Labor Law

Dealing with the federally-protected rights of employees to engage in concerted activity and other forms of protected group conduct can be fraught with turmoil and become problematic for both the unionized and non-unionized company. Employers need highly experienced attorneys dedicated to representing solely the interests of management, and that's what Baker Donelson attorneys do.

Non-unionized employers come to us for our commitment to a philosophy of preventive labor relations. We help with management communications and other tools known to keep union attempts at bay. But when those non-unionized companies are targeted by unions, we provide aggressive representation, helping clients orchestrate and oversee effective counter campaigns, and handling all associated litigation.

Several of our attorneys worked for years in highly responsible positions with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) prior to their entering private practice, and that experience can be invaluable to clients. We represent companies before the NLRB, the United States Department of Labor (DOL), state labor agencies and arbitrators. We partner with clients to negotiate collective bargaining agreements, arbitrate matters of just cause discipline and contract interpretation matters, and conduct extensive tailored training on numerous labor relations matters including dealing with devious union organizing tactics such as "salting" and corporate campaigns. We also counsel and advise management in strike contingency planning, strike management, procurement of needed state court injunctive relief, and on the use of offensive and defensive lockouts.

Representative Matters

• Successfully orchestrated and conducted campaigns to counter organizing drives in numerous and varied industries. In several instances, our attorneys' efforts have thwarted union campaigns prior to the filing of petitions with the NLRB.
• Successfully counseled a health care provider in countering a union organizational drive by advancing a position that all petitioned for Registered Nurses were statutory "supervisors" and, therefore, excluded from the coverage of the National Labor Relations Act. This matter was precedent setting.
• Defended, as co-counsel, Fortune 100 corporation against collective action brought on behalf of several unionized facilities pursuant to Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Represented major paper company in arbitral forum regarding work assignment claims brought by labor organization under collective bargaining agreement.
• Successfully represented employer in connection with decertification of labor organization under National Labor Relations Act.
• Successfully represented national and international airline in defending a claim of failure to fairly represent. The case was successfully resolved in favor of the airline employer by way of summary judgment issued in the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
• Successfully represented national airline in federal district court with the court finding that the collective bargaining agreement pre-empted a unionized employee's claim of unjust discharge.
• Negotiated collective bargaining agreements throughout the United States for a number of major American corporations.
• In house training designed and implemented for numerous service, manufacturing, warehouse and other clients with respect to the proper methods and means to proactively prevent union organizational attempts, assess union vulnerability, and extensive training of supervisors in working with today's diverse workforce.
• Regularly counseled clients on proactive labor relations to assure compliance with the governmental regulation of employment as well as employment crisis management.
• Regularly representing employers in pre-election representation hearings before the NLRB regarding components and scope of proposed bargaining unit. In addition, assist employer clients in overseeing NLRB-sponsored union elections.
• Represented major waste management company in numerous matters, including: 
  • Defense of unfair labor practice charges brought against subsidiary in Minnesota by the NLRB, which were dismissed after litigation before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ);
  • Litigation of unfair labor practice charges brought against subsidiary by the NLRB in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which settled during the course of litigation;
  • Coordination of election campaign opposing the Teamsters who were petitioning to represent a unit of employees in Omaha, Nebraska;
  • Coordination of election campaign opposing the International Union of Operating Engineers, which was petitioning to represent unit of employees at a facility near Los Angeles; and
  • Coordination of election campaign opposing the Teamsters at a facility in Kentucky, plus representation during a post-election objections hearing involving the same subsidiary.