Candidate Information
LERA 2018 Election

1. Review Candidates Below | 2. Submit Vote Here

President Elect | Academic | Neutral/Other | Labor | Management

CANDIDATE FOR LERA 2018-19 PRESIDENT ELECT - Back to Top

Dennis Dabney

Vision Statement: We are living in a time of deep change. New technology, the gig economy, and growing political and economic uncertainty are upending long-held practices for organizations, the workforce, and labor relations practitioners. LERA has an opportunity and obligation to lead thoughtful conversations and research on the future of work. As a leader of the Labor Management Partnership at Kaiser Permanente, I have seen how parties with different interests and perspectives can find innovative answers to today’s challenges. LERA, with its labor, management, and academic expertise, can be the leading source of employment-relations thinking and practice in the years ahead.

 Dennis Dabney

Current Position: Senior Vice President, National Labor Relations and Office of Labor Management Partnership

Past Positions: VP of Human Resources, First Energy; Director of Human and Labor Relations, DTE Energy; Director HR, Thyssenkrupp Budd Corporate Manager, The Budd Company

Education: Eastern Michigan University 1978, bachelor’s degree in business administration; Eastern Michigan University 1982, master’s degree in public administration; University of Detroit Mercy Law School 2000, juris doctorate

LERA Activities:  LERA Board Member 2014-2017; LERA Annual Meetings Co-chair and Panelist 2004-06; FMCS NLMC Panelist 2006; LERA Program Development Committee Member 2010; LERA Certification Steering Committee 2010; participated in Detroit and Cleveland Local Chapter Meetings

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Kent State University Business Diversity Council Member; University of Detroit Mercy Alumni Board Member OutState Representative; HR Policy Association Labor Relations Advisory Group; Leadership Detroit; UWUA Center for Safety, Health and Environmental Education LMCC; Attorney at Law Member of Michigan Bar Association

 

ACADEMIC SEATS (2)
CANDIDATES FOR LERA 2018-19 BOARD - Back to Top

Johanna Weststar

David Weil

Johanna Weststar
David Weil

Vision StatementI have always devoted a significant amount of labour to the administrative, networking and bridge-building work required for an association like LERA to thrive. In my roles organizing national and international conferences and while President of the Canadian Industrial Relations Association, I've tried to grow the "tent". We need to honour the legacy of our interdisciplinary and applied field and promote a diverse range of work and employment scholarship. We need to champion pluralism and voice by fostering spaces for critical dialogue among social actors. LERA already has a strong legacy in this regard; I'm here to keep it going.

Current Position: Associate Professor of Industrial Relations and Human Resources (2016 to present) and Adjunct Professor of Industrial/Organizational Psychology (2016 to present), Western University; Co-Chair, 10th ILERA Regional Congress of the Americas; Deputy Chief Negotiator, University of Western Ontario Faculty Association

Past Positions: President, Canadian Industrial Relations Association (2014-16); Assistant Professor, Western University (2012-2016); Assistant Professor, Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary's University (2008-12)

Education: BArts & Science and Psychology, McMaster University (2001); Master of Industrial Relations, Queen's University (2003); PhD in Industrial Relations and Human Resources, University of Toronto (2007)

LERA Activities: LERA member since 2007; Presented at numerous LERA national meetings; Co-Editor, 2017 LERA Research Volume, "Contradictions of Pension Fund Capitalism"

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: member, Editorial Board, Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations; co-researcher, Interuniversity Research Center on Globalization and Work (CRIMT); academic research partner with the International Game Developers Association

Significant Publications: "Why might a video game developer join a union?" (with Marie-José Legault), Labor Studies Journal, 2017;  The Contradictions of Pension Fund Capitalism (with Kevin Skerrett, Simon Archer and Chris Roberts). LERA Research Volume, Cornell University Press, 2017; "The perils of project-based work: Attempting resistance to extreme work conditions in video game development." (with Amanda Peticca-Harris and Steve McKenna), Organization, 2015

Vision StatementGrowing income inequality, dramatic changes in the structure of employment, declining union membership, and looming impacts of robotics and artificial intelligence all make the historic role of LERA as a forum for impactful and original research and as a convener of policy discourse more important than ever. My experiences as a lifelong academic and the head of a major workplace enforcement agency have taught me of the importance of applying the rigor of academic scholarship to the practical problems facing society.  I would seek to bring those perspectives to help make sure LERA plays this critical role going forward.

Current Position: Dean and Professor, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, August 2017-Present

Past Positions: Wage and Hour Administrator, US Department Labor, May 2014-2017;  Peter and Deborah Wexler Professor of Management, Questrom School of Business, Boston University, 1991-2014; Co-Director, Transparency Policy Project, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, 2001-Present

Education: PhD, Public Policy, Harvard University, 1987; MPP Harvard Kennedy School of Government, 1985; BS Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, 1983.

LERA Activities: I have been an active member of LERA since I participated in an IRRA refereed dissertation session in 1987.  I have participated in LERA refereed sessions, organized panels and served as a panelist, and served on the Editorial Committee from 2001-2004.  More recently, I have been a plenary speaker at two LERA annual meetings and in 2016 was honored to receive LERA's Susan C. Eaton Award for Scholar / Practitioner.

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Labor Advisory Board to the Massachusetts Attorney General, 2017-Present;  Recipient of the Father Edward F. Boyle Award for Excellence in Labor-Management Relations, Labor Guild of the Archdiocese of Boston, 2017; Chair, Dunlop Commission for Agricultural Labor, 2005-2014

Significant Publications: The Fissured Workplace: How Work Became So Bad for So Many and What Can be Done to Improve It, Harvard University Press, 2014;  "Income Inequality, Wage Determination, and the Fissured Workplace." in Bradford DeLong, Heather Boushey, and Marshall Steinbaum, (eds) On Thomas Piketty's Capital, Harvard University Press, 2017, pp. 209-231.; "Does Ownership Structure Influence Regulatory Behavior? The Impact of Franchising on Labor Standards Compliance." (with MinWoong Ji).  Industrial and Labor Relations Review. v.68, no. 5 October 2015, pp. 977-1006

Aaron Sojourner

Adrienne Eaton

Aaron Sojourner Adrienne Eaton

Vision StatementLERA provides unique community of diverse perspectives. We are diverse in our employers, in our disciplines & industries but we share a commitment to understand & improve work. The pace of change in the economy & society have quickened. LERA's issues animate not only vital scholarship but also whiplash economic transformation, and policy & political debate. I will hustle to market LERA as an opportunity for scholars across disciplines engaged with these issues to find each other, to get feedback & fellowship. LERA has been that for me & I want it to be that for us all for many decades to come.

Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Work & Organizations, University of Minnesota, 2017-present

Past Positions: Senior Economist for Labor, U.S. President's Council of Economic Advisers, 2016-'17; Assistant Professor, Department of Work & Organizations, University of Minnesota, 2009-2017  (on leave: 2016-'17); Researcher, Chapin Hall Center for Children, University of Chicago, 2003 - 2004; Organizer and Asst. to National Political Director, Carpenters Union, 1995 - 2001

Education: Northwestern University, Ph.D. in Economics, 2009; University of Chicago, Masters in Public Policy Analysis, 2003; Yale University, B.A. in History, 1995

LERA Activities: LERA ASSA Program Committee, 2017-present; LERA annual meeting, session chair, 2016;
LERA annual meeting, chair of two sessions & presenter, 2014; LERA annual meeting, organizer & chair of two sessions & presenter, 2013; Connecticut LERA, member from UBC Local 210, 1995-1999

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Member, Industrial & Labor Relations Review International Editorial Board, 2015-?; Awardee, John T. Dunlop Outstanding Scholar, LERA, 2016; Research Fellow, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn, Germany, 2009-?; Visiting Scholar, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, 2017-?; Member, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Global Working Group, 2017-?; Member: American Economic Association, Econometric Society, Scholars Strategy Network, & Society of Labor Economists; Fact Finder for League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York and the SEIU Health Care Workers Local Union District 1199 to advance negotiations of contract covering 70,000 workers, 2013

Significant Publications: Impacts of Unionization on Quality and Productivity: Regression Discontinuity Evidence from Nursing Homes. (with B. Frandsen, R. Town, D. Grabowski & M. Chen)Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 2015; Unionization & Productivity: Evidence from Charter Schools. (with C. Hart) Industrial Relations, 2015; Do Unions Promote Electoral Office Holding? Evidence from Correlates of State Legislatures' Occupational Shares. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 2013

Vision StatementI would like to help LERA continue to figure out what it wants to be in light of the changes taking place in work overall and with one of our major institutional constituents (labor) in particular.  I am also interested in how we can attract scholars with strong disciplinary identity, particularly sociologists, but who study issues that are at the core of LERA’s identity.  Related to this is the need for LERA to better provide a platform for early career and diverse scholars and practitioners.

Current Position: Interim Dean (July 2017-present), Professor (2001-present), School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University

Past Positions: Associate Professor (1994-2001, School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University; Assistant Professor (1987-1994), School of Management and Labor Relations, Rutgers University

Education: Ph.D. in Industrial Relations, University of Wisconsin, 1988; Master in Labor and Human Resources, Ohio State University, 1983; AB in Anthropology and Social Science, University of Michigan, 1979.

LERA Activities: Member, Executive Board 2008-2009; Editor, 2002-2009; Chair, Committee on Education 2000-2002; Panel/Session Organizer - (2001, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2017)

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Labor and Employment Relations Fellow, 2017; International Labor and Employment Relations Association; Member, Publications Committee. 2016 - present; Labor Studies Journal, Member, Editorial Board, April 1999-present; International Labor Process Conference:  Member, Steering Committee 2010-present; Rutgers Council of American Association of University Professors-AFT, President, 2009-2013.

Significant Publications: Adrienne E. Eaton, Susan J. Schurman and Martha A. Chen (eds), Informal Workers and Collective Action:  A Global Perspective, Cornell University Press, 2017; Thomas Kochan, Adrienne Eaton, Robert McKersie and Paul Adler. Healing Together:  The Labor Management Partnership at Kaiser Permanente. Cornell University Press, 2009; Adrienne E. Eaton and Jeff Keefe (eds.), Employment Dispute Resolution in the Changing Workplace.  Authors:  "Introduction and Overview". Madison, WI:   Industrial Relations Research Association, 1999; Sean E. Rogers, Adrienne E. Eaton and Paula P. Voos, "The Effects of Unionization on Graduate Student Employees:  Faculty-Student Relations, Academic Freedom and Pay", Industrial and Labor Relations Review, April 2013, Vol. 66, No. 2, pp.487-510; Adrienne E. Eaton and Jill Kriesky. "NLRB Elections vs. Card Check Campaigns:  Results of a Worker Survey", Industrial and Labor Relations Review, January 2009, 62 (2). pp. 157-172; Adrienne E. Eaton and Paula B. Voos.  "Unions and Contemporary Innovations in Work Organization, Compensation, and Employee Participation", with Paula Voos, in Unions and Economic Competitiveness, ed. by L. Mishel and P. Voos, (M.E. Sharpe, 1992).

 

NEUTRAL, GOVERNMENT, OTHER SEAT (1)
CANDIDATES FOR LERA 2018-19 BOARD - Back to Top

Valerie Harragin

Ezio Borchini

Valerie Harrigan

Ezio Borchini

Vision Statement:  At a time of change and upheaval in the workplace, LERA has a unique role in that it offers the opportunity to bring academic study and professional practice together.  As a practitioner (Social worker, Union Rep, Mediator) I have found great value in the bringing the fruits of study and research to my own work and, as a board member, I will do everything I can to bring people of different disciplines, ideologies, and perspectives together to learn from each other and find new ways to enhance the lives of workers and contribute to the vitality of our economy.

Current Position: Mediator, Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service 2003-present

Past Positions: Sr. Field Representative, SEIU Local 535, 1999-2003; Field Representative , California School Employees Assoc., 1998-99; Social Worker, Los Angeles County, 1991-98

Education: BA Antioch University, 1987; MSW/MPl University of Southern California, 1989

LERA Activities:  I have been an active member of the Orange County County chapter for some 10 years, am a previous Chapter president and executive board member.  I continue to serve on the annual conference planning committee and have been both a panelist and moderator at that conference in years past. Presenter, National LERA conference 2017

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: 2016 - Conducted training of new mediators in  Yangon, Myanmar; 2012 - Guest instructor, Rotary Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok

Vision Statement:  My vision for LERA is for broader national recognition of, and local participation in, the key roles LERA plays in the national conversation on management-labor and employment relations. I would encourage its important work in economics, markets, sociology, journalism, research, education, wages, benefits, management rights, organizing, and human resource management. Every time I walk into a hearing, I find hope in the parties' respect and trust for the fairness of the role of labor arbitration in industrial democracy. Thus, I would continue to promote the LERA role in bringing parties together in a common forum to educate and enlighten.

Current Position: Arbitrator and Mediator, 2004-present, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; National Mediation Board; American Arbitration Association; Financial Industry Regulatory Authority

Past Positions: Chair & Neutral Member: Interest arbitration in the transportation industry--Tri-State Transit Authority & ATU 1742, setting pay & benefits for collective bargaining agreement (2017); National Railroad Adjustment Boards, Union Pacific & SMART (2017-2018); Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority & ATU 689 (multiple discharge cases including post-incident testing, drug & alcohol, misappropriation, and safety)

Education: BS, University of Maryland, Mechanical Engineering; JD, Catholic University; LLM, Litigation and Dispute Resolution, George Washington University; Intensive Employment Mediation Training, Cornell University Industrial & Labor Relations; Complex Public Education Issues, FMCS and National Academy of Arbitrators

LERA Activities:  I served as President of LERA Maryland in 2016, and as Vice President in 2014 and 2015. As President, I formed a Board of Directors, consisting of three each of management, labor, and neutral representatives, to advise and guide the chapter, and to increase membership. The Board met monthly, before chapter dinners. Together, we worked to bring the 2018 LERA 70th anniversary annual meeting to Baltimore. I have assisted in planning the 2018 LERA annual meeting @ Baltimore Hilton Inner Harbor. I have also made initial outreach for the 2019 LERA 71st annual meeting @ Cleveland. I attended LERA Annual Meetings in Pittsburgh (2015), and St. Louis (2013).

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Adjunct Professor, George Washington University Law School, 2011-2018, Ethics in Adjudication & Settlement, and Trial Advocacy; National Association of Railroad Referees; Society of Federal Labor & Employee Relations Professionals

Significant Publications: Editor, Individual Rights in Unions, District of Columbia Practice Manual (2018 & 2017); Cited twice in Principles of Federal Sector Arbitration, Fifth Edition, Peter Broida (2017); One of two general acknowledgements for outside contributors in, How Arbitration Works, Elkouri & Elkouri (2014 Supplement)


LABOR SEAT (1)
CANDIDATES FOR LERA 2018-19 BOARD - Back to Top

Brad Markell

John Amman

 Brad Markell John Amman

Vision Statement: My vision for LERA is to strengthen the link between academics and the activities of the practitioner and policy communities. New technologies are taking us well past the old discussions of how to adapt to automation, and the emergence of new sectors such as clean energy present challenges to existing employment relationships. LERA's tri-partite membership means it can help shape the broad national discussion about these developments with a breadth of perspectives not present in most organizations

Current Position: Executive Director, AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council (IUC). The IUC is the international union presidents of 12 AFL-CIO affiliates with significant membership in manufacturing; I lead the AFL-CIO's policy work for manufacturing, energy, and the environment.

Past Positions: International Representative, UAW. Worked in the Research Department and on the staff of the Secretary-Treasurer; Director of Labor Program, Michigan Manufacturing Extension Program

Education: BA, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Political Science and Economics; MA, Wayne State, Industrial Relations

LERA Activities: LERA Board 2017-2018; Formerly active in Detroit chapter, have presented and chaired sessions;

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: National Academy of Engineering panel "Making Value in America," 2014-2015; International Labor Organization Expert Committee on Just Transition, 2013-2015

Vision Statement:  LERA is the meeting place for both labor and management practitioners and academics in the field of employment relations meet to address issues of common concerns and interests.  Given the current state of our politics and the ever changing workplace, the need for the common ground and research LERA provides is more necessary than ever.  For nearly 30 years I have worked in an industry that has seen profound changes in corporate structures and new technologies.  Our unions were representing freelance professionals decades before the rest of the economy moved to contingent employment models.  We routinely address issues of misclassifying employees as independent contractors and freelance health benefits.  I hope to bring some of what I have learned to the larger LERA effort.

Current Position: Business Representative, International Cinematographers Guild, IATSE Local 600, 1990 to Present.

Past Positions: Business Agent, Script  Supervisors / Production   Office  Coordinators,  Local 161,  IATSE, Union's chief negotiator in all contract negotiations.  Administered all union's agreements.  Represented union in all industry related functions. Conducted as part of my work with Cinematographers Guild  1991 - 1998

Education: BA, Social Work, Michigan State University, 1979; MS, Collective Bargaining, New York State School of Industrial Labor Relations, Cornell University, 1990

LERA Activities: I have been a member of LERA since 1990.  In 2003 I was the recipient of the IRRA Young Practitioner Award.

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Member, Editorial Advisory Board, WorkingUSA: The Journal of Labor and Society, in addition to articles have written book reviews for this publication; Vice President, New York Production Alliance, promoting film and TV production in New York State; Executive Vice President, Sierra Leone Village Partnerships (SLVP), provides support to grassroots community development projects in Sierra Leone, W. Africa.


MANAGEMENT SEAT (1)
CANDIDATES FOR LERA 2018-19 BOARD - Back to Top

Jack Torpey

Cyndi Furseth

John Torpey

Vision Statement:  LERA is the premier organization in the generation of innovative, insightful and mutually beneficial ideas and concepts pertinent to advancing the critical Labor-Management relationship. At the practitioner level, this excellent work has sometimes struggled to find the embrace of corporate management or union organizations due largely, in my opinion, to the traditionalist nature of both entities. Changing demographics in the workplace, with the rise of millennials, and increased diversity and inclusion in both labor and management ranks, presents LERA with a splendid opportunity to advance its mission by engaging a workplace less deferential to orthodoxy and more open and receptive to creative solutions.

Current Position: Director Corporate Labor Relations, Raytheon Company, 1993-2017 (Retired 2018)

Past Positions: Manager Worker's Compensation Program, Raytheon Company 1990-1993; Assistant General Counsel, Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, 1987-1990; Private Practice, 1982-1987

Education: BA, University of Massachusetts, Boston 1978; JD, Suffolk University Law School 1982

LERA Activities:  LERA Boston Chapter-Chapter President (2009), and Vice President (2008), Current Executive Board Member (2010-2018); Attended 58th LERA Annual Meeting

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Boston Labor Guild Member 20+ years; Recepient of Cushing-Gavin Management Award 2013; Judge Advocate General Corps, LTC (Ret), US Army Reserve

Vision Statement: LERA is an organization that provides a unique opportunity for labor and management practitioners to meet and share ideas and perspectives in a collaborative, neutral and informative format. The inclusion of Academics and Neutrals give us all better perspectives and insight from an objective, informative view that provides all of us with learning and collaborative opportunities. My intention, hope and goal would be to add to our predecessor’s example to continue the inclusivity and type of environment that allows us all to learn, provide better opportunities for employees, and improve the engagement necessary for the future and ultimate success of employees and practitioners alike.

Current Position: Senior Labor Relations Consultant, Portland General Electric, 1993 to date.

Past Positions: PGE various positions in the Nuclear division, 1982 – 1993.

Education: Some formal, mostly field and on-the job, seminars and classes, and experiential.

LERA Activities: Past President 2013, Treasurer 2015 to date, and active member of Oregon Chapter Board 2009 to date. Learned from and participated in the National Nominating Committee and Program Committee, 2014 to date.

Other Affiliations, Activities, Awards: Received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oregon Chapter "The Maggies" in 2016. Past President of Northwest Wage and Hour Association, actively involved in Private Utility Employer Institute for almost 20 years and involved with LAMPAC (Labor and Management Political Action Committee).