Busted: What Florida's union busters are up to | June 2024
My first monthly round-up of union busting activity performed by anti-union labor consultants based in Florida.
Florida is surprisingly (or not?) home to a number of some of the most active union busters and union busting firms in the country.
More formally known as “persuaders,” (some don’t like the use of the term “union buster” in reference to their activity), these people are hired by employers to “persuade employees to exercise or not to exercise, or persuade employees as to the manner of exercising, the right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing.”
Under federal law, persuaders are required to file reports with the federal Office of Labor Management Services (OLMS). These forms are known as LM-20s and LM-21s. When filled out correctly, they offer a snapshot of what they do, and how much money they’re getting out of it. Employers are required to file similar, annual reports (LM-10s), detailing how much they’ve spent on union busting or “persuader” activity annually.
Here’s what our Florida-based “persuaders” were up to in June:
Wildine Pierre of Altamonte Springs, who also goes by “Mildred” on assignments (according to one Teamster, I spoke to, anyway), filed a few reports this month that appear to be dreadfully late - about two years too late. They’re similar to reports she’s filed before (less belatedly), so these may serve as corrections. Pierre is affiliated with Bridge Labor Solutions LLC, based in Central Florida, and frequently works through the Labor Relations Institute, one of the most active union busting firms in the country. Here’s what she reported (late).
Pierre was hired by the NY-based Utica Zoological Society in Sept. 2022 to convince zoo workers not to unionize with the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA). She failed, for the record. Her new report, filed in June, is more detailed than the report she filed last year for the same gig. She was paid $200/hour, and was hired for just two days of work.
Pierre was hired by Lowe’s in Oct. 2022 to convince store employees in Mooresville, NC not to unionize with Lowe’s Workers United. She was paid $200/hour “plus usual and customary travel expenses” for the gig, according to the new report, working through the Labor Relations Institute (LRI).
Pierre had a longer job in early 2022 for Mountaire Farms, a Delaware-based company. Through the Labor Relations Institute, Pierre was hired to convince truck drivers, stackers, loaders, and others not to unionize with the Teamsters (the local isn’t specified in the report). She reports similarly being paid $200/hour “plus usual and customary travel expenses” for the job.
Pierre was hired by Woodward, an aircraft engineering company, in Nov. 2022 to do some “pre-petition” work at the employer’s Loves Park, IL location, according to the report filed. “Pre-petition” generally means the job is either preemptive (to prevent workers from considering unionization) or because there’s a hint of organizing activity, but workers haven’t yet filed a petition with the NLRB to unionize or perhaps demanded voluntary recognition.
Wildine Pierre (back in the present day) was more recently hired by Vitamin Cottage Natural Food Markets in April to convince store workers at at its facility in Norman, OK not to unionize with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1000. She notes in her report the job is “ongoing.” Strangely, she also notes that she began this job in March, but didn’t enter into a formal agreement with the employer until April. Hmm. Job includes a pay rate of $292.50/hour, “plus usual and customary travel expenses.”
Sean Lyles, a persuader based somewhere in Central Florida (he’s reported working out of Celebration and Orlando’s College Park neighborhood over the years), was hired by Corewell Health, through the Labor Relations Institute, for “pre-petition campaign consulting” for “various employees” in May. It’s unclear where this occurred, or which union was being targeted. The LRI’s president Phil Wilson, who filed the report, notes that Lyles was “engaged to educate employees” on their organizing rights, with a written agreement guaranteeing a $425/hour pay rate, “plus reasonable travel expenses.” Corewell Health is based in Michigan.
Sean Lyles, one of the most active local “persuaders,” was also one of the many union busters hired to convince Mercedes-Benz auto workers in Alabama not to unionize. Workers at the Vance, Alabama, plant in May ultimately voted 2,045 to 2,642 against forming a union, HuffPost reports, in what was considered a setback in the United Auto Workers’ goal to organize the South. Lyles was one of nine persuaders named in a report filed this month by Byron Clay, president of BJC & Associates, reportedly based in Oklahoma. Lyles filed his own report, disclosing his activity for Mercedes-Benz, in May.
Simon Jara, a California-based persuader, was hired by SBE, a global hospitality company, in April to convince servers and preparation workers in Las Vegas, Nevada not to unionize with UNITE HERE Local 226. Jara was hired for the gig through Road Warrior Productions (i.e. RWP Labor), an anti-union labor relations firm based in Satellite Beach, Florida. The job is “ongoing,” per Jara’s report, and details about pay are not disclosed.
Luisa Perez, an anti-union consultant from Cape Coral, Florida, was hired by Grocery Delivery E-Services USA in May to scope out the employer’s locations in Aurora and Burr Ridge, Illinois and conduct one-on-one meetings with the workers. “No union” is currently present, they say, so this appears to be a preemptive job. Perez was contracted for the job through Logic Labor Relations, a firm led by Peter List, a persuader who allegedly spread Q-anon conspiracy theories online in the early pandemic years, according to In These Times, and who has done union busting work in Florida before.
Luis Alvarez, a persuader based in Hollywood, Florida,contracted through the Orlando-based Labor Pros firm, was hired by Hilton Hotels last October to “evaluate the overall well-being and morale of the workforce, gain insights into their viewpoints, pinpoint potential enhancements, and review how effectively the organization fulfills employee requests to meet and have discussions.” It’s unclear where this persuader activity occurred, because Alvarez doesn’t specify in his report — which he has filed late (under law, you’re supposed to file a report with the government disclosing this activity within 30 days of entering into an agreement with an employer). The report specifically names “security department employees” as the kinds of workers he was targeting.
Luis Alvarez was also contracted by Westinghouse Energy Co. in January to “explain employees' legal rights under the NLRA” to employees who were seeking to unionize with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). While Alvarez doesn’t exactly reveal where this persuader activity took place, my guess (based on the time-frame) is that he was hired to bust this campaign in South Carolina, where workers ultimately voted 246-379 against unionizing. According to the NLRB, the employer — in addition to contracting Alvarez — also had multiple Littler Mendelson lawyers on its side.
That’s it for this month. Do you like this round-up? Have thoughts or feedback? Drop a comment below, and share with friends or fellow troublemakers.