🗞️ NLRB Dismisses Decertification Petition Filed Before New Security Contractor Takes Over Federal Facility

A decertification petition filed in early 2026 seeking to remove a union representing armed security officers at a federal facility in College Park, Maryland was dismissed by the National Labor Relations Board's Region 5 office before a hearing could be held. The dismissal turned not on the merits of the underlying representation question, but on a fundamental timing problem: the employer named in the petition had not yet assumed operations or hired a single employee in the bargaining unit at the time of filing.

The decision, issued February 24, 2026 by Regional Director Sean R. Marshall, applies a well-established Board doctrine holding that a decertification petition is premature — and legally insufficient to raise a question concerning representation — when the future scope and composition of the bargaining unit remains in substantial doubt.

The petition, designated Case 05-RD-380552, was filed on February 5, 2026 by an individual seeking a secret-ballot election to decertify the International Union, Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) as the certified collective-bargaining representative of full-time, regular part-time, and on-call armed protective security officers (PSOs) at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) facility at 5830 University Research Court, College Park, Maryland.

Three labor organizations — SPFPA, the United NOAA Security Officers Union (UNSOU), and the Fraternity of American Protective Officers (FAPO) — were named as intervenors, reflecting the active representational interest of multiple unions in the unit.

The petition named Golden SVCS, LLC as the employer. However, an administrative investigation by the Regional Office determined that the contractor actually employing security officers at the NOAA facility was North American Security, Inc. — not Golden. North American Security holds an active collective-bargaining agreement with SPFPA effective April 4, 2023 through April 3, 2026. Golden SVCS was identified as the incoming contractor, scheduled to assume operations at the facility on March 1, 2026, and had engaged with employees of North American Security regarding future employment — but had not yet hired any employees in the petitioned-for unit.

Under Section 9(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, the NLRB may direct an election only when a genuine question concerning representation exists. The Board's long-standing position is that a petition filed before an employer has assembled a workforce does not meet that threshold.

The Regional Director cited two controlling precedents:

• K-P Hydraulics Co., 219 NLRB 138 (1975) — Established that a petition is premature, and raises no question concerning representation, when the future scope and composition of the proposed unit is in substantial doubt.
• Trailmobile, Division of Pullman, Inc., 221 NLRB 954 (1975) — Reaffirmed that the Board will not hold petitions in abeyance pending the hiring of a representative and substantial employee complement.

Critically, the Board does not allow petitions to simply wait on a shelf while an incoming employer assembles its workforce. The filing must coincide with conditions — particularly workforce presence — that make the question of representation a live one.

The underlying situation reflects a classic contractor-transition scenario in the federal security services sector. When Golden SVCS assumes operations on March 1, 2026, its obligations toward the incumbent union and the existing workforce will be shaped by the Board's successor employer doctrine, rooted in the Supreme Court's decisions in NLRB v. Burns International Security Services, Inc., 406 U.S. 272 (1972) and Fall River Dyeing & Finishing Corp. v. NLRB, 482 U.S. 27 (1987).

Under the Burns/Fall River framework, an employer qualifies as a successor — and inherits a bargaining obligation with the incumbent union — if it continues the predecessor's operations in substantially unchanged form and hires a majority of its workforce from among the predecessor's employees. The duty to bargain attaches at the point the successor has employed a "substantial and representative complement" of workers. Until that complement is in place, neither successor bargaining obligations nor valid petitions can ripen.

The Regional Director's dismissal order is consistent with this framework: because Golden had not yet hired any unit employees, there was no workforce against which to measure majority sentiment, no employer-employee relationship to anchor a decertification election, and no cognizable question of representation.

An additional complicating factor not explicitly addressed in the dismissal order — but relevant to any future petition — is the contract bar doctrine. The active CBA between North American Security and SPFPA runs through April 3, 2026. Under Board rules, a valid collective-bargaining agreement bars the processing of most representation petitions during its term, subject to a narrow 30-day window period between 90 and 60 days before contract expiration. The interplay between the contract bar, the impending contractor transition, and any future petition would require careful timing analysis.

On February 13, 2026, Regional Director Marshall issued a Notice to Show Cause directing parties to explain why the petition should not be dismissed. The deadline for response was February 20, 2026. No party responded. The absence of any response left the Regional Director with no basis to preserve the petition.

Parties have until March 10, 2026 to file a request for review with the Board's Executive Secretary under Section 102.67(c) of the Board's Rules and Regulations. Requests may be e-filed through the NLRB's website but may not be submitted by facsimile.

Key Points

• An individual petitioner filed a decertification (RD) petition on February 5, 2026, seeking to remove SPFPA as the bargaining representative of armed security officers at a NOAA facility in College Park, Maryland.
• The petition named Golden SVCS, LLC as the employer; investigation revealed the actual employer was North American Security, Inc., which holds an active CBA with SPFPA through April 3, 2026.
• Golden SVCS, the incoming contractor, was not scheduled to assume operations until March 1, 2026, and had not hired any employees in the petitioned-for unit at the time of filing.
• Regional Director Sean R. Marshall dismissed the petition as premature under K-P Hydraulics Co. and Trailmobile, finding no cognizable question concerning representation existed.
• The Board will not hold decertification petitions in abeyance pending an incoming employer's assembly of a representative workforce.
• No party responded to the February 13, 2026 Notice to Show Cause; parties have until March 10, 2026 to seek Board review.
• The successor employer doctrine (Burns/Fall River) will govern Golden's bargaining obligations once it hires a substantial and representative complement of unit employees.

Primary Source Author: Sean R. Marshall, Regional Director, NLRB Region 5

Primary Source: Decision and Order Dismissing Petition and Withdrawing Notice of Representation Hearing, Case 05-RD-380552, Golden SVCS, LLC, February 24, 2026

Primary Source Link: https://apps.nlrb.gov/link/document.aspx/09031d45841e16fb

Supplemental Links

• NLRB — Decertification Petitions (RD) Overview
• NLRB — The NLRB Process (RC/RD/RM Cases)
• NLRB — Employer Bargaining Obligations and Successorship
• NLRB — Description of Procedures in Certification and Decertification Cases (Form 4812)
• National Labor Relations Act — Full Text (NLRB)
• NLRB v. Burns International Security Services, 406 U.S. 272 (1972) — Cornell LII
• Fall River Dyeing & Finishing Corp. v. NLRB, 482 U.S. 27 (1987) — Cornell LII
• NLRB Edge — Decertification Petition Dismissed as Untimely: Contract Bar and Window Period Analysis (Dec. 2025)
• Successorships of Construction Contractors under the NLRA — PTOP Substack (June 2025)
• NLRB Edge — Successor Employer Recognition and Premature Petition Analysis (Oct. 2024)