New federal disclosures filed this week reveal employers shelling out hundreds of dollars per hour to keep workers from organizing, from a Michigan bakery to a Texas electric cooperative to a New York car dealership. Meanwhile, a California healthcare provider is quietly paying one of the industry’s most active union avoidance firms, with no rate disclosed.
Here is the breakdown of the latest U.S. Department of Labor filings and related NLRB activity.
The $500-an-Hour Loaf: Stone House Bread
The highest rate disclosed this week comes from an unlikely source: Stone House Bread in Traverse City, MI. To fight an organizing campaign by the Teamsters Local 406, the artisan bread company has retained LRI Consulting Services, Inc. at $500 per hour. LRI is one of the most prolific union avoidance firms in the country—at
An NLRB election is already scheduled for March 18, 2026 (Case No. 07-RC-380535). Stone House Bread has also retained attorney Rana Roumayah of Honigman LLP to assist in the effort.
At $500/hour, a single consultant billing a 40-hour week costs the employer $20,000, which is money that could fund meaningful raises for the bakers, drivers, and workers keeping the ovens running.
Power Company, Premium Rates: Pedernales Electric Cooperative
In Johnson City, TX, Pedernales Electric Cooperative has hired The Crossroads Group Labor Relations Consultants at $475/hour to oppose an organizing drive by IBEW 66, with the agreement taking effect January 29, 2026. The disclosure was filed March 3.
Pedernales Electric is one of the largest electric cooperatives in the United States and a nonprofit utility that exists, in theory, to serve its member-owners. The decision to pay nearly $500 an hour to keep lineworkers and electrical workers from unionizing raises serious questions about whose interests the cooperative is actually prioritizing.
LRI Doubles Down: Destination Kia
LRI Consulting Services secured a second contract this week as well. Destination Kia in Albany, NY is paying LRI $425/hour to fight a campaign by UAW Local 259 (Case No. 03-RC-380424), with the agreement dated February 4, 2026. The dealership has also retained two law firms: Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC and Milman Labuda Law Group, PLLC, represented by attorneys Paul Buehler and Robert Milman, respectively.
That’s one consulting firm plus two law firms arrayed against workers trying to organize at a car dealership. The legal and consulting firepower is significant and entirely aimed at preventing workers from having a say in their own workplace.
Healthcare and Opacity: Family Care Health Network
In Visalia, CA, Family Care Health Network has retained East Coast Labor Relations, LLC under an agreement dated February 5, 2026. Unlike the other disclosures this week, no hourly rate was listed in the filing, which is a violation of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959.
The lack of a disclosed rate doesn’t mean the cost is low. Instead, it means workers and the public are being kept in the dark about just how much their employer is spending to oppose their organizing rights. East Coast Labor Relations has appeared in multiple LaborLab disclosures in recent months.
When companies hire $4,000/day consultants to fight worker organizing, LaborLab makes sure workers know about it. Help us continue monitoring and publishing these critical disclosures by supporting our work today.