• Maintaining Union Free Environments
• Management Audits to Determine Employee Morale
• Supervisory Leadership Training
• NLRB Litigation
• Negotiating Collective Bargaining Agreements
• Administration of Collective Bargaining Agreements
• Managing Under Collective Bargaining Agreements
• Response to Strikes and Other Concerted Activity

Maintaining Union Free Environments

Kiesewetter Wise has extensive experience in advising clients on maintaining positive employee relations and a union free environment. Several of the Firms’ attorneys have focused their careers on union avoidance. Three members served in various capacities with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The Firm is regularly retained to advise employers on strategies to address concerns that may affect an organizations’ ability to maintain a union free environment. Additionally, Kiesewetter Wise is regularly retained to advise employers in response to union organizing activity, including the filing of representation petitions or the requesting of card check recognition, as well as corporate campaign tactics.

Where election petitions are filed, Kiesewetter Wise represents the employer before the NLRB’s Regional offices to obtain the most favorable terms for an election, and to advocate the employer’s position on any other issues that may arise. During any unionization campaign, Kiesewetter Wise professionals are available to work on-site with the local management team, providing comprehensive legal advice and support to help maximize the employer’s ability to succeed. Kiesewetter Wise also represents employer’s in any post-election litigation before the NLRB, including objections and unfair labor practice cases. Throughout this process, our overriding goal is to achieve the best possible legal position consistent with the employers human resources philosophy and business objectives. We strive always to maintain a global perspective of the employer’s business that will benefit the employer in as many areas as possible.

Management Audits to Determine Employee Morale

Many employers utilize Kiesewetter Wise to audit workplaces to determine the level of employee and/or supervisory morale. The Firm’s proprietary audit process is designed to accurately identify and prioritize the issues impacting morale and possibly affecting the facility’s operational performance and/or ability to remain union-free.

Our experience is that employee morale not only impacts productivity, quality, and profitability, but it also can drive union organizing activity.  As a result, following a Kiesewetter Wise management audit and related corrective action, we expect clients to experience improvements not only in the area of employee relations, but also in the operational aspects of their business.

Supervisory Leadership Training

Kiesewetter Wise provides an extensive array of proprietary supervisory leadership training. This training helps to help supervisors build the critical people skills that will enable them to manage in a manner that is compatible with the kind of positive leadership that is essential to a successful business and promotes a union free environment. Supervisors and managers can excel in these areas by learning to manage in an appropriate manner. The Kiesewetter Wise supervisory leadership training programs are designed to be both extremely practical as well as produce immediate results. Kiesewetter Wise also conducts training to equip supervisory personnel to respond to union activity in an effective and lawful manner.

NLRB Litigation

In addition to handling all aspects of NLRB election petitions and related representation case litigation and hearings, Kiesewetter Wise regularly represents clients before the NLRB in unfair labor practice (ULP) charges and litigation. The Firm’s attorneys have litigated numerous ULP cases against the NLRB’s General Counsel across the country, including some of the largest and most complex cases ever handled by the Board.

Negotiating Collective Bargaining Agreements

Kiesewetter Wise regularly negotiates union contracts for clients and advises clients on matters relating to their contract negotiations. Several of our attorneys handle union contract negotiations on an ongoing basis for clients, and one of our attorneys negotiated numerous union contracts when he previously served as senior labor counsel for one of the largest hospitality and gaming companies in the country. We are frequently utilized as a resource to develop strategies for collective bargaining and to help employers achieve their business objectives and avoid legal obstacles under the National Labor Relations Act related to bargaining.

Kiesewetter Wise also assists clients in labor assessments and negotiations related to plant closures, relocations, and acquisitions. We counsel employers on the various strategic and legal issues related to these areas, and assist employers in achieving their business objectives in compliance with applicable law.

Administration of Collective Bargaining Agreements

Kiesewetter Wise advises clients on issues and disputes that arise under their union contracts and helps develop strategies to achieve the employer’s objectives under those agreements. Kiesewetter Wise regularly assists employers with grievances and represents them at arbitration hearings. Our attorneys have extensive arbitration experience under union contracts involving numerous different legal and factual issues. Our focus in arbitration cases is to prepare and present the employer’s position in a forceful and compelling manner. Our Firm also has experience in post-arbitration litigation to enforce or vacate arbitration awards.

Managing Under Collective Bargaining Agreements

Kiesewetter Wise assists unionized facilities in developing and implementing management strategies and educational programs for supervisors and managers to help them effectively manage in a unionized environment. Such comprehensive management and educational programs ensure that all members of the leadership team: understand their role in managing the relationship with the union to maximize cooperation and minimize the possibility of third-party disruption to the business, while at the same time appropriately protecting management’s rights under the collective bargaining agreement. We draw on our varied industry and varied union experiences to tailor education and management programs to address individualized client and facility needs.

Response to Strikes and Other Concerted Activity

Kiesewetter Wise represents clients facing potential or actual strikes, work stoppages, or other economic pressure such as picketing. We provide labor counsel in many such situations and advocate client’s interests before the NLRB and courts to obtain relief from any unlawful union conduct. We also work with clients to prepare for and counter any strike activity so that the business can continue to operate. Our Firm has experience in coordinating these legal efforts to obtain the most appropriate and effective relief for our clients. Our attorneys work with businesses from the local level all the way to the board room to develop effective strategies for dealing with such threatened or actual work stoppages.