Workers across 12 North Carolina locations officially free from CWA officials’ ‘representation’
North Carolina (March 18, 2026) – Employees of telecommunications provider Windstream North Carolina LLC have successfully voted Communications Workers of America (CWA) union officials out of power at their workplaces across North Carolina. Windstream worker Grant Diorio kicked off his coworkers’ effort to oust the union by filing a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in January, impacting his work unit of roughly 120 Windstream employees. Diorio filed the petition with free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for enforcing private sector labor law, a task that includes holding votes to install (or “certify”) and remove (or “decertify”) unions. Diorio’s petition contained more than enough signatures from his coworkers to trigger a decertification vote under NLRB rules. In February, the NLRB approved an agreement that set aside three days for in-person voting at several Windstream locations across the state.
The agreement noted that the vote would take place among “[a]ll employees employed by [Windstream] in its Plant, Commercial, or Traffic Department at its Matthews, Wadesboro, Waxhaw, Rockwell, Denton, Mooresville, Tryon, Rural Hall, Monroe, and Aberdeen facilities.”
North Carolina is a Right to Work state, meaning state law forbids CWA bosses and other union officials from forcing workers to pay money to the union just to get or keep a job. Diorio and his coworkers enjoyed these protections, but even in Right to Work states, union officials have exclusive “representation” power, which permits them to impose one-size-fits-all contracts on every worker in a unionized workplace, even those who voted against or otherwise oppose the union.
Workers Across Country Seeking Union Decertification, but Biden-Era Policies Stand in the Way
Foundation attorneys have noticed a marked increase in worker requests for help in decertifying unpopular unions. NLRB statistics indicate that in 2025 (the last year for which data is available), decertification petition filings are up almost 40% since 2020.
“Mr. Diorio and his colleagues’ situation is an excellent example of what happens when labor law actually works to protect American employees’ individual rights as opposed to frustrating those rights. We were proud to assist them,” commented National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix. “Unfortunately, one only needs to look within the state of North Carolina to find an example of union bosses using biased doctrines within federal labor law to shore up their own power, even when it’s clear that workers want a chance to vote the union out. At The Quartz Corp. in Spruce Pine, United Mine Workers union officials have been manipulating unsubstantiated misconduct charges for months to block workers from having a union removal vote they validly requested.
“Luckily, Foundation attorneys are assisting Quartz Corp. employees and many other groups of independent-minded workers across the country in challenging unfair legal barriers to worker freedom,” Mix added. “The Trump NLRB should break from dysfunctional Biden-era policies and end the biased rules that have undermined workers’ explicit right under federal law to vote out unwanted unions.”
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The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year. Its web address is www.nrtw.org.
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