Successful effort comes as Biden-Harris NLRB tightens restrictions on workers voting out unions
San Diego, CA (September 6, 2024) – Jesus Arellano and his coworkers at Reliance Metal Center in National City, CA, have successfully voted out Teamsters Local 683 union officials. The vote, in which 80% of Reliance Metal Center trucking and warehouse employees voted to oust the union, took place on August 19 and received certification from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on September 3. Arellano and his colleagues obtained the vote with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal labor law, which includes administering elections to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Arellano kicked off the process by submitting a “decertification petition” to the NLRB in July, which contained signatures from the vast majority of his colleagues in support of having a decertification election. A decertification petition only requires support from 30% of a work unit to prompt the NLRB to hold a decertification election.
Because California lacks Right to Work protections for its private sector workers, Teamsters officials had the legal power to enforce contracts that required Arellano and his colleagues to pay dues or fees as a condition of getting or keeping a job. In Right to Work states, in contrast, union membership and financial support are strictly voluntary. Now that Arellano and his coworkers have voted out the Teamsters, they are free of both union officials’ power to contract and speak for all employees in the work unit, and the obligation to pay dues or be fired.
“The current leadership from our Local 683 have been failing for the past 8 years to perform their duties in a professional manner,” commented Arellano, who explained that dissatisfaction with union officials combined with his colleagues’ “excellent relationship with management here at Reliance…made our decision clear that we would have a better opportunity and brighter future by voting to decertify the Union.”
Dubious NLRB Policy Prevented Truckers and Warehouse Workers from Ousting Teamsters Sooner
Arellano petitioned for a decertification election as soon as three years under the Teamsters’ latest monopoly bargaining contract in their workplace had elapsed, which was the soonest such a request could be made under NLRB rules.
This is because the “contract bar,” a non-statutory NLRB policy favored by union bosses, generally prevents workers from attempting to decertify a union for up to three years after union officials and company managers finalize a contract. The timely demand for an election and overwhelming vote against the union likely indicate that Arellano and the other Reliance Metal Center employees were eager to eject the union.
Biden-Harris Administration Cracking Down on Worker Attempts to Decertify Unions
The successful decertification at Reliance Metal Center comes as decertification petition filings have gone up over 40 percent since 2020 (according to NLRB data) and workers are joining unions in record low numbers. Despite workers’ desire to get away from unions that don’t serve their interests, the Biden-Harris NLRB recently issued a final rule which will make it much harder for rank-and-file workers to exercise their right to vote out union officials they oppose. One part of the new rule lets union officials prevent decertification votes from going forward by filing unverified “blocking charges” alleging employer interference.
Arellano’s effort also comes as Foundation attorneys are assisting or have recently assisted other California workers in resisting Teamsters union boss power, including in response to threats of violence and illegal termination threats.
“Around the country, workers are questioning union bosses’ priorities, especially as Big Labor officials increasingly seem willing to break the law to stifle opposition, or engage in overt politicking in order to solidify their grip over the rank-and-file,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Teamsters officials are no exception, and recent cases emphasize the fact that workers should have more freedom, not less, to exercise their right to vote out union officials who harm their interests.
“Cases like this show why workers need more freedom to disassociate with union officials they oppose and more opportunities to hold decertification votes to free themselves from unwanted so-called union ‘representation,’” Mix added. “Instead, the Biden-Harris Administration is taking the exact opposite approach, expanding the powers of union bosses to trap workers in dues-paying union ranks even when a majority wants nothing to do with the union.”
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.
