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.”
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.”
Sioux City Hospital Nurses Win Vote to Eject UFCW Union Bosses
Labor Board certifies election result; 191 registered nurses officially free of unwanted union at UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s – Downtown location
Sioux City, IA (July 1, 2026) – Registered nurses at UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s – Downtown hospital have successfully voted to remove United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 222IN union officials from their workplace. The nurses’ “decertification” effort was spearheaded by nurse practitioner Timaree Henneman, who filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on May 26, seeking a decertification election to end the UFCW’s unwanted monopoly control over the hospital’s registered nurses. The nurses’ petition was filed with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
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. Henneman’s petition was signed by enough of her coworkers to trigger the NLRB to administer a secret-ballot election among all 191 nurses, including full-time, regular part-time, and PRN registered nurses employed at the UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s – Downtown facility.
The election, which took place on June 18, saw the nurses vote 80-71 to end the presence of UFCW Local 222IN at their hospital. The NLRB certified the election result on June 30, formally revoking the UFCW’s status as the nurses’ monopoly “representative.”
Iowa 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.
“We congratulate this group of nurses on exercising their legal right to remove unwanted UFCW union bosses from their hospital,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Ultimately, this case is a reminder of the twin powers that have been granted to union officials to the detriment of the rights of individual workers: forced union dues and union boss monopoly bargaining powers.
“While Iowa’s popular Right to Work law protects these nurses and others from being forced to fund a union they oppose, under federal law employees—whether or not they enjoy Right to Work protections—can be forced under the so-called ‘representation’ of union officials they oppose,” added Mix. “We look forward to the day when every individual employee has the freedom to decide for themselves whether or not to associate with a union.”
Wyoming Wells Fargo Bank Branch Employees Latest Group to Win Freedom from Unwanted CWA Union Bosses
Once CWA union officials’ attempt to block election failed, union once again conceded defeat rather than contest decertification election
Casper, WY (June 11, 2026) – Employees at a Wells Fargo branch in Casper have successfully regained their independence from Communications Workers of America (CWA) union bosses. The effort to remove the union was initiated when bank employees filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking a “decertification” election to remove the CWA as the bargaining representative at their Wells Fargo branch. The 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. The decertification petition was signed by the vast majority of employees at the Wells Fargo branch, easily surpassing the required threshold of signatures needed for the NLRB to schedule a decertification vote.
Despite the overwhelming support for decertifying, CWA officials initially attempted to disenfranchise the employees using the NLRB’s “blocking charge” policy, which allows unions to delay, or even block entirely, worker-demanded decertification votes with unproven allegations against an employer. However, when Foundation staff attorneys pushed back against the blocking charges, the CWA dropped them, likely because the NLRB would have otherwise dismissed them as meritless.
At that point, with a decertification vote unavoidable, CWA union bosses simply “disclaimed” representation at the branch rather than face an overwhelming election defeat. Now the NLRB has accepted the disclaimer and formally revoked the union’s certification as the workers “exclusive representative.”
This year alone, Foundation staff attorneys have assisted successful Wells Fargo employee efforts to remove unwanted CWA union bosses in Spring Hill and Bradenton, Florida, Seaside Park, New Jersey, and Wilmington, Delaware. Another group of workers in Apex, North Carolina, also successfully removed the union in March. This is now the fifth Foundation-assisted case of Wells Fargo employees removing unwanted CWA union bosses from their branch.
“The Foundation is proud to assist Wells Fargo employees in Casper and other branches across the country seeking to exercise their right to free themselves from unwanted unions,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “As this string of wins by Wells Fargo employees seeking to remove the CWA demonstrates, these employees that have seen the union up close continue to come to the conclusion that they are better off without the CWA at their workplace.”
Despite Five Months of Union Delay Tactics, Ohio Dispensary Employees Win Effort to Kick Teamsters Local 413 Union Bosses Out
After Teamsters lawyers were forced to drop meritless “blocking charges,” Labor Board formally revokes Teamsters monopoly bargaining status
Athens, OH (May 1, 2026) – Employees of Herbal Wellness Center have officially freed themselves from unwanted Teamsters Local 413 union bosses after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Regional Director of Region 9 revoked the Teamsters’ certification as the workers’ exclusive monopoly “representative.” The workers’ effort was spearheaded by dispensary employee Todd Cooper, who filed a petition for his coworkers with the NLRB last November seeking a “decertification” election to end the presence of Local 413 union officials at their workplace.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the National Labor Relations Act, a task that includes administering elections to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. The petition was filed with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
Cooper’s petition was backed by the majority of his coworkers, who sought an NLRB-administered secret-ballot election for the 18-member work unit, including all full- and part-time Budtenders, Team Leads, and Receptionists employed at Herbal Wellness Center’s Athens location.
However, before the NLRB could schedule an election, Teamsters union officials filed a series of “blocking charges” in November and December 2025 to prevent the election from taking place. Blocking charges are often meritless allegations of employer misbehaver made by union bosses in order to delay or prevent workers from removing unwanted unions.
Ultimately though, with the pending NLRB investigation of the Teamsters union bosses’ blocking charges likely to find no merit to the Teamsters’ claims, the Teamsters moved to drop the charges rather than have them formally dismissed by the NLRB. With nothing left to block the vote, union officials eventually declined to even contest the election, resulting in the NLRB certifying the union’s ouster on April 22.
Ohio is one of the 24 states that lack Right to Work protections, meaning that Teamsters union bosses can force employees to pay dues or fees as a condition of getting and keeping a job. By contrast, in neighboring Right to Work states like West Virginia and Indiana, union membership and union financial support are strictly voluntary.
“Herbal Wellness Center employees have the protected right, as do all workers in unionized workplaces, to eject union boss ‘representation’ they oppose,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “It is reprehensible that Teamsters officials continue to be allowed to use ‘blocking charges’ to disenfranchise the very workers they claim to ‘represent’ for months or sometimes even years.”
Bradenton Wells Fargo Employees Latest to Force Out CWA Union
Wells Fargo workers across country are seeking to escape from the CWA union, at least four branches already free
Bradenton, FL (May 1, 2026) – Following their request to a federal labor board for a vote to remove the union, employees at the Beachway Plaza Wells Fargo branch have successfully forced Communications Workers of America (CWA) union bosses out of their workplace. Wells Fargo employee Amanda Seda kicked off the union removal effort by submitting a decertification petition backed by her colleagues to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on April 20. Seda filed the petition with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing private sector labor law, a task that includes administering elections to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Seda’s petition received more than the required threshold of her coworkers’ signatures to trigger the process for the NLRB to schedule a decertification vote. The petition requested that the NLRB hold the vote on May 14 among “[f]ull-time & regular part-time personal bankers, branch operations coordinators, [and] tellers.”
Only about a week after Seda filed her petition, CWA union officials announced they were “disclaiming interest” in continuing their control over the bank branch. In other words, CWA agents announced they were leaving the Wells Fargo location, likely to avoid an embarrassing lopsided loss at the ballot box.
Florida is a Right to Work state, meaning state law forbids union bosses from enforcing contracts that require workers to pay money to the union to keep their jobs. In contrast, in states that lack Right to Work protections, union bosses can get workers fired for refusing to pay union dues or fees. However, in both Right to Work and non-Right to Work states, exclusive “representation” privileges in federal labor law grant union officials the power to dictate terms of employment for every employee in a workplace, regardless of whether they voted for or support the union.
Wells Fargo Workers Across America Seeking Escape From CWA Union Ranks
Roughly four years after CWA union officials began a high-profile campaign to unionize Wells Fargo under the moniker “Wells Fargo Workers United,” employee opposition to the union is rising. Foundation staff attorneys are assisting multiple groups of workers across the country with efforts to oust CWA union officials, and some of these efforts have already seen success: After petitioning for union decertification elections, Foundation-backed Wells Fargo employees in Spring Hill, Florida; Seaside Park, New Jersey; and now Bradenton, Florida, are free of the CWA union’s exclusive “representation.” Wells Fargo workers in Apex, North Carolina, also voted out CWA union officials in March.
In addition to the case at Seda’s workplace, the Foundation’s cases for Wells Fargo workers at the Spring Hill and Seaside Park bank branches involved union bosses submitting “disclaimers of interest” shortly after workers began seeking a vote to scrap the union. However, CWA union officials have filed “blocking charges” in an attempt to prevent Foundation-supported Wells Fargo workers in Casper, Wyoming, from having their requested decertification vote. Blocking charges are unproven allegations of employer misconduct that union officials frequently file to stop decertification elections from moving forward. NLRB bureaucrats will often delay decertification elections for months or even years on the basis of union blocking charges, without ever ordering a hearing into the charges’ veracity or connection to worker discontent with the union.
“Wells Fargo employees nationwide are beginning to question how well CWA union officials are actually serving their interests, and many are choosing to exercise their right to vote out unions they oppose,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “While CWA bosses have quietly left some branches rather than face a vote of the employees they claim to ‘represent,’ at other branches they’re using legal maneuvering to try to disenfranchise workers by blocking elections from occurring.
“While Wells Fargo workers should not hesitate to reach out to Foundation attorneys for assistance in seeking to decertify unwanted CWA unions, the Trump NLRB should also seek to reform federal regulations that let union bosses trap workers in union ranks against their will,” Mix added.
Reed & Perrine Lawn Products Workers Escape Union After Fighting Frivolous Union Delay Tactics
After workers requested union removal vote in 2024, union bosses blocked the vote for a year and a half using specious allegations
Manalapan Township, NJ (April 22, 2026) – After a year-and-a-half delay caused by frivolous union legal tactics, employees at Reed & Perrine Lawn Products (a division of The Andersons, Nasdaq: ANDE) have finally succeeded in removing United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 152 union officials from power at their workplace. Reed & Perrine employee Christine Bradach kicked off the effort among her coworkers to remove the UFCW union in November 2024 when she filed a decertification petition at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Bradach received free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys in filing her petition.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing private sector labor law, a task that includes administering elections to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Bradach’s petition contained employee signatures well in excess of the threshold required to prompt the NLRB to hold a decertification election. Bradach’s work unit includes production department and shipping department employees at Reed & Perrine Lawn Products.
Almost immediately after Bradach had filed her petition, UFCW union bosses filed so-called “blocking charges” to stop the vote from happening. Blocking charges are unproven allegations of employer misconduct that union officials file in order to delay or derail an employee-requested union decertification election. Blocking charges often have little or nothing to do with employees’ reasons for wanting to vote out a union, yet NLRB officials will frequently delay decertification elections for months or years without even holding a hearing into the charges’ veracity or connection to employee dissatisfaction.
In Bradach’s case, NLRB Region 22 blocked Bradach and her coworkers’ requested vote based on UFCW officials’ blocking charges. Almost a year and a half later, UFCW union officials withdrew the blocking charges – presumably because the NLRB communicated that it would finally dismiss them for having no merit. Immediately after NLRB Region 22 announced it would finally take up Bradach’s petition, UFCW Local 152 officials announced they were “disclaiming interest” in continuing their control over the facility – in other words, leaving the facility immediately to avoid an employee vote that would have likely ended in a lopsided loss for the union.
UFCW Union Officials Continued to Take Dues While Blocking Removal Vote
New Jersey lacks Right to Work protections for its private sector employees. This means UFCW union officials had the power to enforce contracts that required Reed & Perrine employees to pay money to the union or be fired. In contrast, in states that have Right to Work laws, union membership and all union financial support are strictly voluntary.
“My colleagues and I had had it with the UFCW, but they stuck around in the workplace after we made it clear we no longer wanted the union,” commented Bradach. “It’s a farce for them to claim they ‘represented’ us, especially when they were actively trying to block us from just having a vote on whether we wanted to continue with the union. My colleagues and I are glad we’re finally free.”
Trump NLRB Urged to Eliminate ‘Blocking Charge’ Policy
The Foundation has pressed the NLRB for years to end its non-statutory blocking charge policy. The Foundation has instead advocated for a return to the Election Protection Rule, which prevented many aspects of blocking charge-related gamesmanship before the Biden NLRB overturned it in 2022. Under the Election Protection Rule, allegations of misconduct related to a union decertification election could not block employees from exercising their right to vote. In most cases, the Rule permitted the immediate release of the vote tally as opposed to ordering ballots to be impounded during litigation over blocking charges.
“As Ms. Bradach’s case shows all too well, the ‘blocking charge’ policy just incentivizes union officials to act cynically and opportunistically while the rights of the workers they claim to ‘represent’ suffer,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “An approach that is more protective of workers’ rights is found in the Election Protection Rule, which mandates that allegations over interference be dealt with after employees have had a chance to exercise their right to vote.
“The Trump NLRB should work quickly to protect workers’ freedom of choice from restrictive and unreasonable doctrines like the ‘blocking charge’ policy, which serve only to empower union special interests to the detriment of the rights of rank-and-file workers,” added Mix.
Hundreds of Nurses at GWU Hospital Demand Vote to Remove DCNA Union From Power
Federal labor board could hold vote to remove union as soon as next month among unit of nearly 700 healthcare professionals
Washington, DC (April 17, 2026) – Hundreds of registered nurses and healthcare professionals at The George Washington University Hospital are backing a petition to remove District of Columbia Nurses Association (DCNA) union officials from power at the facility. GWU Hospital nurse Elizabeth Abraha, who is leading the effort among her colleagues, submitted a union decertification petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on April 15 with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing private sector labor law, a task that includes administering elections to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Abraha’s petition was supported by hundreds of her coworkers’ signatures – well over the required threshold to prompt the NLRB to schedule a decertification vote. Abraha’s petition requests the vote take place among her work unit, which includes “[a]ll full-time, regular part-time, and PRN registered nurses” and specialists from several other departments.
The District of Columbia lacks Right to Work protections for its employees, meaning DCNA union officials can enter contracts that force Abraha and her coworkers to pay money to the union as a condition of keeping their jobs. In contrast, in Right to Work states like neighboring Virginia, union membership and all union financial support are strictly voluntary.
The NLRB will now investigate Abraha’s petition. If a majority of those participating in the decertification election vote against the union, DCNA bosses will lose their exclusive bargaining power over a unit of nearly 700 nurses and other healthcare professionals at GWU Hospital. This power allows DCNA officials to dictate work conditions for every worker in the bargaining unit, regardless of whether they voted for or support the union.
“Two years ago, DCNA union officials made all kinds of promises to my coworkers and me. They have not only failed to deliver on them, but have driven a wedge between a lot of my coworkers,” commented Abraha. “We want to exercise our right to vote this union out, and both DCNA union officials and GWU Hospital management should respect our free choice.”
National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys have a track record of successfully helping nurses and other hospital employees remove union hierarchies they oppose. Since 2022, several groups of Foundation-backed hospital employees from Minnesota have escaped union control, including nurses and support staff at Mayo Clinic’s Mankato, MN branch, nurses at Mayo Clinic’s St. James, MN branch, and nurses at Mayo Clinic’s Fairmont, MN location. The Foundation has also issued legal notices to nurses subject to high-profile union strike demands, including a recent Teamsters strike threat covering thousands of Corewell nurses in Michigan and New York City-area nurses subjected to a New York State Nurses Association strike order.
This year, Foundation attorneys also helped a unit of over 300 employees at Windham Community Memorial Hospital in Connecticut vote to remove American Federation of Teachers (AFT) union officials.
“Healthcare professionals at GWU Hospital may feel, as do many healthcare workers who are subject to union control, that union officials haven’t stood up for their interests and have only served as a distraction from providing quality patient care,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Foundation attorneys have assisted many healthcare employees in similar situations. They will fight to ensure that Ms. Abraha and hundreds of her colleagues who provide indispensable care to the DC community everyday have a free and fair opportunity to decide whether DCNA union officials deserve to remain in power at GWU Hospital.”
