Drafting Contract Language to Reduce Grievances with Mike Loconto

Purpose of the Course:

The purpose of this course is to prepare contract negotiators to draft  effective collective bargaining proposals. Grievances and costly arbitration’s often arise out of unclear contract language. Many locals and employers do not use attorneys to assist with drafting during the  collective bargaining process, and sometimes disputes arise from ambiguous provisions.

By the end  of this course, students will have tools to create durable outcomes at the table and reduce costs and  uncertainty over the life of the contract.

Instructed by: Michael Loconto, Arbitrator and Mediator

Michael Loconto is a Boston-based arbitrator and mediator providing neutral, independent dispute resolution services for the modern workplace.

Arbitrator Loconto has trained with the American Arbitration Association and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Institute and has apprenticed under two members of the National Academy of Arbitrators in labor, employment and pension fund matters. He has experience in the public and private sectors with education, trades, construction PLAs, public safety, dining services, hospitals, and transportation, among other industries, and has handled a spectrum of discipline and discharge, contract interpretation, discrimination, substance abuse, pay and benefits matters. Arbitrator Loconto has two decades of practical experience, previously serving as an in-house counsel to a small college and a labor and employment relations leader for a large university and a major metropolitan city. He has worked with unions, managers and neutrals as a Labor and Employee Relations Association industry council leader and is the current President of Boston’s LERA Chapter. He has taught legal writing and research at Northeastern University School of Law and courses on contracts and bargaining at The Labor Guild.

Arbitrator Loconto conducts in-person or remote hearings nationally and internationally via the AAA (labor, employment and pension/ERISA matters), the Labor Relations Connection, FMCS, the National Mediation Board, and through more than two dozen state and local agencies. He is also a member of the Roster of Arbitrators with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (rail disputes) and hears consumer lemon law claims in Massachusetts and contract vendor disputes with the City of New York.

Please visit locontoadr.com or email mtl@locontoadr.com for further information.