Our labor relations practice represents management only in all aspects of labor relations. Through practice focus, our lawyers are immersed each day in the issues that they regularly work on with clients around the country in both right-to-work and non-right-to-work states. We understand the value of managing labor relations in competitive and distressed industries. Our clients range from Fortune 100 companies and large private equity backed businesses, to community health centers and municipalities. We have serviced clients in manufacturing, health care, human services, paper, fuel oil, pharmaceutical, insurance/financial, construction, hospitality, gaming, elevator, aerospace and governmental industries.
Our labor lawyers counsel, advise and represent unionized clients in developing corporate-wide, multifacility labor relations strategies. We negotiate collective bargaining agreements and represent our clients in contract administration, grievance handling and arbitration, strike consultation, and National Labor Relations Board and court proceedings. We handle unfair labor practice and representation proceedings before the NLRB and state labor relations agencies. We advise our clients in contract campaigns and in lawfully communicating with employees to attain bargaining and operational objectives. We assist our clients in structuring the labor relations aspects of transactions, including purchase and sale transactions, mergers, consolidations, subcontracting, work relocations and divestitures to accomplish corporate objectives. We assist our clients in navigating the complexities of multiemployer pension liability and other employee benefits issues in the context of transactions, collective bargaining and operations.
Our practitioners advise our employer clients with nonunionized operations in union-free strategies and with respect to organizing, picketing, hand-billing, demands for recognition through card check, corporate campaigns and NLRB elections and related proceedings. We have been involved in matters ranging from single location elections, to elections involving multiple unions and operations across several states.
Our firm routinely advises clients in dealing with issues of multiemployer fund withdrawal liability. Our labor lawyers partner with our ERISA attorneys on corporate deals and in rendering advice on withdrawal liability matters. Many of our clients come from the trucking, industrial, or construction industry and are parties to multiemployer funds. Recently, we advised a construction company through withdrawal liability issues and potential applicability of the construction industry exemption to withdrawal liability through a sale of assets in Indiana and Michigan. We advised another client in Kansas on how to gradually minimize the size of its unionized workforce to avoid incurring a partial withdrawal. We are currently litigating a multiemployer withdrawal liability case in Manhattan regarding the applicability of the sale of assets exemption.
As a dedicated labor relations practice within a full service regional law firm, we regularly partner with and draw upon the resources and experience of our firm's other practices, including our health care/regulatory, commercial real estate, corporate, environmental (including environmental health & safety), governmental incentives, criminal, trial and appellate, governmental relations and incentives, ERISA and employee benefits, and municipal finance practices. As part of coordinated teams, our labor practitioners are able to add significant value for clients as they work to attain their business and management objectives.
Counseled numerous employers, including recently an international chemical manufacturer, on labor relations strategy involving a permanent plant facility closure.
Represented and counseled health care employer during a successful decertification petition and election campaign involving a SEIU local union.
Prevailed in grievance arbitration involving the discharge for cause of a thirty-three year SEIU delegate.
Have served as chief spokesperson and lead negotiator in hundreds of negotiations that have involved the termination of defined benefit retirement plans.
Successfully defended company in labor arbitration against a claim that the Union had the right to take union stewards away from work for Union business without notification to or approval from the company.
Representation of a public-private partnership with the State of Connecticut in the process of bidding and negotiating a management agreement with the Connecticut Department of Transportation to manage its rest areas. Robinson+Cole assisted the client in achieving compliance with state contracting requirements, standard wage laws and handling labor relations matters. Robinson+Cole also assisted the client in avoiding tail end withdrawal if the contractor ceased performing cleaning and maintenance services on the properties.
Assisted a Water Pollution Control Authority with the labor relations issues involving a subcontract of its WCPA operations and possible transition to the municipality after the subcontract terminates.
Defended a municipal client before the State Board of Labor Relations by reaffirming its right to subcontract bargaining unit work in two separate challenges. The two cases were withdrawn during the investigation phase, as a result of our compelling arguments in favor of the municipality's right to subcontract.
Successfully negotiated numerous municipal collective bargaining agreements that addressed management objectives involving cost containment in the areas of pension, health insurance, overtime, salary schedules, and call-in pay.
Prevailed in labor arbitration regarding contract interpretation and involving the discipline of two employees who left work early because the Union claimed that the collective bargaining agreement established a maximum workweek.
