Massachusetts Labor Management Lawyers

Labor

For an employer unfamiliar with organized labor, it is alarming when a union business agent appears at the door demanding that the company recognize the union as the exclusive bargaining representative of the employer’s workforce. Or worse, when an employer finds itself in the cross-hairs of a damaging corporate campaign or receives notice from the National Labor Relations Board that a representation petition has been filed. In the midst of an organizing campaign, any action by an employer, or even an uttered word, can lead to the filing of unfair labor practice charges, complaints, and administrative and court proceedings.

If an employer’s workforce is already represented by a union, there are different but equally serious challenges. The employer often faces periodic rounds of lengthy and sometimes contentious collective bargaining negotiations, must be careful to apply its contracts in a manner true to their meaning, and may be forced to defend its contract interpretations and exercise of management rights in actions before arbitrators, government agencies, or courts.

Welcome to one of the most high-stakes and highly-regulated areas of workplace law --one where it is critical for an employer to have the right attorneys by its side to provide sound advice and confident representation. At HRW, we have years of experience and know-how dealing with unions and successfully resolving the full range of labor relations issues that an employer may face. In the course of our advice and representation to clients we have:

• Dealt with most major labor organizations, including the Teamsters, Mass Nurses Association, SEIU, UFCW, UAW, IBEW, UNITE HERE, AFL-CIO, Communications Workers, Steelworkers and Laborers, as well as many independent and smaller labor organizations
• Advised on issues such as plant relocations, closings, successorship, and the effects of other corporate transactions
• Trained hundreds of managers and supervisors to recognize and effectively respond to a union organizing campaign in a lawful manner
• Appeared for employers in countless representation and unfair labor practice cases before the NLRB and in the federal appellate courts
• Led employers in their collective bargaining negotiations
• Advised clients on complicated questions regarding contract interpretation
• Handled innumerable arbitrations and labor-related lawsuits
• Guided clients through work stoppages and other job action
• Sought and obtained injunctive relief in cases of trespass by union organizers, unlawful work stoppages, and picket line misconduct and violence

Being a successful labor lawyer requires more than comprehension of the intricacies of the applicable laws, regulations, and statutes. It requires recognition and understanding that labor issues are often emotional and can negatively affect an employer’s relationship with its workforce or the public at large. At HRW, our labor lawyers have both: full knowledge of the law and sensitivity to the sometimes volatile nature of labor issues. As a result, our attorneys provide the best representation possible, and they are nationally recognized for their skills in such respected directories as Chambers U.S.A and Best Lawyers in America®.

At HRW, we believe that it is important for clients to be able to anticipate and proactively address labor issues before they arise. For that reason, HRW has developed its Labor and Employment Service Program (LESP), which allows clients to have an ongoing partnership with the firm’s labor and employment lawyers. For more information about membership in the LESP, click here.