Hundreds of Sunoco Logistics Drivers Across TX, OK, LA, and NM Free Themselves From Steelworkers Union
Majority of drivers across large work unit backed petition to send USW union bosses packing
Washington, DC (May 20, 2025) – Crude oil drivers for Sunoco Logistics Partners (also known as Energy Transfer) have successfully forced unpopular United Steelworkers (USW) union bosses out of their work unit. The victory for workers comes after Jay Fifer, a driver for the oil transportation company, gathered signatures from the majority of his coworkers on a petition demanding that Sunoco Logistics officials end their recognition of the USW union as the majority “representative” of the drivers.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) acknowledged Sunoco Logistics’ withdrawal of recognition from the USW union on May 12. As the result of Fifer and his coworkers’ effort, over 420 drivers from around 30 Sunoco Logistics facilities across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and New Mexico are free of the union’s control.
“I’m glad that my coworkers and I were able to band together to force this Steelworkers union out,” commented Fifer. “The union was not a positive force in our workplace, and we are better off without it. I am lucky to live in the Right to Work state of Texas where I could at least choose to stop sending my money to this union while it was still in power, but unfortunately the same can’t be said for all of my fellow drivers.”
The NLRB is the agency charged with enforcing federal labor law in the private sector, which includes administering votes to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Thanks to the 2019 Foundation-won Johnson Controls NLRB decision, workers who want to remove unwanted union officials can also do so by submitting a majority-backed petition asking their employer to stop recognizing the union. If there is a dispute about the petition, the NLRB can administer a secret-ballot vote to test the employees’ opposition to the union.
Fifer lives in Texas, a Right to Work state barring union bosses from enforcing contracts that require employees to pay dues or fees to union officials as a condition of keeping their jobs. Oklahoma and Louisiana are also Right to Work states, but Sunoco Logistics drivers in New Mexico do not have the benefit of Right to Work protections and can be forced to sacrifice part of their paychecks to union bosses or be fired. However, in both Right to Work and non-Right to Work states, federal law lets union officials impose their monopoly “representation” on all workers in a work unit, regardless of whether they support the union or not.
Rank-and-File Oil Truck Drivers Gathered Hundreds of Signatures in Favor of Removing USW
Fifer’s effort to remove the USW union kicked off when he began collecting signatures on a petition asking the NLRB to administer a union removal (or “decertification”) vote at his workplace. Fifer easily met the 30% signature threshold needed to trigger such an election under NLRB rules. However, soon after the NLRB scheduled a decertification vote to take place over a range of dates in May, Fifer’s petition gained even more traction and soon garnered support from a majority of the work unit.
Fifer opted to submit his petition to his employer, who withdrew recognition from the USW union in accordance with the Johnson Controls decision. USW union officials are now stripped of their monopoly bargaining power and can no longer enforce bargaining obligations against Sunoco Logistics.
Foundation staff attorneys have helped several groups of workers exercise their right to remove unwanted USW unions within the last few years, including healthcare workers in Minnesota, metal workers in Pennsylvania, chemical employees in Louisiana, building products employees in New Jersey, and more. Across the country, workers’ desire to exercise their right to vote out unpopular union bosses is increasing: Worker-filed petitions seeking union decertification votes are up more than 50% from 2020, according to NLRB data.
“Rank-and-file workers across the country like Mr. Fifer and his fellow drivers don’t enjoy the same structural and legal advantages that union officials do under American labor law. That makes it all the more impressive that he and his colleagues were able to gather signatures across a huge work unit and break free of the Steelworkers union’s control,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “American workers’ increasing interest in escaping union ‘representation’ should serve as a reminder to the Trump Administration that it should pursue labor policy that enhances workers’ freedom to escape unwanted union affiliation.”
Energy Transfer Drivers Across Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana Demand Vote to Remove Steelworkers Union From Power
Hundreds of employees of oil and gas transportation company could be free from union’s grip if vote goes forward
Washington, DC (April 21, 2025) – Drivers for Energy Transfer, an oil and gas transportation company with nearly 30 facilities across Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, are petitioning a federal labor board for a vote to end United Steelworkers (USW) union officials’ bargaining control over their work unit.
Driver Jay Fifer, who is based at Energy Transfer’s workplace in Hearne, TX (near College Station, TX), submitted the petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) this week with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. If Fifer and his coworkers’ requested vote is successful, over 420 Energy Transfer drivers will be free of USW union officials’ control.
The NLRB is the agency charged with enforcing federal labor law in the private sector, which includes administering votes to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Fifer’s petition contains signatures from his coworkers well in excess of the percentage required by the NLRB to trigger a union decertification vote within his work unit. The NLRB will now review Fifer’s petition.
Right to Work laws in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana prohibit USW union officials from enforcing contracts that require Energy Transfer drivers to pay union dues or fees just to get or keep a job. In contrast, in non-Right to Work states, union officials can force workers to pay dues or fees on pain of termination. However, in both Right to Work and non-Right to Work jurisdictions, USW union officials can still impose monopoly bargaining contracts over every employee in a work unit, whether or not they voted for or support the union. As Fifer’s case demonstrates, union-controlled work units can often span hundreds of workers in different cities or even across state lines.
“Support among us drivers for this Steelworkers union is very low where I work. My colleagues at other locations have said similar things as well. It’s not fair for Steelworkers officials to dictate major things about our work lives when very few drivers at all are union members,” commented Fifer. “I filed this petition because I firmly believe that the overwhelming majority of my coworkers don’t think this union represents us, and we hope the NLRB lets us exercise that right without any delays.”
Workers Across Country Increasingly Seeking Exit from Union Control
Foundation staff attorneys have helped several groups of workers oust unwanted USW unions within the last few years, including healthcare workers in Minnesota, metal workers in Pennsylvania, chemical employees in Louisiana, building products employees in New Jersey, and more. Across the country, workers’ desire to exercise their right to vote out unpopular union bosses is increasing: Worker-filed petitions seeking union decertification votes are up more than 50% from 2020, according to NLRB data.
“American workers should not have to accept the ‘representation’ of a union that lacks worker support in the workplace, and more and more workers are standing up to free themselves,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “That’s why it’s important that they be able to freely exercise their right to vote to remove a union, a right that unfortunately was consistently under attack under the previous Administration’s National Labor Relations Board.
“As President Trump seeks new appointees for the NLRB, he should remember that workers all over the country like Mr. Fifer and his colleagues believe they are better off free from union influence, and those workers deserve to have their voices and will respected,” Mix added.
