Sitting Down with the Other Side
Bredhoff & Kaiser attorneys regularly participate in collective bargaining at both the national and local levels, either as chief spokesperson or as strategic advisors at the bargaining table. At the national level, the clients for whom we serve in such a role are as diverse as the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Players Association. We also frequently are present when particular topics are discussed as to which we have special expertise. For example, we assist the Major League Baseball Players Association and the National Hockey League Players Association in bargaining over pension, health, and other employee benefits that form crucial components of the compensation package of the athletes that these unions represent.
Locally, lawyers from the firm serve as chief negotiators or as counsel to the chief negotiators for unions representing Kennedy Center musicians, including the National Symphony Orchestra, several public safety unions, the hotel workers, and unions in the construction industry.
The firm has represented numerous work groups in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization proceedings, both as counsel to unions in bankruptcy-driven negotiations and in proceedings through which debtor companies attempt to reject their collective bargaining agreements. We have also represented work groups on Chapter 11 creditors’ committees. These representations have involved airline pilots, flight attendants and ramp workers, bus drivers, food service workers, orchestral musicians, bakery workers, and work groups at various bankrupt manufacturing concerns.