Ryan Crosswell served at the firm Littler Mendelson, which represented Amazon, REI, Starbucks, and other companies, thwarting unionization efforts.
Questions about Ryan Crosswell’s previous employment at Littler Mendelson, one of the largest union-avoidance law firms, have come up throughout his campaign for Pennsylvania’s 7th district over the past several months.
Crosswell, who became a Democrat following the 2024 election, worked at Littler Mendelson from 2011 to 2014 before moving to the US Department of Justice from 2014 to 2025. He resigned in protest after President Donald Trump pardoned then-New York Mayor Eric Adams of public corruption charges.
When asked about his employment at Littler Mendelson, Croswell’s campaign issued similar statements downplaying his role at the firm.
“Ryan worked early in his career at a very large law firm; he himself never worked on a case that involved union busting. He left that job over a decade ago to join the Department of Justice under President Obama,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
His campaign went on to state that Crosswell never worked on an anti-union campaign.
The Lever noted that Crosswell worked on non-compete issues while at the firm, and campaign finance records show that his congressional campaign received over $2,000 from a pair of employees with the firm.
Paul Kennedy, a senior member with Littler Mendelson, gave Crosswell $1,000 upon launching his campaign in June. In July 2023, Kennedy signed onto a letter urging New York Gov. Kathy Houchl to veto a ban on non-compete agreements that was passed by the New York House and Senate, which she did later that year.
John Logan, a labor history professor at San Francisco State University and an expert on the union-avoidance industry, explains how Littler Mendelson’s reputation was established decades ago.
“Littler, for decades, has been the most notorious union-avoidance law company in the country, without question, since the 1970s or 1980s,” Logan said in an interview.
He added, ”on the one hand, you could have someone who worked for Littler who said ‘I was never involved in the work that they did fighting unions’ and that could be true, but on the other hand, there’s no question whatsoever about the reputation of Littler in this area.”
Union-avoidance firms operate to prevent workplaces – like Starbucks, REI, or the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) – from unionizing, and according to the Economic Policy Institute, employers spent more than $400 million on these law firms in 2023.
“If you hire Littler Mendelson and you’re dealing with workers trying to organize, it’s like planting a flag saying ‘no, union’s welcome here,’ and everyone knows that,” Logan said.
“If you hired Littler Mendelson, that is clear intent to play hardball and probably, clear intent to do whatever is necessary, lawful or unlawful, in order to defeat the worker organizing campaign.”
Companies such as Apple, REI, Starbucks, and others have resorted to hiring Littler Mendelson in order to stop unionization efforts among their employees.
Workers at Starbucks have filed more than 1,000 unfair labor practices (ULPs) against Starbucks for negotiating in bad faith, unilateral policy changes, retaliatory firings, and discipline since the baristas launched their unionizing effort in 2021.
With Littler Mendelson’s help, Logan compared Starbucks’ anti-unionization efforts to J.P. Stevens breaking organizing drives at textile mills throughout the South, which eventually inspired the 1979 film Norma Rae.
“ If it wasn’t for Starbucks union busting, they would’ve won 1,000 to 2,000 [elections],” Logan said.
He added, “ Starbucks engaged in this sort of ferocious, unlawful, anti-union campaign to make sure that it didn’t continue to spread, and they were successful to a large extent.”
