LaborLab Launches Union-Busting Calculator for Workers

The nonprofit workers' rights watchdog LaborLab has launched new tools designed to equip employees with greater visibility into their employers' strategies and expenditures when workers attempt to organize. These tools aim to counter the significant industry of consultants and law firms that actively work to prevent unionization efforts. According to the Labor Department, approximately 75% of employers engage union avoidance consultants to suppress unionization drives. Major corporations such as Amazon and 3M reportedly allocate millions of dollars annually to these consultants, who often also provide legal representation. Law firms specializing in anti-union campaigns are also reported to earn substantial incomes from their work with employers.

Workers seeking to organize often lack a clear understanding of the resources and tactics employed by their employers to resist unionization. While union membership has seen an increase, with about 16.5 million workers represented by a union as of 2025—the highest share in approximately 16 years—this figure remains significantly lower than the 50 million Americans who have expressed a desire to join a union. Labor advocates attribute this disparity, in part, to the substantial financial investments companies make in combating unionization.

LaborLab's new search tool aggregates data from government filings to provide workers with intelligence on over 800 consultants and thousands of law firms and attorneys. This information includes details on who these entities represent, their fee structures, and their past performance in union campaigns. Complementing this is the union-busting cost calculator, which estimates the various expenses companies incur when fighting unionization efforts instead of voluntarily recognizing a union. These estimated costs encompass legal fees and potential losses in productivity.

Although companies are legally mandated to disclose their spending on union avoidance, accessing and compiling this information from federal databases can be challenging. Furthermore, existing loopholes allow some employers to underreport total union avoidance costs, effectively concealing certain expenditures. For instance, consultants are not always required to report specific types of engagement or expenses, creating further opacity in the process. These new tools from LaborLab seek to democratize access to this crucial information, empowering workers to better understand the landscape of their organizing efforts.