XPO Workers at Florida Facility Decertify Teamsters Union

The vote to decertify Teamsters Local 769 at XPO's Hialeah, Fla., facility was taken June 21. (XPO)

XPO workers on June 21 voted to remove a local Teamsters union from their Hialeah, Fla., workplace.

Teamsters Local 769 was first certified as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of the facility in December 2014 when it was still part of Con-Way Freight. The National Labor Relations Board Region 12 was petitioned by a group of employees at the facility this year to hold a decertification vote. A majority ended up voting to remove the union.

XPO ranks No. 5 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.

“I can share that we have been notified by the National Labor Relations Board that employees at our service center in Miami have voted to remove the Teamsters union as their collective bargaining representative,” XPO said in a statement to Transport Topics. “This decertification election, which was held on June 21, was requested by local employees, who now join the vast majority of XPO team members who’ve chosen to remain independent.”

XPO employee Martin Garcia led the effort to remove the union. He gathered enough signatures from his coworkers to file the union decertification petition May 19. The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation provided free legal assistance to the workers.

Image

Guy Broderick of Kriska shares how he successfully combined data reports and a simple understanding of human nature to become one of the best driver coaches in North America. Tune in above or by going to RoadSigns.ttnews.com.  

“Teamsters officials didn’t listen to us and didn’t represent our interests in the workplace,” Garcia said in a statement. “My coworkers and I decided that the best way forward was to vote them out, and we’re glad we could get legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation in exercising our rights.”

Florida is a right-to-work state, so the employees at the facility already had the right to not pay union dues or fees. But the union was still able to exercise monopoly representation over the workplace as its exclusive representative. The vote was to remove that control.

“Teamsters officials have a well-earned reputation for seeking power, money and political clout over looking out for employee interests, so it’s unsurprising to see so many workers seeking to exercise their rights to vote them out,” said National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “But this trend goes even beyond the Teamsters, as employee attempts to decertify unions are spiking across the country.”

The Hialeah facility marked the first-ever labor contract the Teamsters had with XPO when a renewed agreement was approved unanimously in July 2021. The contract included just-cause protections, a grievance process, successorship language, job protection language and retirement protections. Former Teamsters General President James Hoffa touted the significance of the contract at the time.

“XPO management said workers in the U.S. would never ratify a contract, but never is now,” Hoffa said in a July 2021 statement. “I applaud the workers who stood strong and united over the past six years, despite the company’s horrific anti-worker actions and delays.”

The Teamsters national union directed a request for comment to the local union. Teamsters Local 769 did not respond to a request for comment.