More than 160 leaders from several states came together for the 28th annual Mid-America Labor/Management Conference July 14-17 at the Lodge of the Four Seasons. Check out www.malmc.org for video and other highlights from the conference.

The conference got off to a rousing start with live oral arguments on three cases heard by the Missouri Western Court of Appeals. Judges Joseph Ellis, Gary Witt and visiting from the Eastern District Robert Clayton heard the cases and then answered 40 minutes of questions from the audience. The cases addressed interesting employment security and workers' compensation issues. Results of the panel's ruling will be distributed to conference attendees in a few weeks.

Missouri AG Chris Koster later praised the role of labor-management cooperation as essential to the state’s economic future. But he urged the attendees to “think like 27-year olds” who represent the future. Missouri must find ways to attract and keep well-educated young people who will build the successful companies of the future. Koster added that the state needs to target its economic development investments.

Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, the nation’s youngest statewide elected official, lauded attendees and said they set an example for state government by working together for common goals. He urged participants, particularly MIssourians, to join him in making voting easier and eliminating unlimited campaign contributions and gifts. “My job (while in the Army) in Afghanistan was to root out corruption” he noted, and unlimited money to elected officials here erodes confidence in government.

Conference keynoter NLRB Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon spoke at a crucial time. Disputes on NLRB appointments between the White House, Senate and the courts had the agency in danger of again lacking a quorum, perhaps for an extended period. Yet Solomon expressed confidence that the agency would continue operating and fulfilling its role of resolving workplace disputes. He noted that hundreds of cases and organizing elections have been processed without any court challenge, with challenges affecting only 10 percent of the agency’s work. Threats to NLRB funding could be more problematic, he said, as the sequester is already having an impact.
Solomon pointed out that while some consider it new territory, recent action affecting workers not in unions or part of organizing drives have always been part of the agency’s role if the cases involved concerted activities by workers. And he noted that the agency continues to be involved only when complaints are brought to it.

While the NLRB has been a focus of renewed attention, some have also cited the organized sector as being less relevant to the US economy. But Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Deputy Director Scot Beckinbaugh pointed out that the FMCS received notice of 13,000 collective bargaining negotiations, and even at the current level of unionization collective bargaining continues to affect millions of workers and many billions of dollars. And with key sectors--such as ports, utilities, construction and manufacturing--continuing to have substantial union workforces, the impact of collective bargaining on the economy remains significant.
Beckinbaugh reflected on his many years as a mediator as well as key recent cases he has been involved with, including the NFL players and later referees, the NHL, Con Edison and ports among others.

Regardless of the rate of unionization, Beckinbaugh pointed out that “people of lack control need to be listened to” and will “express outrage when unjust things happen.” Conflict is inherent in the workplace, he said, and simply “getting rid of the other side” doesn’t change that. “The cost of conflict is always underestimated” he noted, and working together has economic advantages. FMCS, on a budget of $48 million, averted work stoppages that would have cost the economy $885 million last year alone.
In the public sphere both conflict and cooperation is evident in the history of workers’ compensation, explained Ray McCarty, president of Associated Industries of Missouri. He cited the disputes not only between but within labor and management that led to passage of Missouri workers compensation legislation in 1926 after more than a decade of attempts. That history continued with the passage of workers compensation reform this year with SB 1, which was considered imperfect by both labor and management but addressed key issues and won passage.

SB 1 and other legislation were discussed by a panel of three Missouri state senators--current senators the Hon. Scott Rupp and Hon. Gina Walsh and former Sen. Tim Green. Sen. Rupp shepherded SB 1 by taking input from all interested parties and then completing negotiations among Senators. He predicted that attacks on labor will continue in the legislature and the result will be the same. Sen. Walsh, also president of the Missouri Building & Construction Trades Council, agreed and noted that within the Senate debates are crucial. Sen. Green, now legislative director for both NECA in St. Louis and IBEW Local 1, also cited issues such as utility rates and economic development incentives as ones where debates will be vigorous but where labor and management cooperation could be crucial.

The Affordable Care Act will provide health insurance access to millions who now can’t afford it, noted Stephene Moore, Region VII Director for the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. She noted that the ACA’s regulations will affect most plans in some way and that the new insurance marketplaces will be in operation Oct. 1. In her region, Iowa has expanded Medicaid but Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska have yet to do so. She encouraged attendees to contact HHS for more information through its toll-free phone number, 1-800-318-2596 and its website www.healthcare.gov .

Mike Moran, Cigna, and Mark Compton, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, addressed how the ACA will likely affect Taft-Hartley plans. The ACA generates many decisions for such plans, though both agreed that ultimately Taft-Hartley plans with some adjustments will continue to be superior choices for workers and employers. The competitive impact of exchange plans plus the “Cadillac tax” will continue pushing plans to limit their costs and accelerate the move to more wellness and prevention as well as payment reforms, both agreed.

Recent Supreme Court decisions on collective bargaining rights for Missouri workers have highlighted the lack of a legal framework for public employee unions, noted Mike Pritchett, acting chair of the state’s Board of Mediation. More extensive regulations exist in neighboring Kansas, Iowa and Illinois. For example, Missouri’s public employee bargaining law has 542 words while Kansas’ has 22,000. Attorney E.E. Keenan predicts more litigation where judges will essentially write the law through decisions if the legislature doesn’t fill the gap.

Westar Executive Vice President and COO Doug Sterbenz emphasized the importance of strong labor-management relationships to the utility’s success. With the many challenges to Westar’s electricity production and distribution from technology, regulation, environment and economic forces, cooperation is more vital than ever. Sterbenz also explained a key to success is “you must be present to win.”

A focus on utility issues continued with Irl Scissors, executive director of Missourians for a Balanced Energy Future. Scissors laid out the challenges to the state’s infrastructure and said investments were needed now not just for short-term job creation but for the economy’s long-term success. Legislation in Missouri will continue to be sought to make such investments more practical, he said.

The utility workforce also requires investment, noted Jim Hunter, director of utilities for the IBEW. Hunter touted a bipartisan energy policy that included addressing an aging workforce and lack of workplace-ready entrants. Environmental regulations often clash with the desire for low-cost energy and the need to invest in worker training and infrastructure, he noted. Some utilities have been woefully short of the workforce needed for disaster response. He cited the example of Alabama Power and its labor-management partnership that provides a highly-trained workforce able to address disasters and keep costs low.

Government’s obligation to be open and accountable is often implemented by Sunshine Laws. Officials from Missouri’s Attorney General’s office explained how the law works, what are exemptions and how to address problems. Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Hensley and Sunshine Law experts Tom Durkin and Brenda Siegler noted recent changes and answered questions on how the Attorney General’s office can help.

Other presenters included John Boyd, Boyd & Kenter; Richard AuBuchon, Polsinelli; and Phil Hess, Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys on workers’ compensation; Mary Taves, National Labor Relations Board, on the boundaries of bargaining under the NLRA; Matt Dameron, Stueve Siegel & Hanson on protecting pensions; Peggy McNieve, FMCS, on negotiation styles; Christal Key, NLRB, on the union duty of fair representation; and Barbara Rumph, FMCS, on establishing and maintaining a labor-management committee.

Conference attendees and their families also enjoyed a banquet that included prizes from the Missouri Lottery and the conference as well as karaoke. Conference sponsors included Westar Energy, Missouri AFL-CIO, Brotherhood Bank/Bank of Labor, Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, Stueve Siegel Hanson, Missouri Lottery, IBEW Local 304, Polsinelli, Commerce Bank, Chiefs Ambassadors, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City, Cigna, Missourians for a Balanced Energy Future, Missouri Petroleum Council, Kansas Gas Energy, FMCS, the NLRB and Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. The conference board elected Chas Young, Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, as president; Mike Louis, Missouri AFL-CIO, vice president; Pat Bush, Westar Energy, secretary; and Tom Johnson, Brotherhood Bank/Bank of Labor, treasurer.

The 2014 conference will take place July 6-9 at Camden on the Lake.

Please let us know if you have questions or suggestions for next year's conference.