Posts tagged blocking charges
Two Groups of Sofitel DC Lafayette Square Hotel Employees Officially Win Efforts to Free Themselves of Unwanted Unions
March 12, 2026 // Two separate groups of employees of Sofitel Washington DC Lafayette Square have prevailed in their battle to free themselves from the “representation” of Unite Here Local 25 and International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 99 union officials. Their victories were cemented after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) officially certified the results of their votes to remove the unions. Sofitel Lafayette employee Mwandu Chibwe spearheaded the Unite Here “decertification” effort for the more than 60 food service workers, front of house workers, room attendants, and other hospitality workers. The engineers’ and painters’ decertification of IUOE Local 99 was led by Yuri Lishchenko. Both workers received free legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation.
Letter to NLRB General Counsel Crystal Carey: Refocusing Federal Labor Policy on Worker Choice and Due Process
March 11, 2026 // The Coalition to Protect American Workers (CPAW) and the Institute for the American Worker (I4AW) today sent a joint letter to NLRB General Counsel Crystal Carey urging swift action to reverse Biden-era labor policies that erode worker choice, restrict employer free speech, and weaponize procedural tools to block workers from voting on their own representation. The letter urges General Counsel Carey to prioritize three reforms: cementing secret-ballot elections as the foundation of representation decisions; restoring Employer Meetings on Unionization so workers hear both sides before they vote; and ending blocking charges that freeze elections while investigations proceed.
The NLRB will reverse the outrages of the Biden years, but workers need Congress to protect those gains.
March 3, 2026 // Workers have labored under these unjust policies for nearly a century. They deserve better. In the short run, the NLRB can help American workers by reversing the Biden rulings that strengthen unions and restrain businesses at workers’ expense. The board also could end the Biden backdoor card-check scheme, prevent unions from using harassing language, and free employers to talk to workers about unionization. But a future NLRB with members appointed by another president could reverse these policies. Workers ultimately need Congress to pass better labor laws that will last.
Cannabis Workers Send UFCW Union Packing at Holistic Industries Monson Facility
February 25, 2026 // Packaging associates and delivery drivers at cannabis company Holistic Industries’ Monson plant have successfully removed United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union officials from their workplace. The victory comes after a majority of Holistic employees backed a petition asking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to administer a vote to remove the UFCW union from the facility (also known as a union “decertification” vote). Scott Browne, a Holistic packaging associate, submitted the petition with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
Workers in North Carolina and California Ask Federal Labor Board to Nix Policy Letting Union Bosses Block Elections
January 6, 2026 // The workers, which include miners employed by The Quartz Corp. in Spruce Pine, NC, and Fresno, CA-based construction materials workers for CalPortland, both backed petitions in late 2025 asking the NLRB to administer votes to remove (or “decertify”) unions from their workplaces. Despite both petitions containing enough signatures to trigger union decertification elections, regional NLRB officials blocked both votes pursuant to the NLRB’s current blocking charge policy. This Biden-era policy permits union officials to stymie the union decertification process simply by filing unproven or unrelated “unfair labor practice” charges at the NLRB alleging employer misconduct. Quartz Corp. employee Blake Davis and CalPortland worker Darrell Dunlap have both submitted Requests for Review to the NLRB in Washington, DC.
NY Starbucks Barista Asks Federal Labor Board to Restore Employees’ Right to Vote Out SBWU Union Officials
September 14, 2025 // SBWU union bosses prevented worker-requested union removal vote by filing unverified charges, never demonstrated link to worker effort. Starbucks barista Nadia Kuban is asking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, DC, to overturn federal policies that are preventing her colleagues from having a vote to remove unwanted Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) union officials from their workplace. Kuban is receiving free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.
Hudson Valley Farmworker Challenges PERB Official’s Dismissal of Employee Petition Seeking Removal of UFW Union Officials
August 26, 2025 // Despite the fact he submitted a petition containing enough of his colleagues’ signatures to trigger a union decertification vote, Bell’s latest filing reports that the PERB’s Acting Director of Private Employment Practices and Representation refused to process his petition on the basis of four unproven claims of wrongdoing that UFW union officials filed against Porpiglia Farms management. At both state and federal labor boards, union officials often file such allegations (usually called “blocking charges”) to stop workers from exercising their right to vote a union out of power at a workplace –
Lessons from Other Trades in ‘Leaving the Union:’ What Sheet Metal and HVAC Can Learn
July 28, 2025 // The stories of Brian Head and Brandon Davis are extreme, but the underlying issues are common across the trades: high financial stakes, legal complexity, and the threat of union penalties make leaving the union a daunting proposition. For sheet metal and HVAC contractors – or any skilled tradesperson – understanding the process, the potential pitfalls, and the importance of documentation is essential before making any move. And as Semmens pointed out, workers have options for legal support if they feel their rights are being violated – but the process remains anything but simple.
The Roadmap To Modernizing Federal Labor Laws: Matt Kittle, F. Vincent Vernuccio
July 20, 2025 // That's one of the main things that we want to see at I4AW. Is workers having a choice in a voice, having. The ability to say who they want to be represented by, how they want their money spent, and how they want to work. And I know we talked about it briefly with the ERA, but the ability for an independent contractor to work for themselves, not be considered an employee, small business owner, to own a franchise, all those things are core to what the flexibility and the entrepreneurship of the modern worker, and those are the concepts that are embraced, you know, not just on the union end of the Employee Rights Act, but on the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit and pro worker end of the ERA.
Chicago-Area Chemical Plant Worker Asks National Labor Board to End Policy Letting Union Bosses Trap Workers in Unions
May 9, 2025 // Employees submitted valid petition requesting vote to remove Teamsters union, but union bosses manipulated unproven charges against employer to block vote