Busted: What Florida's union busters have been up to | April 2025 (Part 2)
A round-up of reported activity by Florida's anti-union labor consultants, and employers in Florida that hire them.
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While Florida isn’t exactly a hotbed for organizing activity, the state (surprisingly or not) happens to be home to some of the most active anti-union labor consultants in the country. Such consultants, described by critics as “union busters,” are hired by employers to convince workers not to form or join a union. Some of these consultants are attorneys, others are not.
These employer-side consultants, also known as “persuaders,” are hired to conduct union “risk” assessments (assessing how vulnerable the employer is to union organizing activity), train management on how to talk down unions (without flagrantly violating federal law), and/or directly 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.”
While this sounds pretty tame on its face, persuaders have been known to use intimidation tactics (and sometimes blatantly unlawful strategies) to persuade workers against unionization — for example, unlawfully surveilling workers or informing them that their pay will go down or they’ll lose job benefits if they unionize. A persuader contracted by Tate’s Bakery up in New York allegedly threatened their undocumented workers with deportation if they voted in favor of unionization.
Some deploy other, disturbing talking points. A Barnes & Noble worker up in New Jersey for instance told me that, during their own union organizing campaign in 2023, consultants contracted through the Orlando-based Labor Pros firm allegedly tried to talk down the union by comparing union membership to “chattel slavery” during a meeting with a Black coworker. Workers, nonetheless, voted unanimously to join the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) that spring.
Ground rules: Under federal law, persuaders are required to file reports with the federal Office of Labor Management Services when they enter into agreements with employers. These forms are known as LM-20s and LM-21s. When filled out correctly, they offer a snapshot of what persuaders are hired to do, and how much money they’re getting out of it. Employers are similarly required to file similar reports (LM-10s) annually, detailing how much they’ve spent on union busting or “persuader” activity.
LM-20’s (detailing a job) must be filed within 30 days of entering into an agreement with an employer, while LM-21’s (detailing payment) must be filed within 90 days after the end of the filer’s fiscal year.
The idea behind these reporting requirements is to provide workers involved in union organizing drives with information of any third-party individuals their employer has brought in to “educate” them (as they often describe it), and how much their employer is paying them to do so.
Often, the going rate for persuaders is hundreds of dollars per hour, as you’ll read below.
Here is what was reported in the second half of April:
ADUSA Transportation paid the Orlando-based Labor Pros, a “union avoidance” firm, at least $909,107 last year to counter an organizing drive of truck drivers who had filed a petition to unionize with the Teamsters Local 391 in Dunn, NC. According to a LM-20 report filed by Nekeya Nunn, CEO of the Labor Pros, Nunn subcontracted three consultants for the job: Mildred Black of Birmingham, AL; Rachel Chin of Oviedo, FL; and Joseph Radic of Colts Neck, NJ. Nunn billed ADUSA a rate of $4,000 per day per consultant, according to her report, and the job reportedly lasted about a month, from Sept. 17, 2024 to Oct. 9,2024 — the day ahead of the union election. According to the National Labor Relations Board, the truck drivers ultimately voted 83 to 107 against unionization with the Teamsters.
Ongoing or concluded? Concluded…sort of. The union has filed objections to the election results since the votes were tallied.
Who prevailed? Unclear at this point.
Payment: ADUSA paid the Labor Pros nearly $1 million for their persuader services last year, or a rate of $4,000/day per consultant (one consultant reported an hourly rate of $75)
Going deeper: It appears Nunn may not have been completely transparent about her agreement with ADUSA — the company, for instance, reports paying the Labor Pros in April of last year, well before the union drive in North Carolina became public. It’s also before Nunn reported entering into an agreement with ADUSA. According to a report filed by Mildred Black, one of the consultants Nunn reportedly brought on for the ADUSA gig, her job was to target an organizing drive involving the Teamsters Local 340 in South Portland, ME, where ADUSA truck drivers just happened to also be organizing a union with Local 340 last April. This job in Maine, however, hasn’t been reported by Nunn. Even Black, in her own report, still refers to the Dunn, NC campaign only and the same time-frame of Sept. 17 to Oct. 9 for the job’s duration.
Hilton Hotels, a long-time utilizer of “union avoidance” firms, paid the Orlando-based Labor Pros at least $100,452 last year to convince workers at Hilton Signia (unclear which location) and Embassy Suites by Hilton in Portland, OR that they don’t need to form a union. No specific union was being targeted, from what’s reported. According to a report filed by Labor Pros CEO Nekeya Nunn, her firm dispatched two labor consultants — Yashira Rodriguez and Taylor Lee — to Hilton’s Embassy Suites in Anaheim, CA for a week-long job, lasting from Sept. 21 through Sept. 27, 2024.
Ongoing or concluded? N/A
Who prevailed? N/A
Payment: Rodriguez reported billing $75/hour. Nunn reported a flat rate of $42,000 for the “audit”, plus travel expenses.
Going deeper: It’s unclear to me just how far-reaching the scope of this agreement was. Notably, Nunn doesn’t mention the Portland hotel or Signia (a Hilton brand) in any of the reports she submitted for work performed last year by herself or any of her subcontractors. While Hilton describes the job as more of a standard gig of holding captive audience meetings with workers (“inform and educate them about their rights and responsibilities under the NLRA”), Nunn and her consultants describe their work for Hilton last year as an “audit” job. Rodriguez, for instance, says she was subcontracted to “evaluate the overall well-being and morale of your workforce, gain insights into their viewpoints, pinpoint potential enhancements, and review how effectively your organization fulfills employee requests to meet and have discussions.” Plainly, the goal is for Hilton to be able to identify pain points (e.g. poor management) that leave them vulnerable to unionization efforts.
Alan Ashe, a labor consultant who’s reportedly based in Kissimmee/Celebration, FL, belatedly filed a report (we’re talking months late) disclosing a job he was enlisted for last August to convince employees of Sunshine Disposal not to unionize. Ashe, an independent contractor, was contracted for the job through consultants Lori Catello and Keith Peraino, affiliated with the anti-union firm Labor Advisors in Delray Beach, FL. The location of the union drive they were targeting, the group of employees they were hired to “persuade,” and the specific union being targeted is not disclosed by Ashe, Catello, Peraino, nor Sunshine Disposal. Although it appears the company is based in Washington state. Terms of payment (i.e. billing rates) were also not disclosed.
Ongoing or concluded? Unclear.
Who prevailed? Unclear.
Payment: Sunshine Disposal recently reported paying Labor Advisors at least $8,280 for their “persuader” services last year. None of the consultants involved disclosed terms of payment in their reports to the feds.
Niles Commer, a labor consultant from Sarasota, FL, was subcontracted by Carina Hunt of C Hunt Management Consulting Inc. in Roanoke, TX to convince hospital workers employed Premier Health Partners/CareFlight in Dayton, OH not to unionize with the United Auto Workers Local 128. Hunt reports that her firm entered into an agreement with Premier Health on April 17, 2025. And Commer wasn’t (isn’t?) on the job alone — Hunt also reports enlisting consultant Judith Dugal of Royal Oak, MI. According to an agreement Hunt filed with the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS), her firm was enlisted to provide “coaching” to management, “empower” employees to invoke their right to “oppose unionization,” prevent workers from filing a petition for a union election, or otherwise aim to get workers to withdraw the petition if it is filed. This counter-campaign comes after another group of CareFlight nurses and medics (Note: Premier Health is the parent organization of CareFlight) voted to join UAW Local 128 last year.
Ongoing or concluded? Unclear.
Who prevailed? Unclear.
Payment: $450/hour for Hunt and $400/hour for Hunt’s subcontracted consultants, according to an agreement filed with OLMS.
“Now that we have the union, even without the contract in place yet, we have a voice, and we have somebody that’s strong and is a good ally and is standing there beside us and helping make sure that our needs are being addressed,” Niki Coleman, a flight nurse for CareFlight and member of UAW Local 128, told the Dayton Daily News in November.
Sean Lyles, an anti-union labor consultant based in Orlando, FL, was subcontracted by former Teamster Joe Brock of East Coast Labor Relations in March to convince phlebotomists employed by Labcorp in Hemet, CA not to unionize with the Teamsters. According to a report filed by Brock, a self-described “liberal union buster,” Lyles was one of four other consultants (from the Califonia-based Flores family) that Brock brought on for the job. The job began March 10, and was identified by Brock in his report as “ongoing.” Labcorp has hired Brock’s firm for several counter-campaigns recently to convince its employees at various locations across the U.S. that they do not, in fact, need a union. “Since there is limited time to educate your employees on the disadvantages of unions and convince them to put their trust in a direct relationship with you as opposed to an outside third party like the union, we should move quickly,” reads an agreement with Labcorp, filed with OLMS. “It is important that your conversations with employees are persuasive, legally sound and provide the best opportunity to build trust with your employees.” Brock also reportedly enlisted John “Spike” Coskey, a labor consultant and former Teamster from Clermont, in April to convince Labcorp employees in San Diego, CA that they shouldn’t unionize with the Teamsters either.
Ongoing or concluded? Seemingly concluded.
Who prevailed? Workers in and around facilities in Hemet, CA voted 9 to 12 against unionization; Unclear re: the San Diego campaign, although LabCorp employees in and around Murietta, CA voted 11 to 10 in favor of unionizing with the Teamsters in early April.
Payment: $3,500/day per consultant, plus a $60 per diem for meals.
Keith Williams, a former teacher-turned-union-buster from Pennsylvania, was subcontracted by Russ Brown of the anti-union firm RoadWarriorProductions in Satellite Beach, FL to convince Amazon workers at Amazon’s DCX8 facility in Anaheim, CA not to unionize with the Teamsters. It’s unclear if workers there were/are actively organizing, or if this job was preemptive. According to Williams, the job lasted nearly a month, from March 24, 2025 through April 18, 2025. Williams reports that he was hired to “educate” employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act — i.e. their right to unionize, or not to unionize — for a rate of $2,100 per day, “plus expenses.” Williams was paid roughly $85,000 to “educate” employees at Amazon’s DLN2 and DSD5 locations last year, according to a financial disclosure report filed by Florida Man Russ Brown in late March.
Ongoing or concluded? Williams identifies the job as “Complete”.
Who prevailed? Unclear.
Payment: $2,100/day, plus expenses.
Going deeper: While Williams went ahead and disclosed this job to the feds, Brown has not (or at the very least, I don’t see record of it). Brown, it should be noted, has a track record of filing his disclosure reports late, despite requirements under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) to file timely reports.
Going even deeper: To add an extra Florida angle, both Brown and Williams are affiliated with the Center for Independent Employees, an anti-union group in South Carolina that celebrated the passage of Florida’s sweeping anti-union bill (SB 256) in 2023. The group claimed they had “worked since 2019 to support efforts to craft SB 256.” Williams personally, in a statement, called the bill’s passage a “slam dunk for the common good.” That bill, signed into law by DeSantis, has so far led to the decertification of more than 100 bargaining units, affecting more than 69,000 public employees (and effectively dissolving their union contracts).
That’s it for this round-up. Have feedback? Thoughts? Drop a comment and let me know what you think.