Register for Higher Education Collective Bargaining Workshop Training, University of Illinois-Chicago, September 14-15, 2023

The National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions at Hunter College, the University of Illinois System, and the University of Illinois School of Labor & Employment Relations’ Labor Education Program are joining forces to bring you a two-day higher education collective bargaining workshop training in Chicago on September 14-15, 2023.

The workshop training will take place at the University of Illinois-Chicago Student Center East, located on Halsted Street, just south of the Jane Byrne Interchange. Please note, that as of August 15, 2023, registration for the workshop is closed.

Keynote speaker: Sameer Gadkaree, President, The Institute of College Access and Sucess with Introduction by Thomas H. Riley, Jr., University of Illinois Executive Director of Labor and Special Counsel.

Click here for the workshop schedule.

Confirmed Sessions, Speakers, and Facilitators 

The following is a list of confirmed panels and separate labor (L) and administrator (A) sessions and joint facilitated sessions on collective bargaining:

Panel: Best Practices in Collective Bargaining I

Robb Craddock, Executive Director of Labor, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign
Robert Bloch, Dowd, Bloch, Bennett, Cervone, Auerbach & Yokich, LLP
Mike Newman, Deputy Director, AFSCME Council 31
Richard W. Fanning, Jr, Clark Hill
Terry Curry, Moderator, Associate Provost and Associate Vice President for Academic Human Resources Emeritus, Professor Emeritus, School of Human Resources and Labor Relations, Michigan State University

Panel: Best Practices in Collective Bargaining II

Melissa Sortman, Director, Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs, Michigan State University
Diana Valera, President CFAC/IFT, Columbia College
Mark Bennettt, Lander Muchin
Elizabeth Towell, SEIU Local 73
Moderator: Marcia Mackey, Michigan Education Association

Panel: 10 Best Practice Tips from Experienced Labor Arbitrators

Hon. Betty Widgeon, Arbitrator, Moderator and Panelist
Hon. Meeta Bass, Arbitrator, Mediator, and Retired Magistrate
Cary Morgen, Arbitrator and Mediator

Panel: Legal Obligations under Public Sector Statutes and NLRA

Angie Cowan Hamada, NLRB Region 13 Director
Ellen Strizak, General Counsel, Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board
Sidney McBride, Director, Michigan Employment Relations Commission
Moderator: Alice Johnson, General Counsel Cook College Teachers Union

Panel: Collective Bargaining, Discrimination, Affirmative Action, & Title IX

Risa Lieberwitz, Professor of Labor and Employment Law, Cornell ILR and AAUP General Counsel
Julie Miceli, Husch Blackwell
Augustus Wood, Assistant Professor, School of Labor & Employment Relations, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Ricky Baldwin, Assistant Director, State Division, SEIU Local 73
Moderator and Panelist: Karen Stubaus, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Rutgers University and National Center Affiliated Researcher

Facilitated Session: Unit Composition, Ground Rules, Information Demands, Tactics and Strategies (L)

Facilitators:

Nicholas Christen, Director of Field and Organizing, IFT
Robert Bruno, Director of the Labor Education Program, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Facilitated Session: Unit Composition, Ground Rules, Information Demands, Tactics and Strategies (A)

Facilitators:

Alexandra Matish, Associate Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs and Senior Director, Academic Human Resources, University of Michigan
Melissa Mlynski, Associate Vice Chancellor HR, University of Illinois-Springfield

Facilitated Session: Just Cause, Tenure, Job Security, and Appointment Length (L)

Facilitators:

Rachel Tollett, UniServ Director, Illinois Education Association
Aaron Krall, President, UIC United Faculty
Moderator: Stephanie Fortado, Assistant Teaching Professor and Co-Director of Regina V. Polk Women's Labor Leadership Program

Facilitated Session: Just Cause, Tenure, Job Security, and Appointment Length (A)

Facilitators:   

Dominick Fannelli, Director, Labor Relations, University of Michigan
Michelle Jackson, Associate Director of Labor & Employee Relations, University of Illinois-Chicago

Joint Facilitated Session: Post-Pandemic Remote Work and Technology Issues

Facilitators:

Keino Robinson, Director of Labor and Employee Relations, University of Illinois-Chicago
Kate Birdsall, President, Union of Non-Tenure Track Faculty, AFT Local 1855, Michigan State University

Facilitated Session: Compensation and Workload (L)

Facilitators:

Melinda Bunnage, Director of Higher Division, SEIU Local 73
Gretchen McNamara, Ohio AAUP Conference President and Chief Negotiator AAUP-WSU

Facilitated Session: Compensation and Workload (A)

Facilitators:

Jeffrey Frumkin, Associate Vice Provost for Academic Human Resources, Emeritus, University of Michigan
Benjamin Superfine, Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Relations, University of Illinois-Chicago

Panel: Community Colleges-Distinct Bargaining Issues and Challenges

Shannon Alston, Director of Business, Legal & Human Resources, Michigan Education Association
Tony Johnston, Cook County Teachers Union Local 1600 President
Andre' L. Poplar, Vice Chancellor for Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Oakland Community College
Robert Boonin, Dykema Gossett, PLLC
Moderator: Joshua Welker, Dean of Business and Institutional Effectiveness, John Wood Community College

Joint Facilitated Session: Negotiating over Sick Leave, Childcare Leave, Union Leave, and General Wellness Provisions

Charitianne Williams, UIC United Faculty
Julie Dillard Assistant Director of Labor, University of Illinois-at Urbana-Champaign

Panel Discussion: Academic Freedom and First Amendment Free Speech Issues in Higher Education

Joerg Tiede, AAUP Director of Research
Thomas S.Bradley, Lander Muchin
Charlotte Garden, Law Professor, University of Minnesota
Moderator: Stephen A. Yokich, Bloch, Bennett, Cervone, Auerbach & Yokich, LLP

Local Hotel Information for the Event

Call for Proposals: National Center's 2024 Conference in New York City

Become a Conference Sponsor or Program Advertiser to Celebrate Our 51st Annual Conference and Support Our Research

Thank You for a Successful 50th Anniversary Conference

The National Center's 50th anniversary conference on March 26-28, 2023 was a major success. We thank all the panelists, moderators, and attendees for their participation. We are grateful to NEA,TIAA, SEIU, Morgan, Brown & Joy, AFT, AAUP, PSC, NEA National Council of Higher Education, The Standard, and Cullen & Dykman for sponsoring the conference. We also thank the organizations, law firms, and businesses that purchased conference program advertisements. Click here for the full conference program. And click here for the webpage dedicated to the 50th Anniversary conference, which was developed with the assistance of Iris Finkel, Hunter College Web and Digital Initiatives Librarian. The success of this year's conference would not have been possible without the assistance of Hunter College and Roosevelt House staff and students and the many conference volunteers.

Video Recordings from the 50th Anniversary Conference

Below are links to video recordings of certain presentations at the National Center's 50th Anniversary Conference. We thank Roosevelt House Production Coordinator Daniel T. Culkin and Peter Jackson, Hunter College's Chief Digital Media CLT & Production Coordinator and the students of the Hunter College Film & Media Department for recording and producing the videos.

Welcoming Remarks by National Center Executive Director William A. Herbert, Anne Ollen, Managing Director, TIAA Institute, Gary Rhoades, University of Arizona and Co-Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy, and Karen Stubaus, Rutgers University, and Associate Editor, Journal of Collective Bargaining inthe Academy. Keynote Presentation by Michael Sandel, Political Philosopher and Harvard University Professor with Introductory remarks by Hunter College President, Jennifer J. Raab. Panel: Title IX: Its Past, Its Present, and Its Future with Frazier Benya, Senior Program Officer, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Lance Houston, Title IX Coordinator and Director of Equity and Compliance, Adelphi University, Risa Lieberwitz, Professor of Labor and Employment Law in the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and General Counsel of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), Tamiko Strickman, Special Advisor to the President and Executive Director of the Office of Equity, Civil Rights, and Title IX, University of Michigan, and Moderators: Karen R. Stubaus, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs, Rutgers University and Alexandra Matish, J.D., Associate Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs and Senior Director, Academic Human Resources, University of Michigan. This panel was co-organized by the National Academies' Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education. Panel: Treasuring the Past and the Spirit of Change: Perspectives from Experienced Arbitrators with Rosemary A. Townley, Arbitrator and Mediator, Howard C. Edelman, Arbitrator and Mediator, Jacquelin F. Drucker, Arbitrator and Mediator, and Homer LaRue, Arbitrator, Mediator, and Professor, Howard University Law School, Moderator. This panel was co-sponsored by the National Academy of Arbitrators. Panel: Higher Education Unionization: Perspectives from Labor Relations Agencies with John Wirenius, Chairperson, New York State Public Employment Relations Board, Marjorie Wittner, Chairperson, Massachusetts Commonwealth Employment Relations Board, Mary Beth Hennessy-Shotter, Director of Conciliation and Arbitration, NJ Public Employment Relations Commission, and Michael P. Sellars, Executive Director, Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission, Moderator. This panel was co-sponsored by the the Association of Labor Relations Agencies. Panel: Annual Legal Update with Amy L. Rosenberger, Willig, Williams & Davidson, Monica C. Barrett, Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC, Henry Morris, Jr., Partner, ArentFox Schiff LLP, Aaron Nisenson, Senior Legal Counsel, AAUP, and Brian Selchick, Cullen and Dykman LLP, Moderator. Panel: Yesterday and Today: Experienced Faculty Leaders in Higher Education with Jamie Dangler, former Vice President for Academics, United University Professions, Art Hochner, Associate Professor Emeritus, Management, Temple University & former President, Temple Assn. of University Professionals, AFT 4531, Charles Toombs, President, California Faculty Association, Kenneth Mash, President, APSCUF, and Penny Lewis, Secretary, Professional Staff Congress/CUNY, AFT Local #2334, Moderator. Panel: Exploring the Retirement Income Equity Gap with Brent Davis, Economist, TIAA Institute, John Dorsa, Chief Pension Officer, Office of the New York City Comptroller, Valerie Martin Conley, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Idaho State University, and Anne Ollen, Managing Director, TIAA Institute, Panelist and Moderator. Panel: College Athletes, NCAA and the NLRA: An Update with Gabriel Feldman, Sher Garner Professor of Sports Law, Tulane Law School, Joshua Nadreau, Fisher Phillips LLP, Mark Gaston Pearce, Executive Director, Workers’ Rights Institute, Georgetown University Law School, and former National Labor Relations Board Chairman, and Jeffrey Hirsch, Geneva Yeargan Rand Distinguished Professor of Law, University of North Carolina School of Law, Panelist and Moderator. Panel: Labor Issues Facing Independent Musicians with Marc Ribot, Guitarist and Composer, Phillip Golub, Pianist and Composer, Amir Elsaffar, Trumpeter and Composer, Sulynn Hago, Guitarist and Composer, and Larry Blumenfeld, Moderator. This panel was co-sponsored by the Music Workers Alliance.

50th Anniversary Conference Sponsors: