Healthcare Labor Law
Barbarians at the Gate!
I don’t think it will surprise anyone to hear that the unions are coming. They have been handed the mother of all issues to rally around. Covid-19 is going to be their poster child for organizing for years to come. Tragically, the onslaught has already...
How to Handle “Social Justice” at the Bargaining Table
“A standoff at the bargaining table over the Chicago Teachers Union’s (CTU) package of housing demands[.] The union is asking Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to provide housing assistance for new teachers, hire staff members to help students and families in danger of...
Employee Free Choice Act – Round Two
Here we go again....Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), Round Two. This time it's called the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act). It's puzzling to me why we need this law. The current process is simple: a union swarms a company, launches a campaign, maligns...
You’re Kidding, Right?…
Maybe it's me, but does anyone else find this story...ummm...funny? The Teamsters represent 14 employees at a potato chip company. Their contract expired 8 years ago.(!) Now, the union has decided it's time to strike. So, out to the street they go. Well, actually,...
When an Arbitrator Goes “Off the Rails”….
When an arbitrator goes "off the rails," employers need to appeal the decision. Congratulations to Monongahela Valley Hospital for appealing and prevailing! The contract language was clear - the Hospital had right to grant vacations and the right was "exclusively...
Five Things To Do Before You Start Negotiations
Imagine this…. You just won an all-expenses paid trip to Europe - for the whole family. Unfortunately, you leave tomorrow. You can easily picture the absolute chaos and stress you’d go through. So why would you put yourself through the same thing when the union hands...
The Healthcare Manager’s Guide to Labor Relations
For the last several years, I’ve been cobbling together the book I wanted when I was a young lawyer. I didn’t need a book filled with law, or a dry regurgitation of labor relations basics, I needed a book filled with “secrets.” I needed the stuff that the “crusty old guys” learned in the trenches (I’m one now, so I can say that.) I wanted the tips and tricks. I needed to know the quick and easy way to tame an unruly shop steward, to avoid gaffs in a negotiation proposal, and ways to stay out of an NLRB Field Office. I wanted a book filled with “war stories” that were relevant, relatable, and a little irreverent. I looked and looked, but I couldn’t find one. Soooo…I wrote it.
This book is a summation of my 25+ years of doing labor relations in the healthcare industry. I spent my first seven years working for unions, then jumped over to the management side for most of my career. I’ve bargained over 200 labor contracts and presented over 100 arbitrations. I’ve worked in the public and private sector, representing rural nursing homes, small town clinics, state healthcare facilities, standalone hospitals, multi-billion dollar healthcare systems, and everything in between. Most of the examples and stories in the book are my own. Some of the book’s tips and tricks I acquired from others, some I invented, and some I can’t tell you about…at least not in public. If you find some of them “relevant and relatable,” then I have met my goal. If you have some more examples that would be helpful, illustrative, or just plain funny, let me know. I may slide them in future editions. .