Busted: What Florida's union busters are up to | August 2024 edition
Knowledge is power. Post-Labor Day, here is a monthly round-up of what Florida's "union avoidance" labor consultants reported to the feds in August.
Believe it or not, Florida is 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 are attorneys, others are not.
More formally known as “persuaders” or just simply “consultants,” these consultants are hired to conduct union “risk” assessments (union vulnerability audits), train management how to talk down the union (without flagrantly breaking federal labor law), 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.”
Ground rules: Under federal law, persuaders are required to file reports with the federal Office of Labor Management Services (OLMS) 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 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 a company, by law, while LM-21’s (disclosing total payment) must be filed within 90 days after the end of the filer’s fiscal year. Unfortunately, they’re not always filed correctly, or in a timely manner.
Here’s what Florida’s union avoidance experts were up to this month (it was a busy one):
Tara McClain, owner of a Hand & Stone Massage franchise location in Gainesville, paid the Orlando-based Labor Pros firm at least $35,000 last year to provide “third party education” to her employees about unionization. Although the specifics of this aren’t clarified, this is generally code for “Tell my workers that unions are bad [preferably in a way that isn’t illegal], please and thank you.” According to an invoice from the Labor Pros, submitted to the U.S. Labor Department, the flat rate of $35,000 was supplemented by additional “expenses,” which altogether totaled added another $3,506 on top of the firm’s bill — including $2,155 in hotel and lodging costs for Labor Pros consultant Yashira Ramos, $675 for meals, $301 for gas, and $374 for “mileage.” Last year, a group of massage therapists at the Gainesville location had filed a petition to unionize with the UCFW Local 1625, and voted 22—3 to join. Unfortunately for the employees, the employer has fought the election results, and the case is still marked as “open” on the NLRB website.
“[Gary] Parody Jr., with UFCW Local 1625, told Orlando Weekly that employees at the Hand & Stone massage studio in Gainesville are hoping to collectively bargain over things such as wages and the franchise’s commission system, as well as paid time off and other working conditions.”
Greg Peraino of D&G Consulting, based in Central Florida was enlisted in June to conduct captive audience meetings with Amazon workers through the Government Resources Consultants of America, a union busting firm based in Illinois. It’s unclear where the Amazon workers are located, or which union they may or may not be organizing with, although Raymond Rosenbach, president of GRCA, writes in his report that under his agreement with Amazon, his firm is targeting workers “across the Midwest Region of the US as may be requested from time to time.” Peraino, a former union official and healthcare worker who later joined the “union avoidance” industry, is one of three persuaders Rosenbach has enlisted for the job.
Going deeper: Last November, Peraino filed a report disclosing a $6,000 payment from Amazon for another job that he was hired for the previous May, targeting Amazon DSP drivers. It’s unclear to me if these were the same DSP drivers who ultimately voted to unionize with the Teamsters in 2023 who were later reportedly fired.
Going even deeper: Peraino has been listed before in reports by fellow union buster Keith Peraino, also based in Florida, who was called out and later fired from a job for promoting alt-right material. Keith was working under a different business name at the time. Today, he files reports affiliated with the firms Labor Advisors and Eternity Souls LLC, both located at the same address in Del Ray Beach. On what appears to be his website (if indeed owned/operated by him), Keith writes, “If I walk on water, the haters will say it is because I cannot swim.”
Luisa Perez, a union buster based in Cape Coral, was enlisted by right-wing union buster Peter List to make “observations” and hold one-on-one captive audience meetings with Hello Fresh workers in Arizona. Based on Perez’s report, it’s unclear which union the Hello Fresh workers were organizing with, or if the job was more preemptive, since neither Perez (nor List) list a union they’re targeting. Perez was also enlisted by List (no pun intended) on behalf of Hello Fresh to conduct the same kind of intimidation at Hello Fresh facilities in Illinois. Hello Fresh employees had openly launched an organizing drive back in 2021, but I haven’t seen reporting of any more recent union drives since. Records show Hello Fresh hired List to bust organizing then, too.
Perez, along with Arizona-based consultant Simon Jara, was also contracted through the List’s firm to convince drivers employed by Texas-based liquor chain Spec’s not to unionize with the Teamsters Local 745 in Dallas. According to union election results, they failed. Warehouse associates and drivers ultimately voted 78-30 in favor of unionization.
Going deeper: The company agreed to pay List’s firm, Logic Labor Relations, a daily rate of $2,812.50, according to Perez’s report, “plus actual and reasonable expenses.” List writes in his report that the firm was paid $3,750 per day, per consultant for the job.
Road Warrior Productions, run by labor consultant Russell “Russ” Brown in Satellite Beach, was hired by Purcor Pest Solutions for a 16-day job in July, targeting technicians, sales, and administrative employees organizing with the Teamsters Local 117 in Washington state. According to the report, Brown enlisted for the job consultant Roger Allain a former Teamsters organizer-turned-consultant based in Land O’Lakes, Florida (formerly of the Orlando area). Ultimately, it was a failed endeavor. The workers ultimately voted 38—19 in favor of unionizing with the Teamsters, making them the first employees of Purcor Pest Solutions in the U.S. to unionize, according to the union. Allain was paid a daily rate of $3,800 plus expenses, according to an amended report Brown filed later in the month.
“We field hundreds of clients each week to set up inspections that lead to more sales for Purcor. We deal with multiple branches on a variety of issues keeping Purcor alive. By unionizing, we will truly stand in solidarity with each other. We will have the power to demand to be treated fairly and know that someone truly has our back!” shared Angela Mayes, a Customer Care Representative who has worked at Purcor for two years.
Marla Bardi, president of Bardi Education Services in Sarasota, was hired by the University of Maryland Medical Center in July to “educate” “frontline employees” on their union rights. It’s unclear which medical center employees Bardi was hired to “educate,” although it appears that full-time fellows and residents had voted to unionize just one month before with the University of Maryland Resident and Fellow Alliance, affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).
Niles Commer, a union avoidance consultant also based in Sarasota, was hired by Arcosa, a construction engineering company, in June to persuade “various employees” not to unionize with the International Union of Operating Engineers. It’s unclear from the reports where this job took place (which is kind of a no-no — federal rules require consultants to include this information, or at least specify which local of the union they’re targeting). It appears Commer was hired for the job through the Labor Relations Institute (LRI), one of the most active union busting firms in the country, along with another consultant (not based in Florida) for “pre-petition consulting.” Records show Arcosa also hired LRI (based in Oklahoma) for their “consulting” services last year, too.
Going deeper: Commer, who’s also worked for the Orlando-based Labor Pros and LRI, was previously fired from a job for a Montana-based hospital last year. The hospital reportedly told him to get lost after registered nurses (RNs) discovered Commer was compiling personal information about the RNs to better inform his strategy (they ended up voting in favor of unionizing).
Commer was also contracted last month through Joe Brock of East Coast Labor Relations (not based in Florida) along with fellow consultant Ben Johnson (not a Floridian) to bust organizing efforts among production, warehouse, and maintenance workers in North Carolina employed by Sibelco, a Belgian mining company. Brock doesn’t mention exactly where this job took place, but there was a petition filed by workers to unionize with the United Mine Workers in NC around the same time Brock entered into an agreement with Sibelco. According to the NLRB, workers in that case ultimately voted 54-95 against unionization.
Trucking company MBM Logistics hired the Nevada-based union busting firm Action Resources last month, enlisting two union busters to bust an ongoing organizing effort among drivers in Orlando and other Florida cities who are looking to unionize with the Teamsters Local 385. Both of the union busters enlisted — Gus Flores and Fernando Rivera — have ties to the Teamsters. Flores is part of a family of union busters, and two of his relatives (who later entered the union avoidance industry) are former Teamsters officials them. One was allegedly ousted for internal election misconduct. Rivera was also reportedly involved in that (unsuccessful) effort to crush organizing efforts among Amazon DSP drivers, who ultimately voted to unionize with the Teamsters anyway. For this new job, Rivera and Flores are being paid a daily rate of $3,750 per consultant, according to the report filed. Read the full story in Orlando Weekly.
“The company hires these people to basically lie to them,” said one Teamsters organizer for Local 385.
Webs Pierre, an Altamonte Springs-based union avoidance consultant who is probably related to Wildine Pierre (also of Altamonte Springs), was hired in June to convince drivers for the FCC Environmental Services of Texas to decertify their union, affiliated with the Teamsters Local 745. Consultants are being invoiced at $125 per hour including “usual and customary travel and expenses,” according to the report filed. Pierre was hired for the job through Labor Management Associates, a Kentucky-based firm run by union buster Daniel Block (who has worked with Wildine in the past). Lupe Cruz (a former UNITE HERE organizer-turned-union-buster) also appears to be involved in the arrangement, as he is also named in the report.
Going deeper: According to the NLRB, there have been two decertification elections in this case (a rerun must have been called) and both have resulted in a slim 29-30 vote against the union. The case nonetheless remains still open. I can only imagine it’s been messy and hard-fought if a redo election was deemed necessary, especially if multiple union busters (plus “devil incarnate” anti-union law firm Jackson Lewis) are involved.
The Labor Pros, an Orlando-based firm that specializes in “union avoidance,” was hired by SIXT Rent-A-Car at the Miami International Airport in June to convince rental car sales agents not to join the Teamsters Local 769. Workers ultimately voted 12-19 against unionization, signaling a loss for the union and a win for the Labor Pros. According to the firm’s report, the firm contracted fellow Florida-based union buster Luis Alvarez for the job. Alvarez, based in Hollywood, Florida, had a less successful run-in with Local 769 in 2022 when he was hired by trucking company Ryder. Alvarez reports that he was paid $200/hour for the latest job, while Labor Pros CEO Nekeya Nunn (also known as the “Savage Spiritualist”) reports that the firm was paid $425/hour for every work day. Read the full story in Orlando Weekly.
The Labor Pros firm was also hired last month by Prysmian Cables and Systems USA, a cable company, and the Honeybee Food Corporation (doing business as Jollibee, a Filipino food chain). Both jobs were based in New Jersey. According to the National Labor Relations Board, hourly employees at Prysmian ultimately voted 23-40 against unionization with the Steelworkers union, while Jollibee employees voted 16-12 in favor of unionizing with Jollibee Workers United (a union presumably affiliated with Workers United). Both Jollibee (previously accused of firing organizing workers) and Prysmian reportedly agreed to pay the Labor Pros $4,000 per work day, plus travel expenses. The Labor Pros enlisted Chris Catam, an Orlando-based consultant, for the Jolibee job, and enlisted Josue Figueroa, based in Ruskin, to tackle the Prysmian organizing drive.
“What we are faced with is unbridled corporate greed,” said Yves Nibungco, one of the Jollibee workers the company reportedly workers.
Roadwarrior Productions (RWP Labor), run by Russell “Russ” Brown in Satellite Beach, was also hired in June to combat (or prevent) organizing efforts among Taco Bell workers, who are apparently involved in organizing with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in California. According to their agreement, submitted by Brown to the feds, Taco Bell (owned by parent company Diversified Restaurant Group) agreed to pay RWP Labor a flat daily rate of $3,800 per consultant, plus transportation costs. Brown reportedly enlisted California-based consultant Angel Cornejo for the job, which is identified by Brown as “ongoing.”
David Sapenoff, a Kansas-based consultant, and Phil Wilson of the Labor Relations Institute, were hired by National DCP (doing business as Dunkin’ Donuts) to organizing efforts among drivers and warehouse workers in Tampa, Groveland, Jacksonville, Daytona, Fort Pierce, and Sunrise, Florida who are looking to join the Teamsters Local 79. The employer is reportedly paying them $212.50 for the job, according to Sapenoff’s report. They were hired for the job in late July. The job is reportedly “ongoing,” and expected to potentially last into September, records show.
That’s it for this month. Do you like this round-up? Have thoughts or feedback? Drop a comment below, and share with friends and fellow troublemakers.