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charges accusing Imperial Dade of misconduct was dismissed by the NLRB for lack of merit, while the second was withdrawn by the union officials earlier this month, likely in an effort to avoid the embarrassment of another NLRB dismissal.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.”
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.
