This week, the LaborLab filed a complaint with the Office of Labor Management Standards regarding Derek Arrington. Under Section 504 of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), labor relations consultants are barred from meeting with workers for thirteen years following a criminal conviction. Arrington appears to be violating this law and meeting directly with workers in an attempt to persuade them against forming unions.

Just exactly who are these union busters?

Surprisingly, there is a lot of information to be gleaned from Form LM-20 about the individuals who plan and run captive audience meetings, follow employees around the workplace asking questions, and otherwise “persuading.”

Since April of 2022, Trey Kovacs, a former Special Assistant at the US Department of Labor, has been working for Amazon as a union-busting consultant. He has been holding captive audience meetings at ONT8 in Moreno Valley, California.

This August, Chipotle workers at a store in Lansing, Michigan made history by becoming the first unionized restaurant. On August 25th they voted 11-3 to join the Teamsters Local 243. What’s important to note is that these workers may be the first “recognized” union but they weren’t the first to file. Two months prior, Chipotle workers at a location in Augusta, Maine became the first store in the US to file for a union election with the NLRB. However, a month later, the fast food chain unexpectedly closed the store in Augusta, denying that it was related to union organizing. The 43-15 podcast talked with Brandi Mcnease, a co-founder of Chipotle United, who lost her job when the Augusta store closed.

Target is one of the top ten retailers in the United States, according to the National Retail Federation, raking in nearly $105 billion in sales in 2021. Adam Ryan and Mary Yarn, are two Target workers organizing their respective stores in Virginia and Colorado at the multi billionaire dollar retail chain. The 43-15 podcast spoke with the two organizers and the similarity of their accounts on the company’s union-busting tactics points to a deeply connected industry.

Listen to the 43-15 episode here

Members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, advocating for better working conditions, are being threatened by Sysco management and even arrested for exercising the right to strike.

In June of 2022, LaborLab reported that El Milagro Tortillas, located in Chicago, had hired anti-union “persuaders” to meet with and coerce workers. But this isn’t the first time that the company has brought in “persuaders.”  According to a 2021 Form LM-10, El Milagro Tortillas brought in their hired guns before a union election petition had even been filed, which means the company is trying to snuff out a union before it’s even been formed. As it turns out, El Milagro Tortillas’ anti-worker behavior is anything but new.

Many, if not most, American workers are subjected to employer assaults on their right to unionize and freedom of association even before they petition to form a union. That’s exactly what’s happening to employees in Cheyenne, Wyoming who work for Dyno Nobel, an explosives company. An employer-side letter obtained by LaborLab documents lies, threats, and coercion on the part of Dyno Nobel’s management team in an effort to dissuade workers from even thinking about forming a union. The letter, which was sent to all employees, is also full of inaccuracies.

As UPS drivers deal with unprecedented temperatures, lack of air conditioning, and being told by management to simply drink more water and eat watermelon, their employer is shelling out $2,625 a day (plus expenses) to anti-union consultants.

The following report is from Jon Reynolds. Reynolds is a freelance writer and organizer. His work can be found in publications such as the Asheville Free Press, Industrial Worker, and Facing South. He also hosts the 43-15 podcast with Meagan Sullivan.

On July 23, I emailed Scott Nash, the CEO of Mom's Organic Market, about his stores carrying products by my former employer, No Evil Foods.