Practice Strengths

Labor Relations

The new American economy and recent rift in the nation's labor movement have changed the employment landscape dramatically. Unionized employers require innovative approaches to secure necessary operational efficiencies and economic relief. Non-union employers are faced with new organizing strategies, particularly in the healthcare, hospitality and telecommunication industries. Our labor lawyers can help you understand the impact this new labor movement may have on your workforce and your bottom line.

At Baker Hostetler, we believe that the best labor relations policies are those that prevent the need to battle with the government, unions or employees. Our focus is always on helping our clients maintain positive relationships with their workforce within the parameters of their business needs and corporate culture. Protecting our client's credibility as an employer is our number one concern. Our reputation for credibility, integrity and results is well known in the labor-management community.

Our experienced labor relations lawyers assist clients with the full range of traditional labor law issues, including:

  • Counseling clients on labor relations strategy and day-to-day employment decisions
  • Employee relations audits and assessments
  • Representation and decertification petitions
  • Labor contract administration
  • Grievance/arbitrations (including rights and interest arbitration
  • Collective bargaining
  • Preparing for and dealing with picketing, strikes, lockouts and other economic tactics
  • National Labor Relations Board practice
  • Maintaining a positive employee environment
  • Preparing for and responding to union corporate campaigns

In addition, we also counsel management on labor relations issues arising from mergers and acquisitions, shutdowns, relocations and other business reorganizations.

Our focus is always on helping our clients develop and maintain positive relationships with their employees.

Recognition

  • We have been sought out for insight on labor relations issues by national media, such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, “Good Morning America,” Bloomberg News Radio, The Los Angeles Times and other publications across the country.
  • One of our lawyers is the only person to have served as both the Chair of the NLRB and as Director of the Wage and Hour Division of the Federal Department of Labor.
  • Eleven of our employment and labor partners are listed in The Best Lawyers in America.
  • Our employment and labor practice is ranked among the leading practices in Ohio and Florida (Chambers USA, 2009).
  • Chambers USA 2009 lists a total of seven Florida and Ohio employment partners as leaders in employment law.
  • Employment lawyers have received special regional recognition in Florida Trend's “Legal Elite" publication.
  • Some of the individual recognition our lawyers have attained include selection as one of America's leading black lawyers by Black Enterprise magazine, receiving the District of Columbia Bar's “Legends in the Law” award, the Republican National Lawyers Association's “Republican Lawyer of the Year” award, and inclusion as a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

Leadership in Action
Labor Relations: An Integrated Approach Proves Successful
While defending our client against simultaneous drives at multiple locations, we successfully maintained a working bargaining relationship with the union at other facilities.
Client: National air and freight transportation company with more than 100 service centers.
Type of Matter: Labor Relations
Our Client's Challenge: Our client's workforce was located in more than 100 facilities across the country, and approximately 40 percent of the employees were represented by one union.  The union had embarked on a corporate campaign against the client and was seeking to win representation rights to unionize at five facilities simultaneously. 
The Goal: Win the organizing drives at these locations while maintaining a working bargaining relationship with the same union, which represented a significant number of employees in nearby cities.  The client also needed to defend itself against corporate campaign activity by the same union across the country.
Our Strategy: Our labor relations lawyers worked as an integrated team with client representatives to manage and coordinate our targeted approach to winning these multifacility drives.  We addressed several key issues that helped our client improve relations between management and employees and we developed a communication plan to demonstrate the benefits of working directly with management.  Our positive stance in dealing not only with employees but also with the union ensured that our approach in winning these elections also succeeded in maintaining a working bargaining relationship with the union.
Results: Our client won all five drives and there has been no subsequent organizing activity.  Importantly, we were able to defeat the drives while maintaining a working bargaining relationship at other facilities and defending corporate campaign activity by the same union.


Labor Relations Experience

  • Represented major metropolitan newspapers throughout the United States in collective bargaining designed to achieve workforce reductions and operating efficiencies; in hundreds of arbitrations; in numerous proceedings before the NLRB; and in solving day-to-day problems in such diverse fields as production, circulation and advertising.
  • Represented an aerospace manufacturer in an organization drive by four unions involving more than 5,000 "gray collar" employees.
  • Reduced by 90 percent the number of bargaining sessions needed to reach agreement between International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and a broadcast television station group through the use of interest bargaining, a “tradeoff” approach that is the exception rather than the rule in union negotiations.
  • Successfully reached an agreement with the International Association of Machinists in negotiations involving multiple sites in Massachusetts and Texas for a large aerospace and defense manufacturer.
  • Represented a division of a publicly traded company in the decertification of a union which had represented its employees for over 50 years.
  • Handled contract negotiations for a municipal transit authority, avoiding a threatened strike by 600 drivers, mechanics and other employees, enabling the client to address operational inefficiencies.
  • Assisted a large municipality in its negotiations with the Fraternal Order of Police, resulting in a favorable three-year contract.

About Our Employment Team
Ranked among the Top Employment Law Firms by Workforce Management Magazine in 2007, Baker Hostetler counsels many of the nation's leading companies on all aspects of employment law. With more than 100 lawyers coast-to-coast, Baker Hostetler's Employment and Labor Group represents numerous FORTUNE 500 companies, and for many of these companies, we serve as their national employment and labor counsel. Our comprehensive employment practice is comparable in size and depth to top employment law boutiques, but we offer the broader resources of a leading, full-service firm.
Leadership in Action
Labor Relations: An Integrated Approach Proves Successful
While defending our client against simultaneous drives at multiple locations, we successfully maintained a working bargaining relationship with the union at other facilities.
Client: National air and freight transportation company with more than 100 service centers.
Type of Matter: Labor Relations
Our Client's Challenge: Our client's workforce was located in more than 100 facilities across the country, and approximately 40 percent of the employees were represented by one union.  The union had embarked on a corporate campaign against the client and was seeking to win representation rights to unionize at five facilities simultaneously. 
The Goal: Win the organizing drives at these locations while maintaining a working bargaining relationship with the same union, which represented a significant number of employees in nearby cities.  The client also needed to defend itself against corporate campaign activity by the same union across the country.
Our Strategy: Our labor relations lawyers worked as an integrated team with client representatives to manage and coordinate our targeted approach to winning these multifacility drives.  We addressed several key issues that helped our client improve relations between management and employees and we developed a communication plan to demonstrate the benefits of working directly with management.  Our positive stance in dealing not only with employees but also with the union ensured that our approach in winning these elections also succeeded in maintaining a working bargaining relationship with the union.
Results: Our client won all five drives and there has been no subsequent organizing activity.  Importantly, we were able to defeat the drives while maintaining a working bargaining relationship at other facilities and defending corporate campaign activity by the same union.


Employment—Labor Relations Lawyers
Marc A. Antonetti Partner
Washington, DC 202.861.1788
M.J. Asensio Partner
Columbus 614.462.2622
Elliot S. Azoff Partner
Cleveland 216.861.7446
Hurlie H. Collier Partner
Houston 713.646.1332
Todd A. Dawson Partner
Cleveland 216.861.7652
Joseph C. Devine Partner
Columbus 614.462.2682
Ellen J. Garling Counsel
Columbus 614.462.4708
David A. Grant Partner
Washington, DC 202.861.1638
Daniel J. Guttman Partner
Columbus 614.462.4740
David G. Holcombe Partner
Cincinnati 513.929.3402
Dawn Kennedy Associate
Los Angeles 310.979.8457
Ronald J. Klepetar Of Counsel
Los Angeles 310.442.8880
Ronald G. Linville Partner
Columbus 614.462.2647
Richard S. Mandelson Partner
Denver 303.764.4022
Joseph L. Manson III Partner
Washington, DC 202.861.1543
M. Scott McIntyre Partner
Cincinnati 513.852.2622
Marilyn G. Moran Associate
Orlando 407.649.4697
Patrick M. Muldowney Partner
Orlando 407.649.4002
Betty Southard Murphy Partner
Washington, DC 202.861.1586
James W. Seegers Staff Attorney
Orlando 407.649.4023
Thomas M. Seger Partner
Cleveland 216.861.7413
Douglas R. Sergent Associate
Cleveland 216.861.7353
Kevin W. Shaughnessy Partner
Orlando 407.649.4014
Jason E. Starling Associate
Columbus 614.462.2669
Martin T. Wymer Partner
Cleveland 216.861.6021
Date Employment—Labor Relations Executive Alert/Newsletters
12/31/2009 Changes in California Employment Law for 2010
12/10/2009 Health Law Update—December 10, 2009
10/1/2009 OSHA Implements 2009 Site-Specific Targeting Plan
9/23/2009 EFCA Update: Compromise, Delay and Uncertainity
9/8/2009 Final Rule Mandating Use of E-Verify Employment Eligibility Verification System by Federal Contractors Effective September 8, 2009
8/12/2009 Ohio Appeals Decision Highlights the Necessity of a Carefully Drafted Drug-Free Workplace Policy
6/30/2009 Supreme Court Issues Ruling in “Reverse” Discrimination Case
6/22/2009 Supreme Court Rejects Mixed-Motives Framework for ADEA Claims
6/9/2009 Colorado Raises Penalties for Misclassification of Employees
6/8/2009 Age Discrimination Claims Under Ohio Law May Be Barred By Internal Grievance Process
6/2/2009 Congress Considers Mandating Paid Leave for Employees
5/19/2009 Planning in Light of the Obama Administration’s Legislative and Enforcement Initiatives—UPDATE
4/21/2009 House Introduces Bill to Protect Workers from Dust Explosions and Fires
4/15/2009 Collective-Bargaining Agreement May Require Employees to Arbitrate Age Discrimination Claims, Supreme Court Rules
4/6/2009 Employer Payment for Personal Protective Equipment
3/19/2009 Health Law Update—March 19, 2009
3/18/2009 Recovery Act Includes Broad New Whistleblower Provisions
3/11/2009 Employee Free Choice Act Introduced in Congress
3/5/2009 Supreme Court Allows Ban on Payroll Deductions for Public Employee Unions’ Political Action Committees in YSURSA V. POCATELLO EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
2/4/2009 President Obama Issues Executive Orders Changing Labor Rules for Federal Contractors
2/2/2009 New E-Verify Requirement Postponed Again Until at Least May 21, 2009
1/28/2009 Ledbetter Act Expands Statutes of Limitation, Exposes Employers to Liability for Decisions Made Many Years Earlier
1/27/2009 Supreme Court Extends Title VII Anti-Retaliation Protection to Witnesses in an Employer’s Internal Discrimination Investigation
1/20/2009 Planning for Obama Administration Legislative and Enforcement Initiatives
1/15/2009 New FMLA Regulations: Key Changes and Clarifications for Administering Your FMLA Policies and Procedures
1/6/2009 Changes in California Employment Law for 2009
12/15/2008 Final Rule Mandates the Use of the E-Verify Employment Eligibility Verification System for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors
11/19/2008 Occupational and Mine Safety Enforcement Under the New Administration
11/13/2008 California Labor Code Applies to Work Performed in California by Non-Residents, Says Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
10/30/2008 Health Law Update—October 30, 2008
10/29/2008 Union Representation Without An Election? A Reality That Could Be Closer Than You Think
10/6/2008 300 Log Reporting Guidance from OSHA: Working From Home Following Treatment for an Occupational Injury
09/05/2008 Two Recent California District Courts Rule that Employers are Not Required to Police Employees in Order to Ensure that they Take Meal and Rest Breaks
09/04/2008 Mandatory Sick Leave to be Removed from November Ballot
08/21/2008 Status of the Ohio Healthy Families Act and What You Need to Know About the Possible Compromise and Ballot Initiative
08/11/2008 California Supreme Court Rejects Narrow-Restraint Exception to Noncompetition Agreements and Prohibits Contractual Releases of Nonwaivable Statutory Protections
08/11/2008 New York Enacts Statute Prohibiting Noncompetes in the Media Industries
08/06/2008 Department of Labor's Proposed "Cleanup" Rules
07/30/2008 Preliminary Injunction Ruling Partly Upholds Florida's Guns-at-Work Law
07/23/2008 California Court of Appeal Reverses Class Action Certification Order and Clarifies Employer's Obligations Regarding Meal and Rest Breaks, Time-Shaving and Off-the-Clock Work
06/30/2008 Reminder to Update Company Policies: Hands-Free Cell Phones and Driving
05/30/2008 Supreme Court Rules that Section 1981 Encompasses Retaliation Claims
04/03/2008 Health Law Update—April 3, 2008
03/12/2008 A Charge By Any Other Name: Supreme Court Upholds EEOC's Definition of "Charge" of Discrimination under the ADEA
03/12/2008 Sprint/United Management Co. v. Mendelsohn
Date Employment—Labor Relations Quotes
1/26/2010 Law360: Corporate Counsel All-Star List
1/26/2010 Law360: In-House Counsel Name Favorite Employment Lawyers
11/16/2009 Modern Healthcare: Laboring to Unite
8/28/2009 Law360: Zurich Told It Must Cover Relocation In Oil Spill Case
8/6/2009 Workforce Management: Senate Confirms Sonia Sotomayor as First Hispanic on High Court
7/24/2009 Law360: Q&A With Ron Linville
7/20/2009 Law360: Nixing Card-Check Could Shift, Not Quell, EFCA Debate
6/30/2009 WFLA Fox Radio: Supreme Court's Reverse Discrimination Ruling
6/9/2009 Law360: Flight Attendants Revive Contract Row With Mesa Air
6/4/2009 Employee Benefit News: EFCA Debate Roils Between Employer, Union Groups
6/1/2009 Law360: Flight Attendant Spat Not Fit For Federal Court: 9th Circuit
4/24/2009 Law360: High Court Won't Hear 1st SOX Whistleblower's Case
4/3/2009 Business Courier of Cincinnati: With More Layoffs, Furloughs Comes More Room for Error
3/31/2009 St. Petersburg Times: Four-Day Work Week on the Table
3/30/2009 Modern Healthcare: Labor Takes a Hit
3/29/2009 Washington Post: Union Bill's Declining Chances Give Rise to Alternatives
3/15/2009 Naples Daily News: Naples Considering Furloughs for its Employees
2/26/2009 Columbus CEO magazine: Wages, Hours & Lawsuits
2/12/2009 Workforce Management: Mass Staff Cuts Don’t Slam the Brakes on New Hires
2/11/2009 Bloomberg News: Unions Win Fast Under Obama, Target Financial, Organizing Rules
2/3/2009 California Executive: Fair Pay Act Puts Employers on Notice for Past Discrimination
1/9/2009 Reuters: Divided Hollywood Actors Union Nears Boiling Point
1/5/2009 NPR: New Disability Law in Effect This Year
12/12/2008 Busines First Columbus: Risk of Employment Litigation Comes to a Crescendo
12/01/2008 Washington Post: Labor Dept. Accused of Straying From Enforcement
11/21/2008 Nursing Executive Watch: Elections Usher in Union-Friendly Political Climate, as ‘Card Check' Bill Looms on the Horizon
11/11/2008 Forbes.com: What Unions Really Want: A Stimulus Bill
11/05/2008 Reuters: Business Girds for Push by Unions on Obama Win
11/03/2008 Bloomberg Radio's "On the Money": The Future of Organized Labor
10/27/2008 KGO/ABC Network Radio: The Changing Face of Labor Unions
09/13/2008 Rocky Mountain News: Labor Law Experts Say Assembly Line Complicates Swift Situation

For more information about our Labor Relations Practice:

National Contact:  
M.J. Asensio 614.462.2622  
Chicago
Ronald S. Okada 312.416.6210
Cincinnati  
David G. Holcombe 513.929.3402  
Cleveland    
Todd A. Dawson 216.861.7652  
Columbus    
M.J. Asensio 614.462.2622  
Costa Mesa    
George T. Mooradian 714.966.8806
Denver    
Richard S. Mandelson 303.764.4022  
Houston    
Hurlie H. Collier 713.646.1332  
Los Angeles    
Ronald J. Klepetar 310.442.8880
New York
Tracy Cole 212.589.4210
Orlando
Patrick M. Muldowney 407.649.4002
Washington, DC
David A. Grant 202.861.1638

Contact

National Contact
M.J. Asensio
614.462.2622


Contacts by Office »

Representative Clients

The Boeing Company

CHEP USA

Degussa Corporation

EGL Eagle Global Logistics

The E.W. Scripps Company

Mears Destination Services, Inc.

Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.

Orange County, Florida

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Transystems, LLC

Wuesthoff Health System

Practice Highlights

Elections -- We have a 95 percent win record in organizational drives, and we have handled some of the largest election campaigns in the private sector, including more than 15 drives involving 2,000 or more employees and one drive involving 20,000 employees

Employee Relations Audit -- We have developed a comprehensive audit using analytical and statistical tools to help companies identify potential labor relations issues and develop a targeted approach to improving employee relations.

Arbitrations -- Since 2003, we have handled more than 200 arbitrations, and we have experience with every major union and all types of employees.

Negotiations -- We have negotiated on behalf of clients in every state in the continental United States and with every major union.

Strike Activity -- When a strike is threatened, we work swiftly with clients to devise contingency plans for strike preparedness, including all aspects of operating the business under strike conditions.

Public Sector -- We have extensive experience navigating not only the bargaining aspects of contract negotiations but also the intricacies of municipal finance.