Labor & Employee Relations

Seyfarth Shaw was established over sixty years ago because our founding attorneys wished to concentrate on labor relations counseling and litigation. This commitment to labor relations remains a cornerstone of our labor and employment practice. Our veteran practitioners handle the full range of traditional labor law issues, including:

• union organizing campaigns; 
• collective bargaining; 
• grievance/arbitration (including rights and interest arbitration); 
• labor contract administration; 
• union avoidance through positive employee relations; 
• union corporate campaigns; and 
• preparing for and dealing with picketing, strikes, lockouts and other economic tactics.

Our size, geographic presence, and roots in labor law enable us to offer both national clients and local businesses a scope and depth of experience virtually unsurpassed by any other firm. Many of our attorneys have groundbreaking experience in labor law matters, including cases under the National Labor Relations Act, the Railway Labor Act and state labor laws. Working in partnership with our clients, we also counsel management on labor relations issues arising from mergers and acquisitions, shutdowns, relocations and other business reorganizations.

Clients confronted with union organizing attempts, important labor negotiations, union corporate campaigns, unfair labor practice charges, or threats of work stoppages turn to us for sophisticated representation by seasoned professionals who routinely have handled hundreds of such cases. A thorough knowledge of the applicable law is only our starting point. Added value comes from our insight into appropriate proactive management strategies, and our understanding of various labor organizations and their methods.

Public Sector Law & Litigation

Seyfarth Shaw has one of the largest and most distinguished public sector labor and employment law practices in the country. Widely experienced, our attorneys advise and represent states, cities, counties, fire protection districts, local school boards, colleges and universities, and other federal and state governmental bodies, in the entire range of labor relations and employment law matters (including hearings before administrative labor agencies and negotiation of collective bargaining contracts).

Our public sector labor and employment practice enjoys an unparalleled national reputation. Two of our attorneys have received the highest honors bestowed by the National Public Labor Relations Association (“NPELRA”), "The NPELRA Award of Merit" and "The NPELRA President's Award." We have also been instrumental in the development of public sector law. Our attorneys have played a key role in drafting public sector labor statutes, have testified before the U.S. Congress on behalf of such groups as the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities, and have written numerous books which are prominent in the field, including, but not limited to:

Labor Relations Law in the Public Sector: Cases and Materials (one of the most widely used law school textbooks on public sector labor law, in its fourth edition);
In Defense of the Public Employer (published by the American Bar Association);
Negotiating the Public Sector Contract (published by the National City Manager's Association);
Smarter Bargaining, Volumes I and II (published by the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association); Management Rights: Little Understood, Little Used, Quickly Lost (published by the U.S. Conference of Mayors); Practical Labor Relations for Public Employers (published by the Colorado Municipal League); Privacy in the Public Workplace (published by the American Bar Association); Chicago School Law Survey (published by the Illinois Association of School Boards); Sexual Harassment, Special Considerations for the Public Employer (published by the Bureau of National Affairs); Maintaining Public Services: The NPELRA Strike Planning Manual (published by the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association); Freedom of Speech in the Public Workplace (published by the American Bar Association); and Surviving Police and Fire Collective Bargaining and Interest Arbitration in Illinois (published by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association).

We have represented hundreds of small to mid-sized public bodies in labor and employment disputes, and have also been involved in some of the nation’s largest disputes, including: Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions involving New York City, Milwaukee, Albuquerque and Anchorage; interest arbitrations involving Baltimore, Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Las Vegas; and national negotiations involving the U.S. Postal Service and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, among others.