The prospect of a new union was a welcome development for some workers at the Golden Krust manufacturing plant in the Bronx.
Beginning in July, Cesar Alarcón, a representative for Progressive Workers of the World Local 311, started showing up to the plant and meeting with workers. He treated them to lunch and promised them increased wages and lower union dues. Outside the plant, he passed out flyers saying that I.B.E.W. Local Union 1430, the current union at Golden Krust, was failing its members.
“Local 311 guarantees Golden Krust employees that they will receive at least a $1 increase per year,” Alarcón texted workers. “Local 311 guarantees that all employees will receive more vacation days.”
Local 311 was committing an aggressive and frowned-upon, but ultimately legal, practice known as a “union raid.” A union will enter a unionized workplace and try to displace an already existing union by forcing a vote among the staff to join them. Raids can occur for a variety of reasons, such as political differences or simply to poach the lucrative dues members pay to their unions.
At Golden Krust, many of the employees were excited for the changes that Alarcón listed, but 47-year-old Ecuadorian shop steward Elena Bermello was skeptical of him and his promises.
“Lower dues is one of the proposals he has made,” said Bermello in Spanish, who has worked at Golden Krust for three years as a packer. “The other proposal he’s made is that supposedly we’re going to have more benefits. He is proposing many things that I know he’s not going to fulfill.”
Bermello began to research Alarcón’s background. She quickly found that he was not a union leader, but rather the former president of Stay Union Free Corp, a now-defunct consulting firm that specialized in “union avoidance,” an industry term used by consultants who help management dissuade workers from joining a union. Among labor circles, the term is better known as “union busting,” a term Alarcón distinguishes himself from.
“I don’t identify myself that way,” he told Documented. “I’ve spent decades in labor relations and have worked with unions, workers, and management. I believe employees should be able to make informed decisions about representation, including whether they want to join a union, remain represented, consider another organization, or exercise other rights available to them.”
Alarcón later founded the more neutral named International Labor Group, but that organization’s mission was similar: advising bosses on how to navigate unions in their workplaces.
So why would a seasoned anti-union consultant suddenly be interested in forming a union at a food manufacturing plant?
Alarcón says it’s “out of the kindness of my heart.”
Others are less certain.
“Out of the kindness of my heart.”
—Cesar Alarcón, former president of Stay Union Free Corp
“I’ve never seen somebody playing both sides of the fence like that,” Jordan El-Hag, the current union’s president, said, adding that he has never seen a case where an individual practiced in union avoidance actually formed a union.
Responding to Documented’s request for comment, Alarcón denied that he was doing anything unlawful and that he was simply volunteering his time to help out the workers who were dissatisfied with their union. He claims that he does not control the union nor is he affiliated with it in any way other than as a volunteer.
“Tell me what would be illegal on my part to volunteer my services to both locals,” he said over the phone. “I even consulted with lawyers and labor lawyers, and no one can really tell me that I was doing anything wrong.”
Local 311, the union Alarcón represents, and a related independent union, Independent Workers of America Local 260, tried to organize at least four workplaces. In one case, at a housing complex in the Bronx, they were successful. Those workers lost their contract and healthcare benefits shortly after they decided to join the new union.
Alarcón has had a long association with Local 260, and his family members are officers in both unions, according to documents filed with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS). A former associate of Alarcón told Documented his name was filed in union documents without his knowledge or consent.
A union that is not affiliated with a major national labor federation, such as the AFL-CIO, is generally viewed as an independent union. Some of the major unions, like the Industrial Workers of the World, have a long and venerated history within the labor movement. But other independent unions, for instance LIFE 890, have an alleged reputation as a pro-company union with ties to organized crime.
Despite Local 311’s efforts, on July 29, the attempted union raid of Golden Krust was temporarily blocked by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) when it dismissed Local 311’s petition. The NLRB found that the petition was filed while a valid union contract was in place.
With help from dissenting Golden Krust employees, Alarcón filed for a union deauthorization election, which the NLRB sanctioned and scheduled for Sept. 18. That day, workers, long fed up with Local 1430, voted overwhelmingly in favor of deauthorization in a 108-14 decision.
Instead of their dues, which range from $45 to $90 a month depending on the employee’s salary, being automatically deducted from their paychecks, workers will now be given the choice to pay dues to Local 1430.
If the majority of workers withhold their dues, the union is still required to represent them for the duration of their current contract. Without workers paying dues, Local 1430, once the contract expires, could withdraw from Golden Krust altogether. Before the vote, Local 1430 filed a formal complaint with OLMS against Local 311 and Alarcón.
“In the years I’ve been doing this, this is one of the craziest union-busting adjacent things I’ve ever seen,” said Bob Funk, executive director and founder of LaborLab, a watchdog that tracks anti-union activities across the country that was founded in 2021.
Union-Avoidance
Union busting, officially known as “union avoidance” consulting, is a very lucrative industry, with employers spending $1.5 billion annually on their services. Employers facing a unionization drive hire these consultants to dissuade employees from supporting a union by distributing anti-union literature and holding mandatory captive audience meetings.
“In the years I’ve been doing this, this is one of the craziest union-busting adjacent things I’ve ever seen.”
—Bob Funk, executive director and founder of LaborLab
Under federal law, consultants are required to file disclosure reports within 30 days of being hired by an employer, but often consultants exploit a legal loophole known as the “advice” exception that allows them to avoid reporting activities as long as they don’t have direct contact with workers.
Another new loophole may be forming unions like Local 311.
According to Funk, who tracks anti-union activity, union busters forming their own unions could be an unprecedented tactic in reducing the power of organized labor.
“Unfortunately, fake company unions have been a barrier to worker power throughout almost the entire history of this country, but it is incredibly disturbing to see registered, documented union busters starting to execute a whole new strategy of making the organizing process even more difficult for workers by setting up potentially fake sham unions,” Funk said.
Alarcón pushed back on notions that his intention to help organize Golden Krust workers was anything but altruistic.
“Why I’m motivated to do this? That’s what you want to know?” he said. “I think it’s clear enough that employees are getting screwed by unions like this one right here.”
“That’s going to be another lawsuit.”
On June 23, Local 311 filed registration forms with OLMS to certify itself as a new union. That very same day, another newly formed union, Local 260, also filed registration forms. NLRB records show that Local 260 existed as early as 2014 when it unsuccessfully attempted to unionize workers at an addiction treatment center in the Bronx. Alarcón’s personal phone number is listed on both petitions. That same year, it filed for another unsuccessful union election at a second Bronx treatment center. State court records show that Alarcón was listed as the president of Local 260 in 2015, but the union never filed an official registration form with OLMS until this year.
A Documented review of public records revealed a trail leading Local 311 and Local 260 to the doorstep of prominent union busters. Beyond having the same filing date in common, both Local 311 and Local 260 share the same officers and both list a P.O. Box at 120019 Amboy Ave., Staten Island, as their address. Both unions list Ramon Santana as their business manager.
When Documented called a number listed on the OLMS form as Santana’s personal phone number, Alarcón answered.
Public records also list a Michelle Alarcónas the secretary-treasurer of Local 311 and Local 260. The name Michelle Alarcónis also registered alongside Cesar Alarcón as officers of the union-busting firm Stay Union Free Corp.Both Alarcóns also share the same Florida address.
Sources who have a history with Alarcón told Documented that the Michelle in question is Cesar’s sister and Santana is Cesar’s brother-in-law. When Documented asked Cesar, he confirmed that Santana was his brother-in-law and Michelle was a relative, and refused to confirm that Michelle was his sister.
Documented has previously reported on Cesar Alarcón’s anti-union activities. During the height of the pandemic in 2021, Alarcón was brought in to bust an organizing drive by immigrant laundry workers.
A few years later, in 2024, Alarcón’s services were again enlisted to thwart a union drive of airport transport workers. In this case, Alarcón didn’t file a “Persuader Report,” which is required in situations when individuals engaged in anti-union activity are paid by employers. Alarcón told Documented that he was only volunteering his services and was thus not required to register with OLMS.
Alarcón, who himself was a former union organizer, is currently legally representing Local 260 in a successful union raid at another Bronx worksite.
And although Local 311 lists union avoidance consultant Keith Peraino as its president and his wife LoriAnn Peraino as its vice president in its OLMS filing, when Documented reached out to Peraino, he denied that he is the president. He instead claimed that Alarcón filed his and his wife’s names in retaliation for a lawsuit he filed against him. Peraino also claimed that Alarcón incorrectly listed his son, former high school football star Michael, as Local 260’s president, as well as his other son Peter, who is listed as Local 260’s vice president.
“My oldest son is a football player with a head injury, and my younger son is in college, so that’s all fake,” he told Documented. “I’m sure he did it to get back at me.”
Learning about his sons being named in the OLMS filings for the first time, Peraino became upset over the phone. “He could use my name all he wants, and I’ll take care of it, but when it comes to my kids, you can’t use my kids’ names,” he said. “So that’s going to be another lawsuit.”
According to federal documents, Peraino is listed as the president of Eternity Souls LLC, one of the union-avoidance consulting firms hired by Amazon in 2022. There, he has earned over a million dollars for his services in 2024 as a subcontractor for Government Resources Consultants of America.
However, Peraino claims that he has been retired since 2024 and he “1,000%” denies having any business relationship with Alarcón or Local 311 and Local 260 and claims that he has filed a complaint with the OLMS.
“He could use my name all he wants, and I’ll take care of it, but when it comes to my kids, you can’t use my kids’ names.”
—Keith Peraino, union avoidance consultant
“He tried to obviously damage my reputation,” he said. “I’m unsure how he was able to put my name or anybody’s name, for that matter, on a business I have nothing to do with.”
According to Peraino, Alarcón has had a “vendetta” against him for years and that they are bitter enemies. Peraino claims that Alarcón, who was once a subcontractor for his company, attempted to smear his name and take business from him. In 2021, Peraino won a $1.6 million defamation lawsuit against Alarcón. Alarcón still has not paid, Peraino claims. Alarcón did not respond to Documented’s request regarding this information.
Alarcón, who denies having any official role in either union, claims that the listing of Peraino and his family on the OLMS forms was a paperwork error.
“That’s just paperwork, that has nothing to do with me,” he said.
Documented was not able to determine if Alarcón himself filed the paperwork.
Union Raid
Six months before Local 311 and Local 260 legally registered their unions with OLMS, on November 25, 2025, both unions filed a petition for a union election at Parkchester North Condominium in the Bronx with the NLRB.
However, there was one issue: Workers at Parkchester were already represented by the Construction Trades Council of Greater New York (BCTC), a member of the labor federation AFL-CIO that represents over 100,000 workers in New York City.
On July 29, Local 260, legally represented by Alarcón, won the union election, replacing the BCTC as the sole bargaining representative for the 27 eligible workers. And according to sources, as of this year, workers are now without a union contract and have lost their healthcare.
Local 260’s petition to the NLRB lists 4055 Amboy Road, Staten Island, NY 10312, as their address, which appears to be a parking lot situated between a CVS and a supermarket.
This is not Alarcón’s first involvement in an alleged union raid. In 2012, Alarcón built and founded an apparent union, Local 25, and named himself as president. He tried to take over Quality King Distributors, a Long Island wholesale beauty and pharmaceuticals supply company, but the workers were already represented by UFCW Local 348-S. The NLRB dismissed Local 25’s raid attempt.
Company Unions and Mob Ties
Both Local 311 and Local 260 share Steve Goldblatt as their attorney. Goldblatt is the chief counsel for UCTIE Local 621, an independent union with alleged ties to reputed Colombo Crime Family capo Dennis “Fat Dennis” DeLucia.
DeLucia’s relatives remain active in Local 621, including his son Dean DeLucia, his daughter-in-law, Rita Delucia, and his grandson, also named Dennis.
Goldblatt did not respond to Documented’s request for comment regarding whether Local 621 is backing Alarcón’s union efforts.
Before operating his own anti-union consulting firm, between 2005 and 2006, Alarcón worked as a representative for a former affiliate of the United Workers of America (UWA), an independent union. In 2009 and 2010, Alarcón was the secretary-treasurer for UWA Local 660.
Alarcón, as president of Local 260, attempted to merge his union with another independent union, International Brotherhood of Trade Unions Local 713, in 2014. The merger fell through, and Local 713 successfully sued Alarcón for backing out of the deal, with a state judge awarding them $10,500 in damages. A recent New York Focus investigation found that Local 713 is a family-run company union with a history of alleged corruption.
The union’s former secretary-treasurer, Robert Scalza, was implicated by federal law enforcement as being an associate of the Genovese crime family. He was convicted in 2014 and was sentenced to six months of house arrest for threatening a rival union official from Local 621.
Local 713 did not return Documented’s request for comment.
Playing Both Sides of the Fence
Over the past year, Alarcón and his associates have been busy. On the same day Alarcón filed for a second union election at Golden Krust, on Aug. 26, Local 311 filed a petition with the NLRB for a union election to represent workers at JFK Airport in another apparent union raid. The workers, who are employed by SkyChefs, which prepares airplane meals, are currently represented by UNITE HERE Local 100.
A representative of Local 100 did not respond to Documented’s multiple requests for comment.
Beyond operating in the five boroughs, Local 311 has attempted to organize workers at Brightview Landscaping in Pennsylvania. The union filed a formal union election petition on July 27, which it temporarily withdrew on Aug. 6. It also filed unfair labor charges against a staffing company in Miami, Florida, in June.
In 2019, Brightview hired Alarcón as a labor consultant, for which he earned over $30,000 for his services. Alarcón denied that his previous relationship with Brightview is a conflict of interest.
“A professional engagement from years ago does not establish a current financial relationship or conflict,” he said. “If you have evidence that I currently have a financial relationship that creates the conflict you’re suggesting, send it to me, and I’ll address it directly.”
Documented was not able to confirm an ongoing financial relationship between Alarcón and Brightview management.
Lack of Federal Oversight
After learning of these findings, LaborLab filed a request with OLMS to investigate Local 311 and Local 260, questioning whether those two unions are legitimate worker representatives.
“We have formally asked OLMS and the Department of Labor to investigate these two quote-unquote independent unions that appear to be shams set up by registered union busters,” Funk told Documented. “We have the filings that show that they are union busters, and OLMS, if they take their obligations seriously under the law, need to investigate these sham unions right away.”
“We have formally asked OLMS and the Department of Labor to investigate these two quote-unquote independent unions that appear to be shams set up by registered union busters.”
—Bob Funk, executive director and founder of LaborLab
A bad actor may be able to create a duplicitous union because of lax federal oversight, Funk argues. Although union busters must file disclosure reports with the OLMS, the agency’s own internal 2024 report found that the OLMS has failed to enforce anti-union persuader activity reporting requirements.
The report also found that OLMS failed to respond to tips from the public regarding anti-union persuader activity. LaborLab found that in 2024, 782 persuader reports were missing or incomplete. Complicating matters is the fact that persuaders who fail to file reports face no monetary consequences.
As some union busters continue to skirt the law, President Donald Trump has imposed stricter reporting requirements on unions, which labor advocates like Funk say hurt workers by giving union busters free rein.
“Unfortunately, this current OLMS and Department of Labor have continued to show preferential treatment for the union-busting industry, while continuing to target unions and letting union busters off the hook when they are clearly violating the law and thumbing their nose at the Department of Labor and our country’s labor laws,” Funk said.
Under federal labor law, it’s illegal for an employer to directly set up a company-controlled union. Alarcón, however, told Documented that his motives are a genuine attempt to give voice to the workers who have long suffered under Local 1430 representation.
“Talk to the Golden Krust employees,” he said. “ Ask them how long they’ve paid dues. Ask what representation they believe they’ve received. Ask about grievances, accessibility, and what they believe they’ve gotten in return for their dues. Most importantly, ask them why they wanted change in the first place.”
When informed about a potential investigation against him, Alarcón wasn’t fazed.
“That’s fine, let them investigate then.”
Ultimately, the determination of whether Local 311 and Local 260 are legitimate labor organizations lies with the OLMS.
When Documented asked Alarcón if we could be put in contact with the officers of both unions, Alarcón could not offer their names or contact info.
Local 1430’s President El-Hag argues that unions themselves could also be doing a better job in fending off anti-union raids by educating their members on their rights and benefits.
“I think the problem is that so many people don’t even understand labor unions anymore,” he said. “So many people have unrealistic expectations, and the grass is always greener on the other side. And there are these people in the industry that prey upon those things and take advantage of working-class people, and I think that’s really what you’re uncovering here.”
For Bermello, building renewed faith among the rank and file for Local 1430 was an uphill battle. Bermello tried her best to counter the influence of Alarcón and save their union as well as their hard-earned benefits like healthcare.
She had one-on-one conversations with her coworkers at the plant, trying to convince them to vote to continue paying dues to the union on Sept. 18. Ultimately, her efforts were in vain, with workers voting not to mandatorily pay dues, depriving the union of the funds needed to represent them. Despite all of Bermello’s efforts, when the workers left the job, she says Alarcón patiently waited outside the plant.
“He’s even making people rebel,” she said. “He used to come almost every day of the week, and he would bring a new proposal and a new proposal, so he was interrupting the work here.”
