Busted: What Florida's union busters have been up to | Dec. 2025
A round-up of reported activity by Florida's union avoidance consultants and employers in Florida that hire them.
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While Florida isn’t exactly a hotbed for union organizing activity, the state (surprisingly or not) happens to be home to some of the most active union avoidance consultants in the country. Such consultants, described by critics as “union busters,” are routinely 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 Bake Shop up in New York allegedly threatened undocumented workers with deportation if they voted in favor of unionization — an act that could most certainly be challenged as an illegal form of retaliation by the employer under federal labor law. A persuader called up to crush an organizing drive at a Barnes & Noble College Bookstore in New Jersey allegedly compared union membership to slavery in captive audience meetings with Black workers (the workers unanimously voted in favor of unionization, anyway).
Ground rules: Under the federal Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, 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 on their union rights (as they often describe it) on behalf of the employer. A public database also gives members of the public access to this information, too.
Here’s what was reported to the feds this past December:
Russell Brown, CEO of RoadWarrior Productions in Satellite Beach, FL/Washington D.C. reported entering into several agreements with Amazon this last month, building on their strong, extensive, and lucrative working relationship. Brown, a longtime anti-union labor consultant and supporter of Gov. DeSantis’ anti-union labor law reforms in Florida, was contracted by Amazon in late November to persuade drivers at Amazon’s DGT8 in Alpharetta, GA not to unionize with “unknown” union, enlisting fellow union avoidance consultants Edward Hinkle of Knoxville, TN and Raphael Sebastian of Charlotte, NC for the job. According to Brown’s disclosure report, the job began Nov. 23 and remains ongoing. Although a pay rate isn’t disclosed, he has historically disclosed daily rates of $3,800 per consultant for Amazon jobs, or $475/hour. Hinkle, for his part, reported payment of $2,600/day for the gig. Brown, at the same time, also entered into agreements with Amazon to target organizing activity at Amazon’s DSF5 in San Francisco, CA (or “S San Fransico, CO” per Brown) and Amazon’s DDP1 in Philadelphia, PA on Nov. 28, according to federal records. For the San Francisco job, Brown enlisted consultants Angel Cornejo of Escalon, TN (a former organizer for the Teamsters, per Cornejo himself) and Nathan Hans Hoyt of Raymond, WA, each paid $475/hour or $3,800 for an 8-hour day, according to Brown’s agreement with Amazon. That job is also reportedly “ongoing.” For the Philadelphia job, Brown enlisted consultants Devon Hannagan of San Diego, CA (not “TN” as Brown erroneously reported, based on the zip code he also included), Towanna Hans Frasier of Decatur, GA, and Simon Jara of Sandee, CA, all similarly paid $475/hour or $3,800 per consultant per day for the job, which lasted from Dec. 1 through Dec. 19, 2025.
Ongoing or concluded? Ongoing in Alpharetta and San Francisco, concluded in Philadelphia.
Who prevailed? Unclear. I can’t find any public disclosure of organizing activity at DSF5 or DPP1, although the Teamsters have publicly disclosed organizing activity at Amazon’s DGT8 in GA. According to the union, drivers at DGT8 formed a union with the Teamsters and demanded union recognition from Amazon in Nov. 2024.
Payment: $475/hour or $3,800/day
Reports filed on-time? Yes.
Russell Brown, CEO of RoadWarrior Productions in Satellite Beach, FL/Washington D.C., was contracted by Volvo Parts North America in October to persuade warehouse workers in Joliet, IL not to unionize with the Teamsters Local 179. According to his disclosure report, Brown enlisted three consultants for the job: Mike Rosado of Englewood, NJ; Monica Meija of Casselberry, FL; and Keith Williams of Lancaster, PA — each paid $3,800/day “plus expenses” to “educate employees” on their union rights under the National Labor Relations Act (consultants generally talk down the benefits of unionization to pressure a ‘no’ vote, in favor of the employer who’s paying them). But federal records show they weren’t persuasive enough. According to the National Labor Relations Board, the workers voted 32 to 6 in favor of unionizing with the Teamsters Local 179 in December.
Ongoing or concluded? “Ongoing” per Brown.
Who prevailed? The union.
Payment: $3,800/day per consultant “plus expenses”
Report filed on-time? No.
Marla Bardi, a union avoidance consultant affiliated with Bardi Education Services out of Sarasota, FL, was paid $59,185 by McLaren Health this past summer to persuade registered nurses at McLaren Oakland Hospital in Pontiac, MI not to form a union with AFSCME Council 925, according to a financial disclosure report filed by McLaren. Bardi, herself a nurse in Central Florida, filed her own disclosure report for the union-busting job in July, notably failing to disclose a pay rate. But records show the employer’s opposition campaign was an expensive one. In addition to Bardi, McLaren also brought on Rebecca Bannon, a consultant affiliated with the Montana-based union avoidance firm Heightened Solutions. Records show McLaren paid Bannon’s firm nearly $85,000 this past summer to similarly “communicate” with their Michigan nurses regarding their union rights. According to The Oakland Press, nurses at McLaren Oakland Hospital in Pontiac, MI and in emergency departments in Oxford and Clarkston, MI launched their organizing campaign in May to “address the unsafe staffing levels, burnout and lack of voice that have plagued their workplace,” according to a statement from the union. Although a union election was conducted in late June, the National Labor Relations Board has marked the election case as “open,” and no election results have been publicly shared. It appears, however, that the employer has filed objections to the election results with the NLRB, so I’m assuming the union won the election and McLaren lost.
Ongoing or concluded? Unclear.
Who prevailed? Unclear, or N/A just yet.
Payment: $59,185 total for Bardi and $84,943 for Bannon
Report filed on-time? Yes (Employers are only required to disclose their union-busting expenditures annually, within 90 days of the end of their fiscal year).
That’s it for this round-up. Have thoughts? Feedback? Give me a holler or drop a comment.