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(WO) — Drivers working for Energy Transfer, an oil and gas transportation company with nearly 30 facilities across Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, have petitioned federal officials for a vote to remove United Steelworkers (USW) union officials from bargaining control.

Jay Fifer, a driver based in Hearne, Texas, submitted the petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with legal assistance from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. If the vote proceeds and succeeds, more than 420 Energy Transfer drivers could end USW’s role in representing their work unit.

Fifer’s petition includes signatures from a sufficient number of coworkers to meet NLRB requirements for a decertification election. The NLRB, which oversees union elections and decertifications, is now reviewing the request.

“Support among us drivers for this Steelworkers union is very low where I work. My colleagues at other locations have said similar things as well,” said Fifer. “It’s not fair for Steelworkers officials to dictate major things about our work lives when very few drivers at all are union members. I filed this petition because I firmly believe that the overwhelming majority of my coworkers don’t think this union represents us, and we hope the NLRB lets us exercise that right without any delays.”

Right to Work laws in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana prohibit contracts that require union membership or dues payments as a condition of employment. However, USW officials can still impose collective bargaining contracts on all workers within a unit—regardless of whether they support or belong to the union. These work units often span multiple locations and, in this case, cross state lines.

Fifer’s petition reflects a broader national trend. According to NLRB data, worker-filed petitions to decertify unions have increased more than 50% since 2020.

The National Right to Work Foundation has recently assisted other employee groups in removing USW unions, including healthcare workers in Minnesota, chemical plant employees in Louisiana, and metalworkers in Pennsylvania.

“American workers should not have to accept the ‘representation’ of a union that lacks worker support in the workplace, and more and more workers are standing up to free themselves,” said Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation. “That’s why it’s important that they be able to freely exercise their right to vote to remove a union, a right that unfortunately was consistently under attack under the previous Administration’s National Labor Relations Board.

“As President Trump seeks new appointees for the NLRB, he should remember that workers all over the country like Mr. Fifer and his colleagues believe they are better off free from union influence, and those workers deserve to have their voices and will respected,” Mix added.