Busted: What Florida's union busters have been up to | June 2025 (Part 1)
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.
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 that workers who are organizing their workplace should have the right to know if their employer has brought in a third-party —routinely paid hundreds of dollars per hour — to “educate” them (as they often describe it) on behalf of the employer.
Here’s what was reported to the feds during the first half of June:
Two labor consultants affiliated with the anti-union firm Labor Advisors in Delray Beach, FL — Katie Parry and Daniel Bryan — were hired through the Government Resources Consultants of America in April to convince dispatchers and security officers at MGM National Harbor Hotel & Casino in Oxon Hill, MD not to unionize with the International Union, Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA). According to a matching petition filed with the National Labor Relations Board for a union election, security guards ultimately voted 34 to 57 against unionization. According to Raymond Rosenbach, treasurer of GRCA, Parry and Bryan conducted meetings with workers to convince them against unionization. The GRCA has also been hired by the likes of employers like Amazon, Stone Brewing, Sysco, and U.S. Sugar.
Ongoing or concluded? Seemingly concluded.
Who prevailed? Employer.
Payment: As usual, Rosenbach did not disclose his firm’s billing rates, although it’s clear he charges hefty fees. According to an annual financial disclosure he filed with the feds earlier this year, his firm received more than $5.6 million from employers last year for persuader services. Nearly $3 million of that came from Amazon.
Two other labor consultants affiliated with the anti-union firm Labor Advisors in Delray Beach, FL — Dawn Chapman and Juan Carlos Cevantes — were also hired through the Government Resources Consultants of America in April to convince production and maintenance employees of Becton Dickinson & Co. in Canaan, CT not to unionize with the Teamsters Local 443. They were joined by consultants Juan Cruz of CA and Timothy Lewis of VA. I don’t see a matching petition for a union election filed with the NLRB, so it’s unclear to me what stage of organizing the union drive is at, or if the consultants have successfully shut the organizing drive down. According to the NLRB, production employees voted against joining the Machinists union in 2018 (after Becton Dickinson reportedly hired Kulture Consulting, a different union avoidance firm headed by right-wing consultant Peter List, for $375/hour). Rosenbach, GRCA’s treasurer, reports that his firm entered into an agreement with Becton Dickinon, a global medical technology company, on April 29 and that the job remains “ongoing.”
Ongoing or concluded? Ongoing.
Who prevailed? N/A
Payment: Unclear. Cruz, who reported being on the job for just one day, billed an hourly rate of $200/hour for the job.
Rush Street Gaming paid the Orlando-based anti-union firm, the Labor Pros, nearly $150,000 in 2024 to persuade bartenders, porters, and cocktail servers at Rivers Casino in Portsmouth, VA not to unionize with the Teamsters Local 822. According to Rivers Casino, the Labor Pros billed $425/hour for the job, which lasted about a month from Sept. 11, 2024 through Oct. 4, 2024. Nekeya Nunn, CEO of the Labor Pros (and a former member of the Greater Orlando Chamber of Commerce), reported subcontracting two consultants for the job: Kamilyn Vannoy of TN and Tyrinthia Buck of TX. According to the NLRB, the workers filed a petition to join Local 822 in September, but withdrew their petition in October — after the Labor Pros were brought onto the scene (the Teamsters in January filed an unfair labor practice charge against the company, alleging unlawful discipline, discharge, and changes in the terms and conditions of workers’ employment). The petition to unionize came less than one year after slot attendants at Rivers Casino voted in favor of joining Local 822 in an effort to secure better wages and benefits themselves.
Ongoing or concluded? Seemingly concluded.
Who prevailed? Employer.
Payment: $425/hour for the job, per consultant, plus travel expenses.
Johan Pena, a labor consultant from Miami, FL was subcontracted by Phil Wilson of “Corporate America’s Favorite ‘Union Busting’ Firm” (a.k.a. the Labor Relations Institute/LRI Consulting) in May to persuade HVAC service technicians, HVAC installers, duct cleaning technicians, and plumbers employed by Leslie Heating, Cooling, and Electric not to unionize with the Plumbers union Local 130 or the Pipefitters Union Local 597 in Lombard, IL. It was a three-way election, where workers could either vote in favor of joining the Plumbers, the Pipefitters, or against joining any union at all. According to the National Labor Relations Board, workers ultimately chose the latter, voting 5-5-14 against unionization, respectively. Pena has, in the past, done union avoidance work for the likes of William Sonoma and Tate’s Bake Shop up in NY.
Ongoing or concluded? Ongoing, per Wilson. The NLRB case is still marked “open” due to objections filed to the union election results.
Who prevailed? Unclear.
Payment: $425/hour, “plus reasonable travel expenses.”
Mark Coco, a labor consultant from Chesterfield, MI, belated reported that he was subcontracted by Russ Brown of RoadWarrior Productions in Satellite Beach, FL in November to persuade Amazon drivers at Amazon’s DLV2 location in North Las Vegas, NV not to unionize with an “uknown” [sic] union. Based on the current trend of thousands of Amazon drivers across the country organizing with the Teamsters, I can only assume the “uknown” union refers to them. Coco reports that he was on the job from Nov. 18, 2024 through Dec. 7, 2024 and was paid $250/hour, plus “actual and reasonable expenses.” He similarly reported persuader activity for Amazon at Amazon’s DDE9 location in Denver, CO the following month, where he was on the job just one day from Dec. 9 through the 10th. According to an annual financial disclosure report (LM-21) filed by Brown, Coco was paid about $70,000 last year for his work for Amazon in Chicago and “multiple locations.”
Ongoing or concluded? Seemingly concluded.
Who prevailed? Unclear.
Payment: $250/hour
Speaking of Amazon, Russell Brown of RoadWarriorProductions LLC in Satellite Beach, FL (and Washington D.C.?), filed several new reports disclosing persuader activity for Amazon at several additional locations: Amazon DUR1 in Burbank, CA (beginning May 21); “multiple locations” in the Chicago, IL “vicinity” (beginning April 28 through May 30); Amazon DLX1 in Santa Fe Springs, CA (beginning April 12); Amazon DGR6 in Grand Rapids, MI (beginning April 10); and Amazon DSF5 in South San Francisco, CA (beginning May 8). The Teamsters are the target, naturally, according to Brown’s reports. According to agreements with Amazon, filed with OLMS, Brown’s firm is reportedly being paid $475/hour or $3,800/day per consultant for all of these jobs (and there are more than a dozen consultants) — amounting to a whopping total above $1 million. Amazon reportedly spent nearly $13 million on “union avoidance” services last year alone, according to their own financial disclosure report.
Ongoing or concluded: Mixed.
Who prevailed? Unclear.
Payment: $475/hour or $3,800/day
Russell Brown of RoadWarrior Productions LLC in Satellite Beach, FL was reportedly contracted by recycling company Real Alloy in April to convince production and maintenance employees in Morgantown, KY not to unionize with the Teamsters Local 89. Confusingly, Brown mistakenly reports that the organizing drive involved Local 117, located in Washington state; however, Brown’s agreement with Real Alloy clearly states that he would be targeting an organizing drive in Morgantown, KY. That location also matches a NLRB case, where it looks like Brown was ultimately unsuccessful in his efforts: Workers voted 89 to 39 in favor of unionization. According to Brown’s LM-20, he enlisted two consultants for the job: Edward Hinkle of Knoxville, TN and Roger Lacy of “N/a,” TN. The job lasted a little less than a month, from April 5 through April 30, the day before votes were tallied.
Ongoing or concluded? Concluded.
Who won? Union.
Payment: $3,800/day per consultant, “plus reasonable expenses,” according to Brown’s agreement with Real Alloy, filed with OLMS.
“This victory wasn’t handed to these new Teamsters,” said Victor Mineros, Director of the Teamsters Solid Waste and Recycling Division and Teamsters Western Region International Vice President, in a statement. “They showed serious grit and tenacity throughout the whole organizing process. And I know they will put that to good use as they fight for a great first contract.”
Russell Brown of RoadWarrior Productions LLC in Satellite Beach, FL was contracted by Kennametal in March to convince production and maintenance employees in Orwell, OH not to unionize with the United Steelworkers. According to Brown’s report, Brown was on the job (by himself this time, apparently) from May 13 through June 6 at a rate of $3,800/day. Ballots were tallied June 12, according to the National Labor Relations Board. Workers voted 86 to 119 against unionization.
Ongoing or concluded? The NLRB case is still open, but it appears Brown’s agreement with Kennametal has run its course.
Who won? Employer.
Payment: $3,800/day
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