Join us for a presentation by Professor Ariana Levinson about the legal issues relating to union co-ops.
The CLE will provide an overview of labor law with a focus on the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). It will address the questions of “what is a union co-op” and “why have a union if you already work for a co-op.” This webinar will provide examples of labor law issues that arise in the context of worker-owned cooperatives. These issues will include whether worker-owners are covered by the NLRA, whether co-ops can express a pro-union stance in their by-laws or other documents, whether co-ops can express a neutral position in their by-laws or other documents, and whether co-ops can lawfully form committees of workers to address terms and conditions of employment without a union.
Learning objectives: After this webinar, you will be able to:
a. Tell someone what the NLRA is and the types of situations it covers;
b. Explain what a union co-op is and what may be beneficial about one;
c. Identify issues that might arise under the NLRA when dealing with a union co-op
Optional pre-reading for this webinar includes:
"What's a Union Cooperative," by Barry Craig interviewing Ariana Levinson for the Kentucky AFL-CIO News, March 25, 2021.
"Breaking New Ground: Social Movement Theory and the Cincinnati Union Co-op," by Ariana Levinson, published in Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal (2022)
"Union Co-ops and the Revival of Labor Law," by Ariana Levinson, from 462 CARDOZO J. OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION [Vol. 19:453]
Ariana Levinson is a Distinguished Teaching Professor at University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law.
Professor Levinson's scholarship and teaching focus on labor and employment law issues and practical legal skills. Ariana is a fellow in the Rutgers School of Management & Labor Relations Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership & Profit Sharing. She has published five law review articles, and several news and policy briefs, about cooperatives. Her latest article about union co-ops was recently published in the Employee Responsibilities & Rights Journal.
Prior to teaching at Brandeis School of Law, Ariana taught at USC Gould School of Law and at UCLA School of Law. She clerked for the Honorable John G. Davies (United States District Court, Central District of California) and for the Honorable Myra C. Selby (Supreme Court of Indiana) and practiced labor law, including serving as a fellow for the AFL-CIO's Legal Department. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. During law school, she served as a contributing editor on the Michigan Law Review and was awarded the Robert S. Feldman Labor Law Award for the most outstanding work in that field. She has also received a faculty favorite award from the University of Louisville Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning multiple times. She was awarded a University Distinguished Teaching Award in Recognition of Exemplary Teaching in 2019.
