LABOR & EMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE
OF THE NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD

WELCOME to the website of the NLG L&EC. The Labor and Employment Committee of the National Lawyers Guild [NLG] is a non-profit unincorporated legal association engaged in legal education and advocacy. The membership of the Labor & Employment Committee includes lawyers, law students, legal workers, and worker representatives. It serves as a liaison between the Guild and legal organizations that represent organized labor and workers. The L&EC also works directly with organized labor and other organizations that represent workers.

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS. We collaborate with the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee [LCC], the National Employment Law Association [NELA], and other professional legal associations on the national and local level. We also work closely with and support the Guild's Sugar Law Center for the Economic and Social Justice [Sugar Law Center] to improve conditions in poor and working communities.

ANNUAL MEETINGS. The L&EC meets twice a year - at the annual NLG Convention in the fall and at the annual meeting of the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee meeting in the spring. These meetings are open to all. Click here for more information about our meetings.

ANNUAL NATIONAL EVENTS. The L&EC sponsors two annual events: a breakfast at the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee conference each spring and L&EC programs at the annual NLG National Convention that usually occurs in the fall. Click here for more information about our activities at the NLG Convention, and click here for more information about our activities at the LCC. Click here for Special Events.

BECOME A MEMBER. Click here for the membership page and click here to pay dues. Annual dues are $35 for attorneys and $15 for law students, legal workers, union members, and other friends. This is a national membership fee - there is no separate local membership fee. Please make your check payable to NLG L&EC and send to Fran Schreiberg c/o Kazan et al, Jack London Market, 55 Harrison Street Suite 400, Oakland, CA 94607.

OUR MEMBERS' PRACTICE AREAS INCLUDE:

•Administrative Law - including OSHA, social security
•Economic Rights - including unemployment insurance
•Employment Law - including sexual harassment, age discrimination, wage and hour
•Injured Worker Law - including workers comp and tort cases, disability rights
•Labor Law - work in all sectors of the labor movement
•Toxic Torts - representing workers and communities concerned with toxics in the workplace and community

LOCAL ACTIVITIES. The L&EC promotes local committees who work with local labor movement contacts on labor and employment law issues. Local members identify their own issues. We have information about local activities here:

•Boston area
•Chicago area 
•New York area 
•Philadelphia area 
•San Francisco Bay area
•Wisconsin area

STEERING COMMITTEE. The Steering Committee sets general policy for the L&EC during monthly conference calls and via e-mail. If you are interested in joining the Steering Committee, contact either of the co-chairs. If you want to get involved in other aspects of our work or have a membership question, contact Fran Schreiberg. If you want to contribute to the newsletter, contact Henry Willis. Click here for more information about the Steering Committee.

•Co-chair - Polly Halfkenny or (412) 471-8919
•Co-chair - Dean Hubbard or (203) 216-2262
•Organization & Membership - Fran Schreiberg or (510) 302-1071
•Newsletter - Henry Willis or (323) 655-4700

MENTORSHIP PROGRAM. Click here for more information about the MENTORSHIP PROGRAM. Developing a lasting relationship with a mentor is key to the success of law students, new lawyers, and legal workers. Several NLG chapters have mentorship programs, and this program will both augment existing programs and also, where none exists, create a nationwide program with a specific focus on labor and employment law. The Labor & Employment Committee mentorship program aims to support the coming generation of Guild members, build our membership, and build a community of legal activists to support workers and worker organizations. The program began as a pilot project during the Spring semester of the 2010-2011 school year. We are now accepting applications for the 2012-2013 school year.

Each mentor / mentee relationship is just for one year, but we hope the relationship will provide an opportunity for recent law school graduates, law students, and new legal workers to have a lasting professional relationship with experienced labor and employment law attorneys and legal workers. The NLG L&EC mentorship program also aims to provide mentees with career advice and to gain a better understanding of what is involved with being a successful Guild labor and employment activist.

JOB POSTINGS. Click here for job postings that we have been asked to post.

NEWSLETTERS. Click here for our newsletters.

OTHER PUBLICATIONS. Click here for publications.  We author the Employee & Union Member Guide to Labor Law: A Manual for Attorneys Representing the Labor Movement.  We also post links to other publications that may be of interest.

PROJECTS. The Labor & Employment Committee is involved in a number of projects and new volunteers are always welcome. Click here for our Projects page which lists various activities and also links to more information about each project.