Workers Voted on Decertifying Unions 1,600 Times in the Past Decade. Teamsters Are the Most Common Target.
Over the past decade, workers voted on decertifying their unions approximately 1,600 times, with the Teamsters union being the most frequent target, according to National Labor Relations Board data. While high-profile unionization campaigns at companies like Starbucks and Amazon receive significant media attention, decertification efforts often go unnoticed despite occurring regularly across the U.S. Many workers cite dissatisfaction with union-negotiated benefits, pay, and job protections as reasons for seeking to remove union representation.
- ▪Between 2016 and 2025, there were 1,620 union decertification elections tracked by the National Labor Relations Board.
- ▪More than 23 percent of decertification elections during that period targeted the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
- ▪The Teamsters faced more than twice as many decertification petitions as the Service Employees International Union, the next most-targeted union.
- ▪Over 60 percent of decertification elections targeting the Teamsters resulted in successful removal of union representation.
- ▪Workers at Lamb Weston and Keurig Dr Pepper plants cited inferior pay, benefits, and job protections under Teamsters contracts as reasons for decertification efforts.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Labor Unions Workers Voted on Decertifying Unions 1,600 Times in the Past Decade. Teamsters Are the Most Common Target. Unionization efforts at Starbucks and Amazon get front-page media coverage. But dozens of workplaces discard their unions every year, often with little fanfare. Eric Boehm | 5.1.2026 10:15 AM Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google Media Contact & Reprint Requests <img src="https://d2eehagpk5cl65.cloudfront.net/img/c800x450-w800-q80/uploads/2026/04/International-Brotherhood-of-Teamster-v1-800x450.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto" width="1200" height="675" title="People holding Teamsters signs" alt="People holding Teamsters signs | Illustration: International Brotherhood of…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Reason.com.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from Reason.com
