Employees at Los Angeles-based transportation company Dependable Highway Express have successfully removed Teamsters Local 63 union officials from their workplace. The campaign, led by employee John Cwiek, gained majority support through a petition calling for a vote to decertify the union. Cwiek received legal assistance from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation throughout the process.
The effort began when Cwiek filed a union decertification petition in March, requesting that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) conduct a secret ballot vote to end Teamsters' monopoly bargaining power over Dependable Highway Express employees. When it became evident that the vote would proceed, Teamsters officials chose to withdraw rather than contest the election.
In non-Right to Work California, Teamsters officials had been able to enforce contracts requiring employees to pay dues or fees as a condition of employment. With the union's departure, Dependable Highway Express workers are no longer subject to these requirements.