'Brightlies': Passenger railway Brightline Florida hires union avoidance lawyers to discourage organizing workers

Florida’s high-speed passenger train Brightline has responded to their onboard attendants’ newly announced effort to unionize by hiring lawyers from the notorious union avoidance law firm Littler Mendelson and internally communicating that they would prefer for Brightline to remain union-free. (Shocker!)

Patrick Goddard, president of Brightline, sent an internal company email to Brightline employees earlier this month, informing employees that while it is their “right” to seek union representation, he believes a “direct relationship” between the company and its employees — without a union — is “in the best interest of all of us.”

“The fact that many Onboard Teammates have inquired about representation is their right, and it’s clear to me, that many feel unheard,” wrote Goddard, according to screenshots of the internal email, obtained by Orlando Weekly . “I believe the best way to approach these matters is by working together, without a third party involved.”

Goddard’s use of the phrases “third party” and “direct relationship” are telling. They come directly from the union avoidance industry playbook , and from rhetoric encouraged by anti-union law firms like Littler Mendelson, which is representing Brightline as their legal counsel during the unionization process.

This kind of language, which downplays the direct role that workers have in forming a union in their workplace, was also used by Howard Schultz, former CEO of Starbucks — another client of Littler Mendelson.

“One hundred million people come in to Starbucks. The customer experience will be significantly challenged and less-than if a third party is integrated into our business,” then-Starbucks CEO Shultz told the New York Times during a live interview in 2022, as cafe employees at dozens of corporate-owned locations, including in Florida, were organizing to join Starbucks Workers United.

Goddard, who helped oversee Brightline’s $2.7 billion expansion project to Orlando, worked in the hotel industry before joining Brightline. He founded and led luxury hotel management companies, and worked for hotel groups like Hilton Hotels — a multinational company that has historically spent hundreds of thousands of dollars (more likely, millions) on anti-union labor consultants (some of whom are attorneys, but not all).

Goddard’s email to the Brightline employees earlier this month goes on to offer a brief rundown of "Frequently Asked Questions" concerning the process of forming a union, union dues, and warnings that, if onboard attendants democratically vote to unionize, contract negotiations between the union and Brightline could take years. “There will be legal limitations on Brightline’s ability to work directly with you to make changes,” he adds.

The Transport Workers Union, the labor organization that some Brightline employees are seeking to join, emailed its own response to Brightline employees after Goddard sent his email, which they titled “Brightlies.”

“Straight out of their high-priced attorney’s playbook, [Goddard] brought forward the argument that by forming a Union, the Onboard Workers would disrupt the 'direct relationship' that he so much enjoys having with all of you,” the union’s email reads. “The truth is, what you have all set out to do is exactly that: Form a Real Direct Relationship where the company will have to sit and listen to your concerns and demands.”

The union’s email includes its own responses to Goddard’s list of frequently asked questions, which they describe as more truthful. The union, for instance, clarifies Goddard’s claims on union dues, sharing that no union member would be required or asked to pay union dues until a union contract has been successfully negotiated. The union also denies Goddard’s claim that dues would amount to $600 for each employee, annually.

According to TWU, union dues are equal to two hours of pay per month, and under Florida’s right-to-work law, signing up to become a dues-paying union member would presumably be completely voluntary anyway. The union quips that Goddard would need to give Brightline employees a raise in order for dues to cost $600 annually, and further explained what members’ dues would support.

“70% of the dues remain with your Local to use to run the union. 30% goes to TWU International to help further grow the union and to fight for rulemaking with agencies like the Federal Railroad Administration to improve the livelihoods of railroad workers despite rail companies fighting like hell to reduce safety and working standards,” the email reads.

The company’s effort to frame the union as a third party is a “smokescreen,” the union argues. “YOU AND YOUR COWORKERS are the union and YOU all will directly negotiate with the company with TWU’s help!”

Delay tactics at a price

The notable unionization effort first publicly kicked off earlier this month, as the Transport Workers Union — an international labor union representing more than 155,000 workers — announced that a majority of the roughly 100 onboard attendants for Brightline Florida had signed authorization cards in support of unionizing — signifying a historic organizing effort.

The Transport Workers Union then filed those cards with the National Mediation Board — a federal government agency that oversees railroad and airline labor relations — requesting a union election for the employees.

According to TWU, however, Brightline’s Littler Mendelson lawyers are making the argument that a union election needs to be requested through the National Labor Relations Board — which oversees private sector labor relations in other industries — not the NMD. Neither Brightline nor the two lawyers the company has retained have responded to a request for confirmation or comment.

The union, in a separate email to Brightline employees, described this argument as a “poorly written objection” and a purposeful delay tactic based solely on the position that this union election is not under the jurisdiction of the rail industry.

The union also claims the move will ultimately just serve to pad the pockets of Littler Mendelson, whose attorneys have been known to bill clients hundreds of dollars per hour . The firm is one of the oldest in the country that specializes in “union avoidance” and one of the largest, with dozens of locations around the world.

Their lawyers have historically been used to help fend off organizing efforts such as the Fight for $15 campaign organized by fast food workers (a project of the Service Employees International Union, which recently rebranded as Fight for a Union) and have represented clients such as Starbucks, Apple, Amazon and Trader Joe's that have been accused of labor law violations.

[content-1]

According to TWU president John Samuelsen — who is an elected official, chosen by TWU membership — Brightline Florida employees reached out to the union within the last three months, after first having organizing talks among themselves. “The motivation is similar to every other work group that seeks to unionize: to build collective power in a workplace,” Samuelsen told Orlando Weekly earlier this month.

Workers are dissatisfied with their pay — as many Floridians continue to struggle to afford basic living expenses — and their current benefits, and are also concerned about safety issues, according to Samuelsen.

Headlines reporting deadly accidents between Brightline trains and vehicles emerge nearly on a weekly basis. Samuelsen told the Palm Beach Post that workers don’t feel like Brightline is taking into consideration the trauma this creates for employees.

“As opposed to other rail operators, Brightline has an indifference to its workforce after the trauma that comes when a Brightline train runs somebody over,” he claimed.

Brightline, a for-profit passenger train that also operates on the West Coast, has courted both the state and federal government for grants to help support their projects in Florida, which have been highly anticipated by the public. Out west, the company has received billions of dollars in federal grants for a much larger project that will run from Southern California to Las Vegas, and has developed an amicable relationship with labor unions, including the TWU.

Brightline Florida runs a high-speed train line running from Miami to Orlando, first expanding to the Orlando area last fall. Further expansion is also in the works, as Brightline courts commuters to make up for recent quarterly losses .

“Brightline made a strategically stupid decision in hiring a union-busting law firm, Littler Mendelson, infamous for their anti-labor tactics at Starbucks,” Samuelsen told Orlando Weekly . “Brightline — which glommed huge sums of government assistance — is now using taxpayer money to fight the democratic desire of its workers to form a union.”

Samuelsen has shared that more Brightline employees — not just the onboard attendants, who help passengers with bags and serve food and drinks — have also approached the union, similarly interested in organizing.

At this time, union officials have been unable to connect Orlando Weekly with rank-and-file Brightline employees they have been communicating with, citing a wish to protect the employees from employer retaliation — an issue that’s common during union drives . A similar concern was shared back in April, when airline JetBlue began (allegedly) posting anti-union flyers at airports, including Orlando International Airport.

Statewide, just 6.1 percent of Florida's workforce is represented by a union, according to federal data, and a new state law has further undercut unions' presence in the public sector. Just about 26 percent of Florida's public sector workforce had union representation as of last year, but tens of thousands of employees have seen their unions decertified, or dissolved by the state, since.

If you’re a Brightline Florida employee with thoughts on the union drive among onboard attendants, we want to hear from you. Contact reporter McKenna Schueler at mckenna@orlandoweekly.com .

[content-2]

Subscribe to Orlando Weekly newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | or sign up for our RSS Feed