Labor Arbitration Practice: An Advocate's Handbook

This book is a handbook to guide lawyers as well as lay employer and union advocates in preparing and presenting their cases to a neutral arbitrator or board of arbitration. It leads the reader through each step of the labor arbitration process, particularly to see the arbitration process from the perspective of the advocate and to evaluate the strategies and tactics often employed by experienced advocates in case preparation and presentation. It is also designed for union and management lawyers and lay advocates alike. In virtually all aspects of case preparation and presentation, the tasks and skills of a union advocate are mirror images of those of his or her employer counterpart, and vice versa. Although union advocates almost always represent the individual(s) bringing the grievance (the "grievant(s)" or "complainant(s)") and the union that represents him/her/them (which is defending the case), the specific steps in preparation and presentation of the case are identical for each side. In the many examples and practical tips found throughout the book, both union and employer perspectives are reflected. This book deals solely with labor arbitration, advocates may nevertheless find themselves with a case in other related arenas, such as employment disputes in non-union settings, and may find relevant and useful information in most of the chapters of this book.

About the Author :
Charles Loughran has made a career spanning 55 years in the fields of labor relations and collective bargaining. He has extensive hands-on experience as a labor negotiator, arbitration advocate, labor relations executive, employment mediator, and labor arbitrator.  The author is a member of the California bar and a Member of the National Academy of Arbitrators. He has been a panel member on the arbitration rosters of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the California Mediation and Conciliation Service, the American Arbitration Association, and a number of state and local arbitration referral agencies. He has mediated employment disputes for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Federal District Court for Northern California. Mr. Loughran has held labor and human resource executive positions in the private and public sectors. Included among the positions he has held are Vice President for Human Resources for Alaska Airlines, Assistant Circuit Executive for Human Resources for the Ninth Circuit Federal Courts, Chief Labor Negotiator for the University of California, and Director of Industrial Relations for Louisiana-Pacific Corporation. He was also a member of the law firm of Pettit and Martin in San Francisco. The author is currently retired. Mr. Loughran was on the adjunct faculty of the University of Washington Graduate School of Business in Seattle, Washington, and the University of Michigan Executive Management School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has written and lectured extensively, and is the author of Negotiating a Labor Contract (3d ed., BNA Books, 2003) and How to Prepare and Present a Labor Arbitration Case (2d ed., BNA Books, 2006). He has written articles for such publications as the Wall Street Journal and Directors and Boards.