Christian Collins of Johns Hopkins University and CLASP joins DC LERA as First Student Board Member

On September 6, 2023, the DC LERA Board of Governors adopted a measure designating 2-3 new positions on the board for Student Board Members. The purpose of these positions is to bring a student perspective to the board and serve as a short- and long-term organizational succession strategy.

Christian Collins joined the DC LERA board as its first Student Board Member.

Christian is a current graduate student attending Johns Hopkins University and a policy analyst with the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)’s education, labor, and worker justice team. A native of Akron, Ohio and proud product of public schools, he brings expertise in labor rights advocacy and workforce and economic development. He holds a strong commitment to promoting racial justice through public policy and advocacy. Preceding his career at CLASP, Christian was a researcher with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). In this role, he assisted local union chapters with organizing efforts, while partnering with outside organizations and partners to advocate for increased rights and benefits for workers. Additionally, he’s served as a research assistant at Urban Institute and a state fiscal project campaigns intern with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities since moving to DC. While in his home state of Ohio, Christian spent time as an intern for both the Ohio State Senate and Columbus City Council. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in public policy from The Ohio State University and also attended Kent State University during his undergraduate studies.

Japanese Labor Attache Takahito Fushiki joins DC LERA Board

Takahito Fushiki, Labor Attache with the Embassy of Japan, has joined the Board of Governors of DC LERA. He replaces Yoshi Suzuki, who returned to Japan in August 2023.

Taka joined the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan in 2007. He has worked in departments related to Pharmaceutical Safety, Labor Standards, Welfare for Persons with Disabilities, and Unemployment Insurance.

Welcome to Washington, Taka!

A Farewell Address from Yoshi Suzuki, former Labor Attaché with the Embassy of Japan

By: Yoshi Suzuki, Former Labor Attaché, Embassy of Japan

I arrived in the summer of 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. I remember as if it were yesterday that I addressed a virtual board meeting. The exchange of information and interactive discussion in DC LERA was so stimulating and meaningful to me. I would like to briefly describe my impressions after working in DC for three years.

The pandemic hit the U.S. economy hard, with the unemployment rate soaring to 14.7% in April 2020, but it soon recovered to pre-pandemic levels, and the turbulence in the U.S. labor market has been remarkable. From the perspective of Japan, which is generally regarded as stable internationally (not only unemployment rate but also wage increase…), it should be admired the positive aspects of the dynamism of the U.S. economy. On the other hand, it looks like that there appears to be a steadily increasing number of voices in the U.S. that are concerned about the weak safety net for those left behind in the economic growth and calling for policy responses.

In response to these voices, Biden administration has been working to realize various social policies, including labor policies, but the existence of the Senate filibuster etc. has made the hurdles to policy realization through legislation extremely high, forcing the administration to rely on policy tools such as executive order. However, I think this is inextricably linked to the fragility of legal stability and predictability. Stricter scrutiny of administrative authority by conservative federal courts will also affect the policy formation process, and it is likely that even greater caution will be required in the future, not only in terms of policy content, but also in terms of procedures.

The Biden administration’s emphasis on labor unions in its various policies is a major characteristic of its administration, and while it is true that the bargaining power of labor unions and workers has increased under the recent labor market conditions in which workers are dominant, it will take more time to determine whether the trend of decline in labor unions over the medium to long term can be reversed. Whether or not the Democratic Party will be able to retain power and secure a sufficient base of support in the presidential election of 2024 will be the touchstone for the penetration and maturation of the various policies implemented by the Biden administration into the U.S. society.

Although it is difficult to make simple comparisons between Japan and U.S. because of differences in social systems, cultures, and practices, labor policy and labor market trends in U.S., where market functions are strongly activated, can provide hints toward more optimal policy formulation by making Japanese policies more relative. I would like to continue to observe them regularly in the future.

In Japan, I will return to Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) and be in charge of unemployment benefit planning. Based on the reflections under the pandemic, a number of systemic revisions will be made, including the extension of employment insurance coverage to part-time workers and others.

Leaving DC is excruciating, but I am also excited about my new job.

DC LERA welcomes the German Embassy’s new representative Yasmin Hilpert to Board

Yasmin Hilpert joined the DC LERA Board of Governors as the Representative of the German Embassy in July 2023.

Yasmin Hilpert is an experienced researcher, advisor and consultant on labor market development, digitization and technological innovation, social policy and inclusion. She serves as the Counselor for Labor and Social Affairs at the German Embassy in Washington DC since July 2023.

Yasmin comes from an extensive trade union background with experience in strategic development, labor issues and workforce development. She brings close to ten years of experience as a trainer and educator in a labor union vocational training institute in Germany. She worked as a strategic advisor to human rights and labor organizations to develop strategies for Industry 4.0 and workforce automation in light of technology innovation.

Since 2016, Yasmin has been working in academia and think tanks in the US, with a particular focus on the intersection of technology and industrial policy and the implications for the labor market, workers and qualifications.

Prior to her work in the U.S., she worked as leadership advisor at IndustriALL Global (50m members) in Geneva and IndustriALL Europe (7m members) in Brussels, the global and European umbrella organizations of all heavy industry manufacturing sectors. She engaged in high-level negotiations on a national and European level with employers and multi-national corporations and is regularly invited as a contributor to meetings of labor, business and government leaders in Germany, the UK and the EU as a whole.

Yasmin is an expert on metropolitan industrial policy and regional development, innovation infrastructure, and sustainability. With an interdisciplinary academic background in political science and with a focus on Industry 4.0, Yasmin holds a Masters from Humboldt University Berlin and is graduating with her Ph.D. in 2023. She regularly presents at academic conferences and was elected chair of the Research Committee 11 “Science and Politics” of the International Political Science Association in July 2023.

Welcome, Yasmin!

DC LERA welcomes Merrilee Logue of BCBSA to the Board of Governors

The Board of Governors of the Washington, DC Chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association voted to accept the nomination of Merrilee Logue to serve as a DC LERA Board Member at its meeting on April 19, 2023. Merrilee is Executive Director of the BCBS Association National Labor Office and replaces Bonnie Summers, who recently retired.

Merrilee became Executive Director of BCBSA NLO in August 2022. She is an experienced executive with over 30 years in the healthcare industry, with demonstrated leadership in Labor Relations, Healthcare and Employee Benefits. In addition to her experience in the healthcare industry, Merrilee has served as a Board Member  of Crossroads4Hope, and the Boys and Girls Club of Atlantic City.

You can get to know Merrilee a bit by tuning into this video. Welcome, Merrilee!

DC LERA thanks Bonnie Summers of BCBSA for service on Board

Bonnie Summers steps down from the board of DC LERA as she hands over responsibility to Merrilee Logue as Executive Director of the Blue Cross-Blue Shield (BCBS) National Labor Office.  Bonnie’s involvement with BCBS National Labor Office spans nearly four decades, including 20 years as the Executive Director.   The BCBS National Labor Office acts as a liaison between organized labor and 34 BCBS companies across the United States, serving over 17 million workers, retirees, and their families.  Bonnie played a critical role in national LERA, joining the Executive Board in 2002, and played an important role in launching the health care industry council of LERA.  She also was an active member and board member of DC LERA for the past 20 years.   We know Bonnie’s passion for healthcare and organized labor will continue and we look forward to her participation in DC and National LERA events in the future.

Steve Sleigh, President, Sleigh Strategies LLC

DC LERA votes to adopt Early Career, Nonprofit, and In Transition membership categories

At its February 22, 2023 board meeting, DC LERA voted to adopt three new reduced price membership categories. These include:

  • Early Career Member – $20. This includes recent graduates, apprentices, and those who have switched to a new career.
  • Nonprofit / Not for Profit Member – $20. This includes nonprofit employees and people who work for not for profit organizations like trade unions or on Capitol Hill (for example).
  • In Transition Member – $20. This includes jobseekers who are unemployed or underemployed.

In adopting these new membership categories, the Board of Governors hopes to make membership in DC LERA accessible to a broader section of the Washington, DC area community working in or interested in pursuing workplace-related fields.

Click here to join DC LERA!

Erin Johansson of Jobs with Justice joins DC LERA Board

At its February 22, 2023 board meeting, DC LERA approved the nomination of Erin Johansson to serve as a member of the DC LERA Board of Governors.

Erin brings a wealth of experience to her role. In addition to managing the research program of Jobs with Justice Education Fund, she coordinates the Labor Research and Action Network (LRAN), which brings together scholars and practitioners to build workplace and economic power for working people. She has written numerous publications for Jobs With Justice and American Rights at Work, on topics ranging from labor law, contingent work, the National Labor Relations Board, Walmart, and the broader value of unions to communities. Erin served on the board of national LERA and serves on the editorial board of the Labor and Employment Relations Association’s publication, Perspectives on Work.

We are delighted to have Erin join the Board and look forward to working with her.

DC LERA makes successful transition from Virtual to Live events in 2022

The Washington, DC chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association (DC LERA) benefits from the participation of a very rich community of practitioners, policymakers, academics, and labor attaches from a number of embassies (including France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and Taiwan) in Washington DC.

In 2022, DC LERA continued to host and co-host several events featuring members of this community – all while making the not-so-easy transition from virtual to live and hybrid events. We organized sessions on the future of work, global labor rights, the gig economy in Europe, labor issues at the USPS, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the legacy of slavery and construction and deconstruction of racism in the US, Europe and South Africa, the history of 925 and equal pay for women in the US, the Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike, the concept of “dirty work,” and an update on the NLRB.

Our speakers were leading thinkers and practitioners on all of these topics, including Karen Nussbaum of Working America, Lane Windham of the Kalmanovitz Initiative at Georgetown University, Ernie DuBester of the FLRA, Thea Lee of US DOL, Sunnie Rucker-Chang of Ohio State University, Mark Clark of the Kogod School of Business at American University, Randolph McLaughlin of Pace University in New York, Anton Hajjar of the Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service, Rebecca Dixon of the National Employment Law Project, Mark Pearce of the Georgetown Law School Worker Rights Institute, Richard Bock of the NLRB, and Melissa Fisher of the NYU Institute of Public Knowlege.

In addition, we hosted several international experts on workplace issues, including Annamaria Westregård of Lund University, Kgomotso Mufamadi of the University of Johannesburg, Mijke Houwerzijl of Tilburg University Law School, and Roman Kormann of the German Trade Union Federation.

As we transitioned from purely virtual to live, hybrid and some virtual events, we met at the ILO, the Kogod School of Business at American University, and Georgetown Law Center in order to reach out to our publics – especially students. Our partners included the Worker Rights Institute at Georgetown Law School, the American Constitution Society DC Lawyers Chapter, the Workplace Prof Blog, and the African Labour Law Society.

It is the hope of 2022 DC LERA President, Dr. David Jacobs, that we inspired some students to think about the field of labor and workplace relations for their careers – and that our events and activities gave participants and attendees a bit of hope as the pandemic continued to shape our lives.

In 2023, we plan on continuing the DC LERA tradition of bringing professionals and students of all stripes to the table to discuss topical and timely workplace matters.

DC LERA hits the ground running with great in-person event on Nonprofit Union Organizing

DC LERA started 2023 off with a great event organized and moderated by incoming Membership Secretary Ben Kreider, All Workers are Workers: Union Organizing at Nonprofits. The event was held at the Economic Policy Institute. Many thanks to outgoing DC LERA President David Jacobs for organizing all the logistics.

Our guest speakers were Katie Parker and Justin Schweitzer, both of the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (NPEU), International Federal of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 70. Both Katie and Justin gave eloquent presentations discussing both the need for and the complexities of organizing workers in nonprofit organizations – not to mention negotiating collective bargaining agreements. An active and engaged audience posed several questions.

Thanks everyone for turning out! Stay tuned for more DC LERA events this year, and please reach out