The following article is from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation’s bi-monthly Foundation Action Newsletter, March/April 2026 edition. To view other editions of Foundation Action or to sign up for a free subscription, click here.
Despite union attempt to block election, workers win freedom with Foundation aid
Noah Watry and his fellow employees grew tired of Teamsters bosses’ self-serving agenda — which was especially inappropriate within the solemn setting of Krause Funeral Home.
MILWAUKEE, WI – Employees at three Milwaukee-area Krause Funeral Home & Cremation Services locations have freed themselves from the unwanted “representation” of Teamsters Local 344 union officials.
The workers’ triumph came after Krause management withdrew recognition of the Teamsters based on a petition showing that the union had lost majority support among workers. Krause employee Noah Watry submitted this petition and later defended it with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
Teamsters Bosses’ Dismal and Disrespectful Actions Angered Workers
While Teamsters union bosses initially tried to block the ouster, claiming Krause committed an unfair labor practice by withdrawing recognition, union officials quickly backed down after Foundation staff attorneys filed a Motion to Intervene with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Watry’s behalf.
Watry had submitted a “decertification petition” to the NLRB, in which he and his coworkers requested that the agency hold a vote to remove the Teamsters union. That petition contained more than enough signatures from employees in his work unit to trigger an election under NLRB rules.
Krause workers expressed that Teamsters union officials had communicated poorly and dragged their feet on negotiating contracts, but these were far from the only reasons they wanted the union gone. Some also found it very disrespectful that Teamsters officials orchestrated strikes along the sidewalk when Krause held funerals — including funeral proceedings for a child and a WWII veteran.
Watry shared a copy of his employee petition with Krause officials, who, following the NLRB’s Levitz Furniture Co. precedent, ended recognition of the Teamsters after seeing that the petition signers also requested that Krause withdraw recognition.
Teamsters Attempt to Delay the Inevitable
Even though Krause had followed NLRB case law in withdrawing, Teamsters union agents sought to block the employee petition and the employer’s withdrawal by filing unfair labor practice charges against Krause with the NLRB, alleging that the company had withdrawn recognition illicitly. This prompted an NLRB Regional Office to begin prosecuting the funeral home company, but Watry defended the withdrawal that he and his coworkers had requested by filing a Motion to Intervene.
Eventually, NLRB officials set the case for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. Almost immediately, Teamsters lawyers withdrew all charges against Krause, likely knowing that a hearing would reveal the meritless nature of union officials’ unfair labor practice charges. This effectively ended the Teamsters’ presence at Krause’s facilities.
“This case illustrates clearly the lengths that union officials will go to in order to hold on to power in a workplace where workers would prefer to be independent,” commented National Right to Work Foundation Vice President Patrick Semmens. “The Foundation is pleased to have been able to aid Mr. Watry and his colleagues in navigating the convoluted federal labor bureaucracy that places hardworking Americans like them at a disadvantage whenever they seek to exercise their rights.”
Right to Work Must Be Expanded and Defended
“While this case worked out in Mr. Watry’s favor, it’s important to remember that he and his coworkers have the benefit of Right to Work and could not be forced to subsidize the same Teamsters union that was trying to trap them,” Semmens added. “That is why every American deserves Right to Work protections, and even in states where Right to Work exists, it must be defended.”
