LaborLab, a workers' rights watchdog, launched a free online union-buster search tool and a cost calculator on September 8 to help workers understand and push back against the anti-union consultants and law firms their employers hire. The tools aim to expose the $1.7 billion union-avoidance industry in the United States.
Many U.S. employers hire anti-union consultants and law firms to discourage workers from organizing and bargaining for better pay and working conditions. These specialists, typically paid more than $400 per hour, coach supervisors on anti-union messaging, track union support, prepare campaign literature and speeches designed to sow fear and doubt, and sometimes directly persuade workers while presenting themselves as "educators." By law, many of these relationships must be disclosed, but this information is scattered across federal databases that are notoriously difficult to search.
LaborLab's search tool compiles data from National Labor Relations Board and Department of Labor filings on more than 800 consultants, 8,000 law firms, and 21,000 attorneys. Users can see which employers union-busters represent, the rates they charge, their campaign history, the unions they target most often, and, where available, their win-loss records, with direct links to NLRB cases and DOL disclosures. The companion cost calculator estimates up to seven costs employers bear by fighting a union rather than voluntarily recognizing one upon proof of majority support, including direct expenditures on attorneys and consultants and hidden internal costs such as paid employee time spent in anti-union one-on-ones and staff meetings. It also estimates a wage increase that the employer could have provided with those resources instead.
"These tools advance LaborLab's vision of providing resources that can help directly empower workers to organize their workplaces," said Bob Funk, executive director of LaborLab. "We envision worker-organizers, union staffers and labor attorneys using the search tool to identify unions that have previously dealt with a particular anti-union attorney or consultant, learn from their experience and share that information with other workers."
The launch comes amid longstanding failures to enforce disclosure laws. In 1959, Congress required union-avoidance consultants and employers to disclose many of their activities and related payments, concluding that "this type of activity by or on behalf of employers is reprehensible" and "should be exposed to public view." But reporting loopholes, weak enforcement, and fragmented government databases have long made that information difficult for workers to find. As the Department of Labor and Congress fail to implement long-needed reforms, LaborLab's new tools are an important step towards closing the information gap for workers – a gap detailed in a new LaborLab report.
LaborLab's estimates have already been presented to the Minnesota Senate and cited in coverage of organizing campaigns by nurses, therapists, and mechanics. An in-depth explanation of the calculator's cost categories and default assumptions is available here.
Founded in 2021, LaborLab is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that tracks, exposes, and counters the employer opposition industry through LMRDA compliance monitoring, investigative research, and real-time campaign intelligence, helping workers organize and win strong first contracts. The new search tool is accessible here and the cost calculator here.
For HR vendors, this development signals increased scrutiny of union-avoidance services. Vendors offering tools or consulting that intersect with labor relations may face greater demand for transparency and ethical practices. The search tool's ability to reveal which employers use union-busters could also impact reputations, prompting companies to reconsider such expenditures. Moreover, the cost calculator highlights the financial trade-offs of opposing unions, potentially shifting employer strategies toward voluntary recognition. As workers gain access to these resources, HR technology providers may need to adapt by offering solutions that support positive employee relations and compliance with labor laws.
