A group of Fresno cement drivers told the federal government they no longer want to be represented by a labor union.

Drivers with CalPortland’s Fresno Ready Mix Plant filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board requesting a vote to remove Teamster Local 431 from the jobsite. Driver Darrell Dunlap Sr. filed the petition with legal aid from the National Right to Work Foundation.

“This workplace has been under Teamster union control for over 20 years, so we’ve seen union officials’ actions up close for many years,” Dunlap said in a news release. “As our majority-backed petition shows, based on our extensive experience with the Teamsters, we are confident we’ll be better off without a union.”

A representative with the Right to Work Foundation said the plant has about 17 drivers. A representative from the Teamsters Local 431 was not available for comment before publication of this story.

Striking Teamsters Once Tried to Sabotage Vehicles

Decertifying a union begins with the NLRB. Drivers at the plant are requesting secret ballots, according to the news release. The Teamsters have represented drivers at the plant for more than 20 years.

In 2017, when Teamsters at another facility went on strike they attempted to sabotage company concrete trucks mid-delivery, which would have left drivers without work, the release stated.

“The rank-and-file are the most familiar with the union officials in their workplaces, and this is just the latest of a growing number of employees who have decided to exercise their right to free themselves of unwanted so-called ‘representation,’ ” said National Right-to-Work Foundation President Mark Mix.

“Given Teamsters’ bosses’ intimidation tactics or worse, it is not surprising that the Teamsters are regularly the union that faces the most workers decertification drives.”