BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.14//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:69-853@lerachapter.org DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260511T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260511T194500 DTSTAMP:20260505T121047Z URL:https://lerachapter.org/nyc/events/14-penn-pyett-10-years-later/ SUMMARY:14 Penn-Pyett 10 Years Later: It’s Impact on Collective Bargainin g and Labor Arbitration DESCRIPTION:\nNew York City LERA\ninvites you to a LIVE-ONLY event\n\nNYC L ERA 14 Penn-Pyett 10 Years Later: It’s Impact on Collective Bargaining a nd Labor Arbitration\nDate and Time\nMay 11\, 2026\, 5:30 - 7:30 PM\n\nLoc ation\n1199 SEIU\, 498 7th Ave.\, NYC NY\n\nModerator\nEdward Kennedy Esq. \n\nSpeakers\nMelissa Chan\, Esq. Director\, Contract Enforcement and Asst .\nGeneral Counsel\, SEIU Local 32BJ\n\n\n[caption id="attachment_1392" al ign="aligncenter" width="300"] Melissa Chan[/caption]\nMelissa Chan is the Director of Contract Enforcement at SEIU Local 32BJ. Local 32BJ represent s over 185\,000 building service workers on the East Coast\, in sectors in cluding residential\, commercial\, schools\, security\, and airports. Meli ssa oversees the Union’s grievance and arbitration operations. The Union takes in and processes about 15\,000 complaints per year.\nBefore working for SEIU Local 32BJ\, Melissa worked at Cary Kane LLP\, where she represe nted local unions in all matters\, and individual employees in wage and ho ur and discrimination claims.\nEdward Kennedy\, Esq. Arbitrator and Mediat or\n\n\n[caption id="attachment_1390" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Edw ard Kennedy[/caption]\nEdward J. Kennedy\, JD\, MA\, is an experienced Lab or Arbitrator and Hearing Officer. Before becoming an Arbitrator\, Mediato r\, and Administrative Law Judge\, Ed practiced Labor and Employment law f or fifteen years on behalf of businesses\, non-profits\, employees\, and u nions. As a litigator\, Ed resolved labor and employment cases through neg otiation and mediation\, at arbitration\, before administrative tribunals\ , and in Federal Courts. For ten years\, Ed practiced public and private s ector labor law as in-house counsel for AFT\, Local 2\, I.B.T.\, Local 456 \, and TWU\, Local 100.\nEd holds an MA in Labor Studies from the City Uni versity of New York and a JD with a concentration in Labor and Employment Law from Hofstra University. He has undergone additional training and stud y with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service\, Cornell ILR\, and as an apprentice to an NAA arbitrator. Ed offers Labor Arbitration and Emp loyment Mediation services through a number of rosters and panels includin g the USPS &\; NRLCA Atlantic/Central Regional Arbitration Panel\, The Port Authority Employment Relations Panel\, The Federal Mediation and Conc iliation Service (FMCS)\, The National Mediation Board (NMB)\, The JAMS Pa nel of Independent Labor Arbitrators\, The Labor Relations Connection Rost er of Labor Arbitrators\, NJ PERC\, NJ BoM\, PA BoM\, DC PERB\, Alaska Lab or Relations Agency Roster of Arbitrators and Mediators\, Montana Board of Personnel Appeals Roster of Labor Arbitrators and the New York State Bar Association Roster of Mediators. Ed also serves as an Administrative Law J udge with the City of New York.\nTroy Kessler\, Esq.\, Partner\, Kessler M atura\n\n\n[caption id="attachment_1395" align="aligncenter" width="200"] Troy Kessler[/caption]\nTroy L. Kessler is a co-founder of Kessler Matura P.C. Mr. Kessler has extensive experience representing employees who have been the victims of discrimination\, harassment\, wrongful termination\, r etaliation\, overtime and minimum wage violations. He handles claims under Title VII\, the Americans with Disabilities Act\, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act\, the Family Medical Leave Act\, the New York State Huma n Rights Law\, the New York City Human Rights Law\, the Fair Labor Standar ds Act\, the National Labor Relations Act\, and the New York Labor Law.\nM r. Kessler received his law degree from the Loyola University School of La w – Chicago\, and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wiscons in. He is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association\, Nation al Employment Lawyers Association/New York\, the American Bar Association – Labor &\; Employment Section\, New York State Bar Association\, the Federal Bar Association\, and the Suffolk County Bar Association. Present ly\, Mr. Kessler serves as the President-Elect of the Federal Bar Associat ion’s Eastern District of New York Chapter\, and as a member of the advi sory board of the Center for Labor &\; Employment Law at the New York U niversity School of Law. Mr. Kessler is also a Fellow in the College of La bor and Employment.\nOutside of the office\, Mr. Kessler enjoys running\, listening to music (everything from jazz to punk)\, going to concerts\, wa tching soccer\, cooking\, and spending time with family.\nPaul Salvatore\, Esq.\, Partner\, Proskauer\n\n\n[caption id="attachment_1398" align="alig ncenter" width="300"] Paul Salvatore[/caption]\nPaul Salvatore provides st rategic labor and employment law advice to companies\, boards of directors /trustees\, senior executives and general counsel in such areas as labor-m anagement relations\, litigation\, alternative dispute resolution\, intern ational labor and employment issues\, and corporate transactions. He negot iates major collective bargaining agreements in several industries\, inclu ding real estate and construction. Paul represents the NYC real estate ind ustry’s multi-employer organization\, the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations (RAB)\, and its principal trade organization\, the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY). In 2023\, he helped the RAB reach a new collect ive bargaining agreement with SEIU Local 32BJ\, covering 20\,000 commercia l building employees\, enabling the industry to adapt its labor practices to tenants’ post-COVID utilization of office space\, including that caus ed by remote/hybrid work.\nAn active speaker and writer on labor and emplo yment law issues\, Paul’s publications include “One Dozen Years of Pye tt: A Win for Unionized Workplace Dispute Resolution” in the American Ba r Association Labor &\; Employment Law Journal (“ABA Journal”)\, Vo lume 36\, Number 2 at 257\, and “The PLA Alternative in an Increasingly Open Shop New York City Construction Market: The REBNY-BCTC Statement of P rinciples\,” Volume 37 ABA Journal\, Number 3 at 415. He is an Adjunct P rofessor at Cornell Law School\, teaching a course in collective bargainin g.\nRobert Schwartz\, Esq.\, Executive Vice President\, Realty\nAdvisory B oard on Labor Relations\, Inc.\n\n\n[caption id="attachment_1394" align="a ligncenter" width="300"] Robert Schwartz[/caption]\nRobert S. Schwartz is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Realty Advisor y Board on Labor Relations\, Inc. (“RAB”). Robert is admitted to pract ice in New York and New Jersey. Robert’s practice focuses on the represe ntation of employers and management in all areas of labor and employment r elations.\nHe has represented employers in state and federal court employm ent litigation\, arbitrations\, and administrative proceedings\, including claims of unlawful discrimination\, harassment\, breach of contract\, wag e and hour violations\, and tort claims. Robert also has experience repres enting clients in disputes arising from collective bargaining relationship s and in advising clients on compliance with applicable labor laws. In add ition\, Robert has represented clients in matters involving violations of the securities laws\, derivative actions\, and fiduciary responsibilities. \nRobert received his Bachelor of Arts\, with Honors in the Liberal Arts\, from The Ohio State University in 2000. He received his law degree from B enjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2003\, where he served as an Articles Editor for the Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law. Rober t was also selected to Super Lawyers’ 2014 and 2015 New Jersey Rising St ar list. Prior to joining the RAB\, Robert was an associate in the Labor a nd Employment Law Department of Proskauer Rose LLP.\nAndrew Strom\, Legal and Policy Director for the American Guild of Musical Artists\n\n\n[capti on id="attachment_1399" align="aligncenter" width="274"] Andrew Strom[/cap tion]\nAndrew Strom is Legal and Policy Director for the American Guild of Musical Artists and an Adjunct Professor at Brooklyn Law School. For over twenty years\, he was an Associate General Counsel for Service Employees International Union\, Local 32BJ\, and before that he was a Los Angeles-ba sed Associate General Counsel for SEIU. He is also a Senior Contributor fo r the OnLabor blog\, where he has written over 150 posts on labor and empl oyment law issues.\nHarry Weinberg\n\nHarry Weinberg is admitted to practi ce in New York\, New Jersey and California. He has represented employers i n the building service industry since 1985 and handles grievances and arbi trations as well as administrative matters and defense of employment discr imination claims.\nHe was President of the Service Employers Association a nd the Window Cleaning Employers Association\, multi-employer bargaining a ssociations consisting of building service and window cleaning employers u ntil those groups were dissolved and merged into the RAB in 1999.\n\nRegis tration and Cost\n$10\nPlease book your seat below.\nContact email for att endee questions:\nDLBurrell1@gmail.com\, President\, NYC LERA\n\nEvent Mat erials\n14 Penn Plaza v. Pytett Full Case\nMandatory Labor Arbitration of Statutory Claims\, and the Future of Fair Employment: 14 Penn Plaza v. Pye tt\nOne Dozen Years of Pyett- A Win for Unionized Workplace Dispute Resolu tion ABA L+E LJ Vol 36 Number 2 at 257\n\nMembership in NYC LERA\nPlease r enew your chapter membership to help us to continue to provide vital conte nt\, visit: http://lerachapter.org/nyc/membership-account/membership-level s/. ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://lerachapter.org/nyc/wp-content/uploads/s ites/69/2026/04/NYC5-11-26Featured-3.png CATEGORIES:In-person LOCATION:SEIU 1199\, 498 Seventh Avenue\, Auditorium\, New York\, NY\, 1001 8\, United States GEO:40.752801;-73.989728 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=498 Seventh Avenue\, Audito rium\, New York\, NY\, 10018\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=SE IU 1199:geo:40.752801,-73.989728 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260308T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR