SECURITY GUARDSSecurity Guards at Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant Demand Vote to Remove SPFPA Union Officials

Security guards working for Southern Nuclear Operating Company have recently filed a petition asking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold a vote to remove the Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) union from their workplace. The guards, who filed the petition with assistance from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys, work at Plant Vogtle, a major nuclear power plant in Waynesboro, Georgia.

The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing federal labor law, a task that includes administering votes to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions in workplaces. Under NLRB rules, the Board should administer a decertification election if employees submit a petition in which a required number of workers in a work unit demand such an election.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation says that the Southern Nuclear Operating Company workers’ petition, which Dallas Howard submitted on behalf of his coworkers, met this threshold.

Security Guards Dissatisfied with Union ‘Representation
Georgia is a Right to Work state, meaning that SPFPA officials cannot enforce union contracts which require workers to pay union dues or fees to keep their jobs. In non-Right to Work states, union officials can have workers fired solely for refusing to financially support union officials’ activities.

However, in both Right to Work and non-Right to Work states, union officials can wield exclusive “representation” power over every employee in a workplace, even those that don’t want to be represented by the union. A successful decertification election would strip SPFPA union officials of exclusive bargaining power over these 250 security guards, enabling the workers to negotiate for themselves.

SPFPA Union Officials Continue to Ignore Worker Interests
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation says it has seen a history of unwanted “representation” by the SPFPA. In 2024, the Foundation provided free legal aid to security guards in Delaware after the SPFPA negotiated a contract behind their backs. In Las Vegas, security guards scored a settlement returning thousands of dollars in illegally-seized union dues after SPFPA officials failed to acknowledge many employees’ attempts to revoke their union memberships and cut off dues deductions.

“SPFPA union officials have repeatedly shown that they care little about workers they claim to ‘represent.’ They only care about maintaining control and power, and we are proud to assist these security guards as they try to restore their individual freedom,” said National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “While Georgia’s Right to Work law guards employees from the forced-dues demands of union officials, no worker should be forced under the control of union chiefs who are self-interested or simply aren’t doing a good job.”