Massage therapists at a franchised massage studio and spa in north Florida voted to unionize last week, in what is believed to be the first successful union drive by massage therapists in the state.
But records show they faced some opposition from their employer along the way.
A “union avoidance” professional with the Labor Pros, a consultancy firm in Orlando that specializes in convincing workers not to unionize, was hired by the massage studio, a franchised Hand & Stone location, ahead of a unionization vote by studio employees.
A financial disclosure form filed with the U.S. Labor Department shows that at least one Labor Pros consultant was hired over a three-week period to “provide third party education services regarding labor Matters” for the McLain Spa Group, a Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa franchise owner based in Florida.
Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa, launched in 2004, is a national chain of franchised massage spas, similar to Massage Envy and the like, with locations across 35 states and in Canada.
This summer, workers at a Gainesville location — including estheticians, spa associates and massage therapists — filed three separate petitions to unionize with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1625, a labor union that also represents stylists, catering workers and florists at Disney World in Orlando.
Gary Parody Jr., secretary-treasurer of Local 1625, told Orlando Weekly that the studio’s massage therapists overwhelmingly voted to unionize on Aug. 4, making their Hand & Stone location the only unionized massage studio in the state of Florida, as far as he’s aware.
The National Labor Relations Board, which oversees private sector union elections, confirmed that the massage therapists voted 22-3 to unionize, in a historic victory.
“It’s very exciting,” Parody Jr. told Orlando Weekly in a phone call. Estheticians and spa associates at the Gainesville studio, meanwhile, will also be voting on whether to unionize later this month, on Aug. 25.
The massage industry at large, not just in Florida, is predominantly non-union. That’s in part because, historically, many massage therapists have been self-employed.
But that’s not necessarily the case anymore. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, just 43% of massage therapists were self-employed in 2021.
Last October, a micro massage studio in Colorado became the first franchise-owned massage therapy studio to unionize in the U.S.
“We stood our ground, unionized, and demanded that our needs as valuable employees be respected and heeded,” Lori Olcott, a licensed massage therapist and UFCW union member at Colorado’s Elements Massage, wrote in a blog post published this June.
“We did it. Now it’s your turn,” Olcott added.
That effort in Colorado — to establish better wages and working conditions — was what inspired workers at the Gainesville massage studio to reach out to the UFCW, said Parody Jr., whose office is based in Lakeland.
A successful union drive by massage therapists in Colorado inspired Florida massage therapists to launch their own unionization effort as well.
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Records from the state Division of Corporations show the franchise owner of the Gainesville studio, Tara McLain, is based in Longwood, near Orlando, operating the franchise under Tri Family LLC.
According to the McLain Spa Group’s LinkedIn profile, McLain also operates four other Hand & Stone spas across the state of Florida, with locations in Estero, Tallahassee, Naples and Fleming Island.
Ahead of her employees' union elections, McLain’s franchise retained attorneys from the notoriously anti-union law firm Littler Mendelson, according to filings with the National Labor Relations Board, the agency which oversees private sector union elections.
Littler Mendelson has also been hired by companies like Starbucks and McDonald’s franchisees to crush organizing activity.
A mandatory financial disclosure report shows the franchisee also retained an anti-union consultant: the Labor Pros, the Orlando-based consultancy firm, from July 17 through Aug. 5, 2023. Their consultants are typically hired at a rate of up to $425 per hour, according to Labor Department filings reviewed by Orlando Weekly.
The Labor Pros, founded in 2004, has been criticized for skirting federal labor law, filing mandatory financial disclosure reports of their agreements with employers late or incorrectly.
This is a practice that’s relatively common, although historically overlooked within the “union avoidance” industry, in part due to weak enforcement by the feds (although they’re working on it) and penalties that generally amount to little more than a phone call or slap on the wrist.
The Labor Pros’ latest persuader report, disclosing their services for the Gainesville massage studio, was submitted to the Labor Department on Aug. 9, within the 30-day window required under federal law.
This requirement, first established decades ago, is meant to help ensure that workers engaging in their federally protected right to organize can look to see if their boss has hired outside interests to influence their organizing activity.
Anti-union consultants, also known as “persuaders” or “union busters,” are known to sometimes use fake names, and provide false or cherry-picked information about unions to undermine support for unionization.
Sometimes this works, and sometimes it doesn’t.
Union representation is affiliated with higher wages and reduced gender and racial wage gaps. Union members are more likely than their nonunion counterparts to have access to benefits like paid sick leave, as well as certain job protections.
That’s part of why U.S. employers spend over $400 million annually for “union avoidance” professionals, although labor experts estimate that the actual amount is much higher.
Parody Jr., with the UFCW Local 1625, told Orlando Weekly that employees at the Hand & Stone massage studio in Gainesville are hoping to collectively bargain over things such as wages and the franchise’s commission system, as well as paid time off and other working conditions.
Tara McLain, owner of the Gainesville Hand & Stone franchise, could not be reached for comment. Orlando Weekly will add any comment from McLain that comes in as an update to this story.
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