Collective Bargaining For Public Safety Employees 2023

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

9:00 Introduction And Recent Developments In Public Safety Labor Issues

Recent developments from around the country in the area of public safety labor relations, including:

• A review of wage and benefit settlements over the last six months in public safety agencies.
• Police reform legislation, and how it can impact all public safety employees.
• The new world of social media discipline.
• Phones, flash drives, GPS trackers, and other electronic equipment.
• How the privacy rights of employees depend upon the circumstances.

Will Aitchison, Attorney at Law, Public Safety Labor Group, LLP;
Executive Director, LRIS.

11:00 What Is Negotiable And Why

• What are the sorts of wages, hours, and working conditions that are mandatory for bargaining?
• The difference between bargaining over an employer’s decision and bargaining over the impacts of the decision.
• Hot negotiation issues: including equipment such as GPS systems and body cameras, workplace safety, staffing, communicable disease policies, health care, work schedules, etc.

Will Aitchison.

12:00 Lunch (Included in registration)

1:00 Past Practice, Management Rights, And Maintaining The Status Quo

• How something becomes a past practice, and the significance of a past
  practice.
• How the obligation to bargain over mandatory subjects of bargaining can
  limit an employer’s ability to make changes in past practices.
• The process by which mid-term bargaining occurs and is resolved.
• Management rights and maintenance of benefits clauses: how do they work and how are they related?

Will Aitchison.

3:00 Bargaining In Today’s Economic Environment: Trends And Basic Principles

• A review of national economic projections, including projections for the Consumer Price Index and other national indices that impact an employer’s ability to pay.
• Current projections for increases in medical costs.
• The different strategies taken by public safety employers and unions in bargaining in difficult times.

Will Aitchison.

4:00 Adjournment

4:15 Hosted Reception

Thursday, March 23, 2023

9:00 The Nuts & Bolts Of Bargaining, Bargaining Strategies, And
Media Relations

A thorough discussion of the mechanics of collective bargaining.

• Preparing and maintaining a bargaining strategy.
• Keeping a contract notebook.
• Preparing for the meet-and-confer process.
• The composition of the bargaining team and the roles played by different bargaining team members.
• Selecting comparable jurisdictions and total compensation analysis, including cost of living, workload and productivity, local labor markets, cross classification analysis, and other topics which are raised in an assessment of wages and benefits.
• How one goes about proving bargaining history.
• The significance of a tentative agreement.
• The different types of bargaining concessions that are occurring, including furloughs, retirement adjustments, wage freezes and reductions, and health insurance changes.
• Non-economic benefits in exchange for economic concessions. Is the traditional structure still in place?
• Dealing with constituencies – union members and elected officials – during difficult economic times.
• The increased focus on politics and media relations, and the implications of getting the public involved in the bargaining discussion.

Jonathan Downes, Attorney at Law, Zashin & Rich.
Richard Poulson, Attorney at Law, Willig, Williams & Davidson.

12:00 Lunch (Included in registration)

1:00 The Nuts & Bolts Of Bargaining (continued)

4:00 Adjournment

Friday, March 24, 2023

8:30 When You Can’t Get a Deal; What You Need to Know About
Interest Arbitration

• What is Interest Arbitration and/or Factfinding?
• How does the process work?
• How do arbitrators make their decisions?
• How do I prepare for Arbitration/Factfinding?
• Strategies you need to know for Interest Arbitration/Factfinding.

Dave Gaba, Attorney at Law, Compass Law Group.

11:30 Adjournment

To make arrangements, go to the hotel’s website or call the hotel directly and request the group rate for this seminar. Call (888) 373-9855 with group code SFCOL3. Reservations must be made by February 18, 2023. Reservations received after this date will be on a space-available basis only and at the prevailing rate.

The Flamingo
3555 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Room rates Tuesday through Thursday nights are $59 per night, plus taxes and fees. A limited
number of rooms are available on Friday and Saturday night for $149, so book early if you plan to
stay over the weekend.

The LINQ
3535 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Room rates Tuesday through Thursday nights are $49 per night, plus taxes and fees. A limited
number of rooms are available on Friday and Saturday night for $129, so book early if you plan to
stay over the weekend.

Will Aitchison
Mr. Aitchison is a Portland, Oregon attorney who has represented over 100 law enforcement and firefighter labor organizations in five western states. He is a veteran of hundreds of public sector labor negotiations. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. and is the author of several books on public sector labor matters, including The Rights of Law Enforcement Officers (7th Edition), and The Rights of Firefighters (4th Edition).

Jonathan Downes
Jonathan Downes has over 30 years of experience in practicing labor and employment law in Ohio and has successfully negotiated over 500 labor agreements and has presented over 100 impasse proceedings and 100 arbitrations. He represents cities, townships, counties, school districts, and public officials throughout the State of Ohio. Jonathan also represents private employers in employment matters. He has argued cases before the Ohio Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Dave Gaba
David Gaba has been a labor arbitrator in the Western United States more than a decade; he is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators, and has issued over 300 awards including numerous interest arbitration awards. Mr. Gaba is a graduate of the University of Nebraska, receiving his J.D. from the College of Law in 1984 and his M.B.A. in 1987. With 25 years of labor and employment law experience, Mr. Gaba has represented both labor and management.

Richard Poulson
Richard G. Poulson has been representing labor unions for his entire career, representing union clients in collective bargaining, interest and grievance arbitration and employment-related litigation. He is a partner with the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania firm of Willig, Williams & Davidson, where he focuses on advising and representing police, fire, paramedic and other uniformed employees regarding municipal affairs and public employment. He earned his B.A. from La Salle University (1992) and his J.D. from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law (1997). 

Fees
Registration fees are $850 per person; $725 per person if three or more attend from the same organization. Registration fees include attendance, lunch on the first two days of the seminar, all seminar materials, and a hospitality reception on the first evening.

Cancellation Policy
Reservations may be canceled up to ten days prior to the seminar with a full refund. Cancellations made within ten days are subject to a $150 fee. Substitutions may be made at any time.

Seminar Materials
Each attendee will receive a copy of Public Sector Collective Bargaining, by Will Aitchison, and a handbook containing extensive written materials pertaining to each of the subjects addressed.

P.O.S.T. Certification
Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) credits may be available on a state-by-state basis. If you would like information on your state, please contact Seminar Coordinator Claire Cowan at (503) 282-5440 or Claire@LRIS.com prior to the seminar.

CLE Certification
LRIS has been approved as a CLE provider by the State Bar of California. This program will qualify for 12.5 hours of MCLE credit by the State Bar of California. If you require certification from any other state, please contact Seminar Coordinator Claire Cowan at (503) 282-5440 or Claire@LRIS.com
prior to the seminar.