the employees were successful in their effort to remove the union. The union ultimately withdrew all of their objections but one, which the NLRB Regional Director dismissed as it had no bearing on the election itself in which a majority opposed union affiliation.
Meanwhile, Local 745 officials couldn’t even put up a fight against delivery drivers for Restaurant Technologies, Inc. After workers filed a decertification petition at the NLRB in April, a decertification election was set for September. Only three days before the election was scheduled to take place, union officials themselves decided not to contest it, and instead disclaimed any further interest in representing the employees, who are now free from their control.
Workers Fleeing Teamsters Union Nationwide
These successful decertification efforts are part of a larger trend across the country. For four years, the Foundation has seen increasing demand for assistance from groups of workers seeking votes to remove unions. This trend has disproportionately affected the Teamsters Union, as NLRB statistics for the past 12 months show that one of every five decertification cases involved the Teamsters union.
“More and more, American workers across the country are deciding they are better off without Teamsters union bosses who prioritize their own interests over that of the workers they claim to ‘represent,’” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “These successful decertification efforts demonstrate what happens when courageous and independent-minded workers assert their rights.”
“Union bosses often do not speak for the workers under their so-called ‘representation,’ and statistics show that over 90% of employees have never had a chance to vote on the union that purports to represent them,” Mix added. “That one in five decertification petitions filed last year involved the Teamsters only drives home the point that workers are increasingly rejecting the union’s coercive agenda.”
Oklahoma City Starbucks Employees Latest to Demand Vote to Remove SBWU Union from Workplace
One year after highly publicized unionization efforts, workers from coffee shops in at least seven different states move to remove SBWU
Oklahoma City, OK (October 10, 2023) – An employee of a Starbucks store in the Nichols Hills neighborhood of Oklahoma City has submitted a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) asking the federal agency to hold a vote among her colleagues to remove the Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) union from the workplace. The employee, Amy Smith, is receiving free legal representation from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
Smith’s petition contains signatures from enough of her coworkers to prompt a union decertification election under the NLRB’s rules. While Oklahoma is a Right to Work state, meaning SBWU bosses cannot compel Smith or her coworkers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of staying employed, SBWU is still empowered by federal law to impose a union contract on all employees of the coffee shop, including those who oppose the union. A successful decertification vote would strip union officials of that power.
Oklahoma City Starbucks Workers Join Burgeoning Worker Movement Against SBWU
Smith and her coworkers’ effort is the latest in a chain of SBWU decertification pushes across the country. Since May, Starbucks employees in Manhattan, NY; Buffalo, NY; Pittsburgh, PA; Bloomington, MN; Salt Lake City, UT; and Greenville, SC, have all sought free Foundation legal aid in pursuing their decertification petitions at the NLRB. Last month, workers at Good Karma Café, an independent coffee shop in Philadelphia, successfully voted out the SBWU union with Foundation help.
The flurry of decertification attempts is occurring roughly one year after SBWU union agents engaged in an aggressive unionization campaign against Starbucks employees. Federal labor law forbids workers from decertifying a union for a year after its installation, meaning many workers are seizing on the earliest possible opportunity to rid themselves of the SBWU union’s “representation.”
Outside of Starbucks, union decertification efforts are becoming much more common. Currently, the NLRB’s data shows two consecutive years of increased decertification efforts, with a nearly 30% increase in decertification petitions last year versus 2021.
However, union officials have many ways to manipulate federal labor law to prevent workers from voting them out, including by filing unrelated or unverified charges against management. Foundation attorneys are assisting workers who have been targeted with such tactics by union officials.
“SBWU union officials are leveraging their legal privileges and the deep pockets of their affiliate, the Service Employees International Union, to try to install union control over as many Starbucks employees as they can as quickly as they can,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “But as Starbucks and other coffee employees across the country continue to try to flee the union’s power, it’s becoming clearer that the SBWU’s campaign is rooted more in generating political buzz and expanding union power than actually standing up for workers’ interests.”
“Such union behavior is precisely why workers’ right to vote to remove unwanted union officials is so vital, and Foundation attorneys will continue to fight alongside Ms. Smith and numerous other coffee employees across the country to defend this right,” Mix added.
Max Finkelstein Workers Across East Coast Force RWDSU Union to Abandon 500+ Employee Unit
Work unit spans several states; union bosses disclaimed interest after Winchester, VA-based worker submitted enough employee signatures for ouster vote
Winchester, VA (October 30, 2023) – Employees of tire wholesaler Max Finkelstein from Virginia to Maine have successfully freed themselves from the control of Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) officials. The worker victory comes after Winchester, VA-based Max Finkelstein truck driver Christopher Dorney submitted a petition on behalf of his coworkers asking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a vote to remove the union. Dorney received free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing private sector labor law and administering elections to install or remove unions. By NLRB rules, Dorney’s petition contained enough signatures from his colleagues across several states to prompt a union decertification vote.
Because the work unit spans multiple states, the RWDSU union exercised varying amounts of power over Dorney and his coworkers. In states that lack Right to Work protections, such as Maine, New York, and Maryland, RWDSU union officials could enforce agreements with Max Finkelstein management that required workers to pay union dues simply to keep their jobs. In Right to Work states like Virginia, in contrast, union dues payment and union membership are strictly voluntary. However, federal law gives union officials in all states the power to impose their “representation” over every worker in a unionized workplace, even those who are not union members or oppose the union’s agenda.
However, late last week RWDSU officials announced they were departing the work unit, possibly to avoid an embarrassing rejection by workers at the ballot box.
“We warehouse workers and drivers at Max Finkelstein may be from many different facilities in many different states, but we are in agreement about one thing: RWDSU union officials don’t represent our interests,” commented Dorney. “It’s our right under federal law to challenge RWDSU’s forced representation power.”
RWDSU Faces Another Setback as Employees Increasingly Oppose Unions
The RWDSU union has recently tried several high-profile unionization campaigns at Amazon warehouses across the country, most notably at the large Bessemer, AL, facility, where employees voted against the union by substantial margins in both 2021 and 2022. Gallup polling shows that 58 percent of nonunion workers are “not interested at all” in joining a union.
Workers currently under union control are also increasingly seeking to obtain votes to free themselves, often with Foundation aid. Currently, the NLRB’s data shows a unionized private sector worker is far more likely to be involved in a decertification effort than their nonunion counterpart is to be involved in a unionization campaign. NLRB statistics also show a 20% increase in decertification petitions last year versus 2021.
Biden Labor Board Seeks to Stifle Workers’ Right to Vote Out Unwanted Unions
Dorney and his coworkers’ effort comes as the Biden NLRB in Washington, D.C., is attempting to make it more difficult for workers to exercise their right to remove unwanted unions, while giving union officials more tools to gain power in a workplace without even a vote. The NLRB is expected to soon issue a final rule overturning the Election Protection Rule, a Foundation-backed 2020 reform which made commonsense improvements to the decertification process.
The Biden NLRB’s proposed rule, among other things, will give union bosses the power to use “blocking charges,” or unproven allegations of employer misconduct, to prevent workers from voting to decertify a union. The rule will also strip workers of the ability to file for a secret ballot election after a union installs itself via “card check,” a coercive process that bypasses the NLRB’s standard election process and instead permits union bosses to collect cards from workers (often through strong-arm tactics) that are later counted as “votes” for the union.
“Mr. Dorney and his coworkers’ effort to kick out the RWDSU union, which spanned several states, at least 15 facilities, and hundreds of workers, is yet another example that workers often want to escape union officials’ one-size-fits-all agenda. It’s also a demonstration that workers will go to great lengths in order to exercise this right,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “But the Biden NLRB, bent on empowering the President’s union boss political allies, plans to grant unions even more power to defeat workers’ will.”
NJ Medieval Times Employees Appeal to National Labor Relations Board in Ongoing Joust with Union Officials
Majority of Lyndhurst Medieval Times cast members signed petition asking Labor Board for election to remove union, but union is stalling vote
Newark, NJ (September 21, 2023) – Artemisia Morley, a cast member at the Lyndhurst, NJ, location of Medieval Times, has submitted a Request for Review to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, D.C., defending her and her coworkers’ right to vote unwanted officials of the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) union out of the workplace. Morley is receiving free legal representation from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys.
Morley’s Request for Review challenges NLRB Region 22’s hurried dismissal of a petition she filed on behalf of her coworkers seeking an election to remove the AGVA union (also known as a “decertification election”). Her petition contained the signatures of a strong majority of her coworkers, but the Regional Director dismissed it “without any hearing, and without citing any evidence that there was a ‘causal nexus’ between the Employees’ disaffection from the Union” and unproven allegations that union officials had levied against the employer.
Because New Jersey lacks Right to Work protections for its private sector workers, AGVA union officials have the power to force Morley and her coworkers to pay union fees as a condition of keeping their jobs. In contrast, in states with Right to Work laws, union bosses can’t enter agreements with employers that force employees to fork over a portion of their paychecks to the union just to get or keep a job.
“Secretive” and “Self-Interested” AGVA Union Officials Tried to Stifle Worker-Requested Vote
The Request for Review notes that AGVA union officials were “secretive, self-interested, and divisive,” and “regularly advocated that the [Medieval Times] employees go on strike, something that had no support among the unit employees.” After waiting out the statutory one-year bar on union elections that follows a union’s certification, Morley filed the petition requesting a union decertification vote.
According to the Request for Review, instead of processing the petition as NLRB rules dictate, NLRB Region 22 issued a complaint against the employer and dismissed Morley’s petition based on unproven “blocking charges” AGVA union officials filed against Medieval Times management. The Request for Review argues that the hasty dismissal violated NLRB election rules, the Administrative Procedure Act, and well-established NLRB precedent requiring a hearing to demonstrate whether union allegations of employer misconduct actually caused employee discontent with the union.
“None of the alleged unfair labor practice allegations…concern the Employees’ collection of the decertification signatures or the Employer’s domination of the Union. Thus…an election should be held and the votes immediately counted,” the Request for Review contends. “Even if the Board determined the allegations warranted consideration under [NLRB rules], its plain terms prohibit dismissing a petition prior to an election.”
Case May Be Used to Push Radical Agenda of Biden-Appointed NLRB General Counsel
In 2020, the NLRB adopted Foundation-backed reforms that made it less difficult for workers to eliminate an unwanted union. One reform pared back union officials’ ability to use “blocking charges” to stop worker-requested decertification elections from happening. The reform instead created a process in which charges surrounding an election are litigated after employees have gotten to exercise their right to vote. Instead of applying this rule, NLRB Region 22 dismissed Morley and her coworkers’ requested election.
The Request for Review notes that NLRB Region 22’s complaint, which incorporated AGVA union officials’ unproven allegations against the employer, does not appear designed to help workers “but rather to twist the law and facts beyond recognition in order to aid the current [NLRB] General Counsel’s ideological crusade to overturn decades of settled Board law about bargaining obligations and employer free speech.” Biden-appointed NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, a former union lawyer, has thrown her weight behind other recent cases to uproot longstanding NLRB precedent, often to give more power to union bosses at the expense of workers’ freedom.
“Aided by regional NLRB officials, AGVA union officials seem determined to send the individual rights of Medieval Times workers back to the Dark Ages,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “NLRB election rules clearly forbid union officials from using completely unproven charges of employer misconduct to derail workers’ ability to have a vote on whether they want continued union representation.”
“Federal labor law is supposed to protect the fundamental right of workers to freely decide who will speak for them in workplace matters, and Foundation staff attorneys will fight for Morley and her coworkers as AGVA bosses try to turn this commonsense principle on its head,” Mix added.
Pittsburgh Starbucks Workers Seek Vote to Remove Unwanted SBWU Union
Pittsburgh employees latest to join growing number of Starbucks employees seeking decertificiation votes to oust union
Pittsburgh, PA (July 13, 2023) – Employees at Pittsburgh’s Penn Center East Starbucks branch just submitted a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), asking the federal agency to hold a vote at their workplace on whether to oust the Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) union. The employee who submitted the petition, Elizabeth Gulliford, is receiving free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
The union decertification petition contains signatures from enough workers at the Penn Center East coffee shop to trigger a vote under the NLRB’s rules. With the petition filed, the NLRB should now promptly schedule a secret ballot election to determine whether a majority of workers want to end union officials’ power to impose a contract, including forced dues, on the workers.
Because Pennsylvania lacks Right to Work protections for its private sector workers, SBWU union officials have the power to enter into agreement with Starbucks forcing Gulliford and her coworkers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of keeping their jobs. In contrast, in Right to Work states, union membership and financial support are strictly voluntary.
“SBWU union bosses have not looked out for the interests of me and my fellow employees,” commented Gulliford. “We simply want to exercise our right to vote out a union that we don’t believe has done a good job, and both SBWU and Starbucks should respect that right and our final decision.”
Starbucks Workers Increasingly Seek to Vote Out SBWU Union Officials
The Pittsburgh Starbucks workers are just the latest group of Starbucks workers seeking to exercise their right to vote out unwanted union officials. Foundation attorneys are currently assisting Starbucks employees in Manhattan, NY, and Buffalo, NY, in obtaining union decertification votes. As with the New York locations, the SBWU union only came to power at the Pittsburgh Starbucks about a year ago – meaning workers began attempts to vote out SBWU as soon as legally allowed. Federal labor law prevents workers from exercising their right to remove an unpopular union for at least one year after one is installed.
A contributing factor to the growing worker dissatisfaction with SBWU union officials may be the controversial practice of “salting,” which according to news reports is a tactic the SBWU union employed to install union power at New York Starbucks locations. “Salting” involves union officials surreptitiously paying union agents to obtain jobs at non-union workplaces to agitate for union control. “Salts” generally hide their union-allied status from both managers and their coworkers, and may quickly depart the workplace once a union has been installed. The New York Post reported that one SBWU union agent was paid nearly $50,000 to “salt” a Buffalo Starbucks location, and concealed her affiliation from both her coworkers and Congress.
Currently, the NLRB’s data shows a unionized private sector worker is far more likely to be involved in a decertification effort as their nonunion counterpart is to be involved in a unionization campaign. NLRB statistics also show a 20% increase in decertification petitions last year versus 2021. However, union officials still have many ways to manipulate federal labor law to prevent workers from voting them out, including by filing unrelated or unverified charges against management.
“As more Starbucks workers seek to kick SBWU from their stores, the agenda of these union officials is becoming clearer and clearer,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “SBWU union officials sought to extend their power over as many Starbucks workers as they could through controversial tactics, all in pursuit of greater dues revenue and scoring political points. Meanwhile, workers’ interests were ignored completely.”
“While we are happy that the Starbucks workers are able to take their first steps in exercising their rights oust an unwanted union, we call on SBWU union officials not to attempt to block or otherwise interfere with the rank-and-file workers’ right to hold this vote,” continued Mix. “Union bosses should not be allowed to keep their grip on power simply by disenfranchising those they claim to ‘represent.’”
