DETROIT (April 1, 2009) - Top labor law experts are converging at Wayne State University Law School to discuss the need for and prospects of labor law reform The event is being sponsored by Wayne Law in conjunction with Labor@Wayne. The "Forum on Resuscitating and Revitalizing American Labor Law Policy: A Constructive Dialogue on Areas of Agreement" will be held from 2 - 4 p.m. Monday, April 6, in the Law School's Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium.
The program will feature local, national and international labor law experts. The keynote speaker is Wilma Liebman, chair of the National Labor Relations Board, the key governmental agency that administers the primary U.S. labor law statute, The National Labor Relations Act. President Barack Obama designated Liebman as chairman of the NLRB on January 20, 2009.
Forum discussion facilitators include: Moderator Bill Mateikis, Wayne Law visiting professor of law; Joseph Canfield, attorney, NLRB, Region 7 and Wayne Law adjunct professor; and Marick Masters, director of the Douglas A. Fraser Center for Workplace Issues and Labor@Wayne. Forum panelists include: Elizabeth Bunn, UAW secretary-treasurer; Martin Mulloy, Ford Motor Co. vice president, Labor Affairs; and Peter Pantaleo, partner, DLA Piper.
The forum is designed to initiate general, constructive dialogue on labor law policy in areas of agreement rather than highlight areas of disagreement, particularly with respect to workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively in a competitive global economy.
"Wayne Law students, faculty, alumni, and area labor law practitioners will hear from experts in the field of labor relations - a field that for too long has been too polarized to permit meaningful discussion on matters of mutual interest," Mateikis said. "Given the extraordinary times for employers, employees and employees' collective representatives, we need to focus more on how to move collaboratively forward so that we don't fall further divisively backward."
For more information about Wayne Law, visit www.law.wayne.edu. For additional information about panelists visit, http://law.wayne.edu/news.php?id=2807.