Solidarity pays off for new SMART members in Illinois

In May 2026, the employees of Energy Services in Naperville, Illinois, demonstrated the power of solidarity when they voted 17-3 to join SMART Local 265. The National Labor Relations Board election itself was decisive; it was also the culmination of months of organizing and years of relationships built among coworkers who viewed one another as more than just fellow employees.

For many of the workers at Energy Services, a residential service company in the greater Chicago area, the company was a second home. A significant portion of the workforce had spent between 8 and 12 years building the business and serving customers together. They celebrated milestones, supported one another through difficult times and developed a level of trust that can only come from years of working side-by-side.

That trust became the foundation of a successful organizing campaign.

Organizing for change

The catalyst for change came in late 2025 and early 2026, following a private equity acquisition. As new ownership took control, workers began seeing changes that raised concerns about the future of the company and their livelihoods.

Compensation structures employees had relied upon for years began changing. Workers experienced reductions in pay while increased emphasis was placed on commission-based sales opportunities. Employees who had built careers around providing quality service found themselves questioning the company’s direction and what those changes would mean for both workers and customers.

Across many industries, private equity acquisitions often bring promises of efficiency and growth. Workers, however, frequently bear the burden: They experience pressure to increase profits, reduce labor costs and prioritize short-term financial returns. The employees at Energy Services worried that the workplace culture they had spent years building was beginning to erode.

Those concerns extended beyond long-time employees. Veterans of the company felt a responsibility to protect newer coworkers from further reductions in pay, benefits or workplace stability. What began as conversations among trusted coworkers quickly grew into something larger.

Workers spoke openly about the challenges they faced and the future they wanted to create. Rather than focusing solely on individual concerns, discussions centered on how, by acting collectively, they could provide stability, fairness and a meaningful voice in workplace decisions.

Worker-to-worker organizing builds workplace power

SMART Local 265 Organizers Jay Jones, Joel Orozco and Mike Powers worked alongside the employees throughout the campaign, providing guidance, resources and organizational support. Behind the scenes, the effort included countless evening phone calls, organizing committee meetings and weekend strategy sessions. The goal was never to speak for the workers, but to help workers build the confidence and structure to help them speak for themselves.

The organizing committee became the engine that drove the campaign forward. Workers routinely dedicated evenings and weekends to planning outreach, discussing concerns raised by coworkers and preparing for the next phase of the campaign. Committee members took ownership of the effort, ensuring every Energy Services worker had the chance to ask questions, share concerns and make an informed decision about representation.

The campaign was built through worker-to-worker organizing.

Employees identified natural leaders within the company and focused on one-on-one conversations. Coworkers listened to concerns, answered questions and shared their experiences. Through those discussions, workers discovered that many of the frustrations they believed were personal were shared throughout the workforce.

As support continued to grow, employees signed authorization cards and built a strong organizing committee. The campaign was grounded in a shared belief that workers deserved a seat at the table when decisions affecting their lives were being made.

Management responded with an extensive anti-union campaign.

Employees attended “voluntary” meetings and participated in one-on-one discussions designed to discourage support for union representation. Week after week, workers were presented with reasons why they should reject their union.

By that point, however, the campaign had become about something more than any meeting or presentation.

Years of shared experience had created bonds that could not easily be broken. Employees continued discussing the campaign after meetings, comparing information, and keeping their focus on the issues that had inspired them to organize in the first place.

Throughout the campaign, workers demonstrated remarkable courage. A union campaign is never easy, particularly when management actively opposes it. Yet employees remained focused on securing collective power and protecting the workplace they had helped build.

On May 6, 2026, those efforts paid off.

A worker win in Naperville

When the ballots were counted, the workers voted overwhelmingly in favor of representation by SMART Local 265. The final tally of 17-3 reflected not only support for union representation, but also the strength of the relationships that had fueled the campaign from the beginning.

The Energy Services victory serves as a reminder that successful organizing campaigns are built on solidarity, commitment and workers looking out for one another.

This campaign was not simply about wages, commissions or workplace policies. It was about a group of employees who refused to stand by while decisions affecting their futures were made without them. It was about long-time coworkers protecting one another and ensuring that newer employees would have the same opportunities and stability they had worked for years to create.

Most importantly, it demonstrated a simple truth: When workers stand together, they can shape their own future.