Decatur EnviroServe industrial cleaning workers are finally free from unwanted union “representation”

Decatur, IL (June 20, 2023) – Jerry Guzzie and his coworkers at the industrial cleaning company EnviroServe in Decatur, Illinois have succeeded in their effort to free themselves from unwanted Laborers Union officials’ so-called “representation.”

On May 30, Guzzie filed a decertification petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) seeking a vote to remove Southern and Central Illinois Laborers’ Local 159, an affiliate of Laborers’ International, AFL-CIO.

The decertification petition was filed with the NLRB Region 25 office with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and asked for a vote to be held on June 20. However, before the decertification election could take place, union officials disclaimed interest in the bargaining unit to avoid facing removal by the workers. Guzzie filed the decertification petition for all service and maintenance employees at the facility.

Under federal law, when the required number of workers in a bargaining unit sign a petition seeking the removal of union officials’ monopoly bargaining powers, an NLRB-conducted secret ballot vote whether to remove the union is triggered. If a majority of workers cast ballots against the union, the union is stripped of its government-granted monopoly “representation” powers.

In this case, union officials apparently knew they lacked the support to stay in power, so rather than contest the vote they just conceded defeat and walked away.

“We’re glad to finally be free of the union. They saw the writing on the wall and knew how unwelcome they were at EnviroServe,” Guzzie commented. “I couldn’t have done this without the National Right to Work Foundation supporting me and my coworkers.”

“Union officials knew they were unwanted in the workplace, so rather than face workers in an election, they disclaimed interest and ran,” said National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Workers everywhere should know they can turn to the National Right to Work Foundation for free legal aid to help enforce their rights and remove unwanted union officials from their workplace.”

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.