LaborLab launches tools to inform workers about employer anti-union tactics

The non-profit workers' rights watchdog LaborLab has launched tools aimed at providing employees with greater visibility into how employers may resist union organizing efforts and the expenses involved.

The new tools include a database of approximately 800 consultants and thousands of law firms and attorneys. The search function offers details on these entities' clients, fees, and track records in previous anti-union campaigns. Additionally, a "union-busting cost calculator" estimates expenses companies incur when fighting unionization instead of voluntarily recognizing a union, encompassing legal fees and lost productivity.

While employers are legally required to disclose spending on union avoidance, finding this information in federal databases can be challenging. Loopholes also allow employers to underreport total costs. For instance, consultants are not required to report "advice" if it's vaguely defined or if they do not directly interact with workers. LaborLab reported that over half of employers who hired a union avoidance consultant in 2024 and were required to disclose finances failed to do so by the June 2025 deadline.

Organizers involved in union campaigns have already utilized LaborLab's resources. Nurse practitioner Sam Doyle expressed shock upon realizing the potential expenditure by their employer to counter their organizing efforts. "The calculator, to me, was horrifying," Doyle stated. "I couldn't believe that our employer would spend nearly half a million dollars on fighting us."

These tools aim to equip workers with data to better understand the scale of anti-union efforts and challenge employers' claims of financial constraints when resources are allocated to combat unionization. The information can be particularly useful during contract negotiations to question management's justifications for denying raises or other employee benefits.