Teamsters bosses disclaim interest in KWK Trucking rather than face a vote after nearly 80 percent of workers signed a decertification petition

Los Angeles, CA (March 9, 2021) – With free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, employees of KWK Trucking, Inc. in Los Angeles, California have freed themselves from unwanted “representation” by officials of Teamsters union Local 986.

Petitioner Eliseo Haro submitted a decertification petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with free legal assistance from Foundation staff attorneys. The petition, signed by nearly 80 percent of the members in the 119-employee bargaining unit, called for an NLRB supervised decertification election, in which KWK employees could vote out the unpopular union officials.

Late last month, rather than face an overwhelming defeat in the decertification election, Teamsters bosses chose to walk away from the unit. The union disclaimed interest in the unit, and NLRB region 21 revoked Local 986’s certification as the worker’s monopoly bargaining agent.

Union officials frequently attempt to delay or block decertification votes by filing “blocking charges,” unfair labor practice charges that can be used to hold up an election, even when they have nothing to do with the employees’ dissatisfaction with the union.

Union officials’ ability to use this tactic to block or delay votes has been limited by recent NLRB rulemaking, finalized in 2020. Under the NLRB’s new policy, which draws on comments filed by the National Right to Work Foundation, union charges cannot indefinitely stall employee votes, and in most instances votes occur without delay.

Additionally, as the Foundation advocated in its comments, the NLRB modified its original proposed new rule so that after employees vote, the ballots are tallied and the vote announced in most cases instead of being impounded for months or even years while “blocking charges” are resolved.

“Union bosses can stick around for years in workplaces where they face overwhelming opposition from the rank-and-file due to the various legal barriers workers face in exercising their right to hold a decertification vote,” said National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation President Mark Mix. “Thanks to Foundation-backed reforms to the NLRB’s blocking charge policy, union officials’ ability to trap workers in union ranks through legal trickery despite overwhelming opposition has been significantly curtailed.”

“While we’re pleased that the employees of KWK Trucking were able to free themselves from Teamsters’ coercive ranks, no worker should have to face a complicated legal process just to escape unwanted union boss ‘representation,’” added Mix.

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.