Ricardo has lobbied with both The House of Representatives and the Senate in Washington D.C. for labor law changes and worked with Joint Council’s legislative departments throughout the country.  Additionally, Ricardo worked with union outreach programs in the UK and Latin American countries in Central and South America to help promote labor law change in economically struggling countries.

While working with the Steelworkers, Ricardo was an Organizing official, working on campaigns as well as corporate organizing campaigns in the glass, rubber, meatpacking, processing, retail, warehousing, steel and healthcare industries.

Ricardo was one of the officials  charged with developing the alliance between the United Steelworkers and the California Nurses Association and participate in the USW merge with the Canadian Retail Employees Union, in which Ricardo initiated organizing strategies across the USA and Canada.

Ricardo was also a representative on the USW Steel pack industrial pattern bargaining committee and Strike coordinator.

Ricardo coordinated  with Richard Bensinger on organizing strategies across the country while Richard served as a labor consultant for the USW. Bensinger who at one point servied as the AFL-CIO’S National Organizing Coordinator and worked to develop advanced healthcare and non-healthcare organizing strategies. Bensinger was instrumental in the  development of the George Meaney National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland.  The National Labor College was an independent institution of higher learning and had become fully accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and also served as the UAW organizing director under UAW President Bob King

During this time, Ricardo worked and coordinated with many international unions including the:

• United Auto Workers (UAW)
• Communications Workers of America (CWA)
• Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
• International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILA/ILWA)
• International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE)
• Food Chain Workers Alliance (FCWA)
• United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC)
• California Nurses Association (CNA)

During his career within the unions Ricardo has brought more than 1,000 campaigns nationally to election.

While working for the unions, Ricardo found that they cared more about money than the best interest of the workers they were supposed to represent. As these practices escalated, so did Ricardo’s desire to leave the unions.

When asked why he left the unions to help organizations remain union-free, two reasons always stand out. The first occurred during the Detroit Newspaper Strike, when a worker developed cancer. Ricardo suggested to the multiple union council of unions on strike that the worker should be allowed to cross the picket line to get his health benefits back. The council of unions refused, and the man eventually passed away due to his inability to get proper medical care. after many other incidents, the final straw was years later during a card check campaign when a union official asked Ricardo to order his organizers to threaten immigrant workers with deportation unless they signed cards for recognition.

Ricardo then decided to fight the unions for what he believed in: Better relationships between management and the workforce. Ricardo realized that there are better ways to help bridge the gap between management and employees, thus eliminating the desire for unionization. Ricardo views his job as preventing unionization before it happens and saving organizations the large amounts of money needed once unions are brought in, while at the same time fostering a work environment that promotes positive employee relations.

Ricardo formed Permanent Solutions Labor Consultants, Inc. in 2002. Since then, he has consulted many campaigns throughout the country. Permanent Solutions is at the forefront of union avoidance strategies including testifying before Congress against the union card check (HR800) bill.

Currently, Permanent Solutions Labor Consultants, Inc. has an astonishing 99%+ success rate since the formation of the firm. The key to this success is Ricardo’s past experiences with the unions. Ricardo not only brings his own insight, but also employs other former top-level union officials who share his values where he continues to share his experiences with his team from inside the union to maintain an incredibility high level of success

Ricardo has a B.S. in Labor Studies from Wayne State University and has often been a guest lecturer at Universities across the country including the University of Michigan’s Labor Studies program as well as on the labor speaker’s bureau.

He has also taught Labor Law as it applies to union organizing campaigns at the George Meaney National Labor College in MD and the USW, Linden Hall Labor Leadership Training Academy in Dawson PA.