House Republicans fought the board's policy of seeking to reduce delays by pursuing emergency injunctions against companies for actions like illegally dismissing pro-union workers.

She began to miss meetings, she was never home when the organizers came by and she became unwilling to listen when other pro-union workers approached her in the plant.

As Bunuan and Panepinto march up the steps and into the plant, a group of pro-union workers prays in the parking lot.

But the pro-union workers don't really need their leaders to tell them what happened.

Now, he said, employers can fire pro-union workers with no real cost.

The frustrations of pro-union workers erupted in December, when 160 employees barricaded themselves in the company cafeteria.

Indeed, the biggest complaint of pro-union workers here seems to be that there is too much overtime.

Other unions have pushed for a system called card check, in which union organizers gather signatures of pro-union workers on cards until they obtain a majority.

In one of the charges, the labor board said that Starbucks managers had discriminated improperly against pro-union workers in enforcing the company's dress and jewelry policy.

Several pro-union workers as well as R. Thomas Buffenbarger, the machinists union president, sent E-mail to the champ to complain.