Labor Relations

Overview

At Nixon Peabody, we bring extensive expertise to the table when it comes to assisting employers with labor relations, including managing unionized workforces, and navigating intricate union organizing campaigns.

For employers with employees who are not union-represented, our labor relations attorneys guide employers on the legal framework that applies to unions and employers prior to, during, and after the representation process, including strategies for employers facing union corporate campaigns. Our labor relations attorneys represent employers in connection with representation petitions and other election-related proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and court litigation and appeals.

We also provide a broad range of services to employers with union workforces. Our attorneys negotiate collective bargaining agreements, assist employers facing work stoppages or picketing, advise on labor complications related to business acquisitions or dispositions, arbitrate contract grievances, and prosecute and defend charges of unfair labor practices before the NLRB.

Our attorneys also advise employers on legal issues relating to union benefit funds. The team has significant experience negotiating employer withdrawals from multiemployer pension plans, and arbitrating disputes relating to the assessment of withdrawal liability under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Our esteemed national, cross-industry practice comprises attorneys with a specialized focus in labor relations laws across various sectors, including healthcare, food and beverage, construction, entertainment, and manufacturing industries. They are also closely following the trends of organized labor in the burgeoning cannabis industry.

When it comes to employee and labor relations, Nixon Peabody is your trusted partner for comprehensive, strategic, and results-driven guidance.

Representative Experience

• Healthcare industry: Counsel and defend several hospitals, healthcare networks, assisted living facilities, and other healthcare industry employers, including those in labor relationships with the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), and International Union of Operating Engineers, Stationary Engineers, District Council 37, among others
• Food and beverage industry: Advise on labor strategies and negotiate collective bargaining agreements, including a first contract, vis-à-vis Workers United; Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers; and the Teamsters
• Construction industry: Advise on double-breasting structures and strategies; challenged and/or negotiated favorable withdrawals from multiple multiemployer pension plans
• Entertainment industry: Responded to unionization campaigns, assisted with collective bargaining negotiations, and collected declarations seeking to enjoin a strike by workers
• Manufacturing industry: Successfully prosecuted (including through appeal) unfair labor practice charges alleging violations of Section 8(e) of the National Labor Relations Act in connection with proposed subcontracting; successfully stayed arbitration of dispute over employer’s discontinuation of union members’ retirement benefits
• Organizing campaigns: Assisted with employer response to unionization campaigns in the entertainment and events, newspaper, restaurant, and healthcare industries

Recognition

• Nixon Peabody has been named a Tier 1 National firm for Employment Law - Management in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms®.