6th Annual Summer Labor & Employment
Conference

THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 2004

9:00 – 10:15            Registration and Exhibits

10:30 – 10:45          Welcome –Donald Mitchell, Esq., Executive Director, New England
                                Consortium of State Labor Relations Agencies

10:45 – 12:00         Keynote Address

The Relationship Between NLRA Principles and Public Sector Labor Relations Speaker: Harold J. Datz, Esq., Chief Counsel to National Labor Relations Board Chairman Robert J. Battista

12:00 – 1:00          Lunch

1:00 – 2:15            Plenary Session

Collaborating to Contain Health Care Costs: Can it be Done Successfully? The leading issue often facing union and management negotiators is spiraling health care costs. The panelists will discuss their experiences in seeking union-management collaboration to contain costs. Speakers: Anne Noonan, Director & Chief Negotiator, Vermont State Employees’ Association (VT); Richard Vitarelli, Attorney, Robinson & Cole (CT); and Mary Harrison, Consultant with Mellon (NY)

2:20 – 3:35           Concurrent Workshops

(A) Big Picture Realities of Operating under the FMLA, ADA and Workers Compensation Statutes The panel of neutral, union and management practitioners will address the most significant considerations in applying family and medical leave, disabilities and worker compensation laws, and will discuss the "Bermuda Triangle" type problems that arise in the interplay of these statutes. Speakers: Joan Dolan, Esq., Arbitrator (MA); Michelle Allaire McNulty, Esq. Murphy, Lamere & Murphy, P.C. (MA); and Wayne W. Whitney, Esq., McTeague, Higbee, Case, Cohen, Whitney & Toker, PA (ME)

(B) Labor Arbitration and Labor Board Cases: Investigation, Witness Preparation and Theory of the Case How to investigate, prepare for and present cases before impartial adjudicators. Speakers: Susan Meredith, Arbitrator (CT); Timothy Noonan, Esq., Executive Director, Vermont Labor Relations Board (VT); Harry R. Pringle, Esq., Drummond, Woodsum & MacMahon (ME); and Shawn C. Keenan, Esq., General Counsel, Maine Education Association (ME)

(C) Great Expectations in Labor Relations Ethics - What Advocates Expect from Neutrals, What Neutrals Expect from Advocates, What Advocates Expect from Other Advocates Participants will identify ethical issues that arise in labor relations and share information and perspectives on the practical application of ethics to interactions in labor relations. Speaker: Donald E. Mitchell, Esq., Executive Director, New Hampshire Public Employee Labor Relations Board

3:35 - 3:45            Break

3:45 – 5:00           Concurrent Workshops

(A) Arbitration of Employment Disputes – Hot Topics A tripartite review of breaking developments in this evolving area. Speakers: Diane Zaar Cochran, Esq. Arbitrator (MA); Gary Starr, Esq., Shipman and Goodwin (CT); and Pearl Zuchlewski, Esq. (NY)

(B) Discipline for Conduct Also Resulting in Criminal Charges A discussion of a complicated and troublesome issue. Speakers: John Cochran, Esq., Arbitrator (MA); John Turano, Esq., State of Rhode Island Labor Counsel, (RI); and James Tuttle, Esq., Counsel to Police Conference of New York (NY)

(C) No Child Left Behind Act – True to its Promise? Speakers: Michael Sentance, U.S. Department of Education Secretary’s Regional Representative (MA); Robert Murphy, Director of Professional Practice, Connecticut Education Association (CT); Naomi R. Stonberg, Esq., (MA)

5:30                      Picnic for families with children

6:00 – 7:00           Reception

7:00                      Dinner – New England Lobster and Clam Bake

FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 2004

7:45 – 8:45          Breakfast

8:45 – 10:00        Plenary Session

Politics and Collective Bargaining: The Realities of Negotiating Contracts in a Political Environment The City of Boston and the unions representing city employees have been seeking to resolve contract negotiations disputes this year when Boston is hosting the Democratic National Convention. This interactive session will address the interplay between politics and collective bargaining in City of Boston negotiations and similar disputes in other state and local government

10:00 – 10:15        Break

10:15 – 11:30        Concurrent Workshops

(A) Extra-Contractual Policies – The Good, the Bad and the Dangerous Management attorney Lisa Lazarek (Escalera & McHale, P.C., CT) and union attorney Brian Doyle (Fergusion & Doyle, P.C., CT) will address the importance of assessing extra-contractual policies for their viability and usefulness, and the impact that good or bad policies can have on discipline and other workplace matters

(B) Hot Public Safety Issues (Corrections, Police, Fire) Speakers: Eric Brown, Esq., Council 15, AFSCME (CT); Kenneth Donnelly, Secretary-Treasurer, Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts (MA); Steve Kenneway, President, Massachusetts Corrections officers Federated Union (MA); Philip Collins, Esq., Collins, Loughran & Peloquin, P.C. (MA); and Carolyn Kirby, Esq., Hillsborough County Counsel (NH)

(C) Leading Public Sector Labor Relations Developments in the Northeast Representatives of New England and New York public sector labor relations boards will each discuss one leading labor development in their state. Speakers: Timothy Noonan, Esq., Executive Director, Vermont Labor Relations Board (VT); Jaye Bailey Zanta, Esq., General Counsel, Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations (CT); Donald E. Mitchell, Esq., Executive Director, New Hampshire Public Employee Labor Relations Board (NH); Allan Drachman, Esq., Chairman, Massachusetts Labor Relations Commission (MA); Marc Ayotte, Esq., Executive Director, Maine Labor Relations Board (ME); Michael R. Cuevas, Esq., Chairman, New York State Public Employment Relations Board (NY)

11:30 –11:45         Break

11:45 – 12:45        Plenary Session

Ask the Arbitrators: A Panel Discussion Get your pressing labor and employment arbitration questions answered when three arbitrators respond to audience questions. Moderator: Lee Williamson, Esq., Arbitrator (CT). Speakers: Diane Zaar Cochran, Esq. Arbitrator (MA); Joan Dolan, Esq., Arbitrator (MA); Susan Meredith, Arbitrator (CT).

12:45                      Lunch