LOCONTO ADR
An Arbitrator and Mediator in Workplace and Commercial Disputes
Trusted across labor and management
Michael Loconto is a Boston-based arbitrator and mediator providing neutral, independent dispute resolution services in the workplace and in business and consumer matters.
Arbitrator Loconto is available to parties by direct appointment and through the American Arbitration Association's Roster of Arbitrators on the Labor, Employment, Pension/ERISA and Consumer panels. Arbitrator Loconto is also available in labor disputes across New England through the Labor Relations Connection, nationally and internationally through the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, via the National Mediation Board for rail and airline disputes, the Surface Transportation Board for rail rate disputes, and through a number of state, local and territorial agencies and other private rosters in labor, contracts, consumer and employment matters.
Prepared
Arbitrator Loconto has trained with AAA and the FMCS Institute. He has apprenticed under two members of the National Academy of Arbitrators in labor, employment and MPPAA disputes. His industry experience includes K-12 and higher education, skilled and manual trades, construction (including project labor agreements and jurisdictional disputes), public safety, dining services, athletics, public sector, beverages, financial services and technology workers. Specific issues include: discipline and discharge; drug testing; contract interpretation; pay and wage differentials; benefits; disability; discrimination and harassment; FMLA; FLSA; USERRA; Title IX; and, related state and federal laws.
Experienced
Arbitrator Loconto has two decades of experience in the fields of labor relations and employment law and in commercial matters, 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 union representatives and neutrals to co-lead the Higher Education Industry Council for the Labor and Employee Relations Association and the District Capacity Project of the Massachusetts Education Partnership, and has led or presented on a number of labor-management issues before LERA and the National Centers for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education Professions. Arbitrator Loconto has taught legal writing and research to first-year law students at his alma mater, Northeastern University School of Law, and has lectured on school law and arbitration in athletics for college students and legislative drafting for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education.
He currently teaches courses on contracts, bargaining and workplace disputes for union and management representatives at The Labor Guild School of Labor-Management Relations in Boston, and is President of the Executive Board for LERA's Boston chapter.
Ready to Serve the Parties
Arbitrator Loconto is available for in-person or remote hearings, nationally and internationally through AAA, FMCS, LRC, NMB and at the state and local level in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington state. He also provides lemon law arbitration services through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Better Business Bureau, contract dispute resolution for the City of New York, and trucking / moving dispute resolution through Forum ADR. He is also available for direct appointment by the parties as a neutral, independent arbitrator, mediator, facilitator, fact finder or hearing officer in labor and employment-related and commercial disputes.
Arbitrator Loconto also offers meeting facilitation services and related training, card check services for union organizing, election and certification processes, and joint training on interest-based bargaining ("IBB") principles and techniques.
Arbitrator Loconto maintains satellite locations in the District of Columbia, Eastern Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Southern California and South Florida. Please contact mtl@locontoadr.com to request a full CV and fee / cancellation schedule.
WHAT'S NEW
Thank you to the Oregon Employment Relations Board for featuring me in the Spring 2023 Arbitrator Newsletter.
Check out a collection of conference videos on my YouTube page, including the recent LERA Boston Chapter webinars on "Access and Opportunity in Labor Relations" and "Drug Testing 101."
I am now available to hear disputes through the Pension/ERISA and Employment panels of the American Arbitration Association, where I continue to provide services as a labor arbitrator.
Thank you to LERA for publishing a piece that I co-authored with Arbitrator Shianne Scott in Volume 27 of Perspectives on Work, the LERA Magazine. Paving the Way for a New Generation of Labor Arbitrators was published in November 2023.
I joined arbitrator colleagues in December 2023 to discuss insights and strategies for selecting arbitrators in the federal sector; SFLERP members may access a recording of the presentation through the organization's website.
Selected arbitration awards have recently been published through Bloomberg/BNA Labor Arbitration Reports and on the website of the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services.
Registration is open for the LERA/ILERA/FMCS Triad annual meetings in New York City, June 26-30. I will be moderating a best papers discussion on card check and financialization, and will be speaking on an Ask the Arbitrator panel and on a panel covering Drug Testing in the Workplace.
ARBITRATOR AND MEDIATOR EXPERIENCE
Arbitrator/Mediator - July 2021 – Present
Permanent Arbitration Panels: Commonwealth of Massachusetts-Alliance Panel; American Postal Workers Union and USPS (Expedited Panel - Connecticut); Port Authority of New York/New Jersey Employment Relations Panel; New York State Education Department, 3020-a Teacher Tenure Panel.
Private Rosters: American Arbitration Association (labor arbitrator, pension/ERISA and employment and consumer panels); Forum ADR (commercial and employment); The Labor Relations Connection (labor arbitrator - New England); and Resolute Systems (commercial and employment). Direct appointments available upon request of the parties.
Federal, State and Local Agency Roster Appointments:
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (labor arbitrator - Regions 3, 6, 7 and 8, serving Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Includes federal sector practice and international assignments. Virtual/remote hearings also available throughout FMCS jurisdictions.)
California Public Employment Relations Board (labor arbitrator and fact finder - includes MMBA, EERA and HEERA)
California State Mediation and Conciliation Service (labor arbitrator)
Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board (mediator/arbitrator roster - K-12 disputes)
Iowa Public Employment Relations Board (Qualified Arbitrator roster)
Los Angeles City (CA) Employee Relations Board (labor arbitrator)
Los Angeles County (CA) Employee Relations Commission (labor arbitrator)
Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations (labor arbitrator)
Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Protection (Lemon Law Arbitration Program)
Michigan Employment Relations Commission (grievance arbitrator)
Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services (labor arbitrator)
Montana Board of Personnel Appeals (labor arbitrator and mediator)
National Mediation Board (rail and airline labor union disputes)
Nebraska Commission of Industrial Relations (Resolution Officer)
Nevada Government Employees-Management Relations Board (labor arbitrator, mediator and fact finder)
New Hampshire Public Employees Labor Relations Board (labor arbitrator)
New Jersey Board of Mediation (labor arbitrator)
New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission (labor arbitrator, mediator and interest arbitrator)
New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (Contract Dispute Resolution Board)
Oregon Employment Relations Board (labor arbitrator)
Pennsylvania Bureau of Mediation (labor arbitrator)
Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (interest arbitrator and fact finder)
Phoenix (AZ) Employment Relations Board (fact finder and mediator)
Surface Transportation Board (arbitrator in rail carrier rate disputes)
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (early neutral evaluator)
U.S. Virgin Islands Public Employees Relations Board (labor arbitrator and mediator)
Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission (labor arbitrator)
Resume on file for arbitrator and mediator services through the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Kansas Department of Labor, and Maine Labor Relations Board.
Recent Publications: Board of Editors - Will Aitchison, David Gaba & Jonathan Downes, Interest Arbitration (Miller, Vannoy and Scott 3d ed., LRIS Books, 2022). Arbitration, Unions and Catholic Social Teaching, Catholic Labor Network blog (published Jan. 3, 2023). Paving the Way for a New Generation of Labor Arbitrators, Perspectives on Work (Vol. 27, published November 2023). Forthcoming: publication on drug testing in the workplace (LRIS Press, 2024).
Training: FMCS Institute - Becoming a Labor Arbitrator and Federal Sector Arbitration courses and select AAA courses on labor, consumer, commercial, pension and employment.
Apprenticeship: Mentored by two distinguished members of the National Academy of Arbitrators; trained in labor, employment and MPPAA/Taft-Hartley trust fund pension matters. Member, 2023 NAA New England region salon.
Volunteering and Professional Memberships: Labor and Employment Relations Association - President of the Boston chapter's Executive Board and member of the national organization and the California (Northern and Southern), Chicago, Connecticut, DC, Greater Rhode Island, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, NYC, Oregon, Central and SW Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Virginia and Virtual chapters; former co-chair, Higher Education Industry Council. Society of Federal Labor & Employee Relations Professionals (SFLERP) member. Former co-chair, Boston Bar Association Traditional Labor Law subcommittee. Member, Catholic Labor Network and The Labor Guild.
PROFESSIONAL LEGAL EXPERIENCE
Fenway Law LLC, Boston, MA - December 2020 – Present
A limited solo practice focusing on commercial contract drafting and review, with expertise in data privacy. Please note that Fenway Law does not provide advocacy on behalf of employers or employees in labor and employment matters.
Curry College, Milton, MA - February 2016 – November 2020
General Counsel (previous title held: College Counsel)
Led multiple successful collective bargaining negotiations with faculty (AAUP) and facilities staff (Area Trades Council), and advised on employment-related matters (discipline, discharge, policy and benefits). Co-led development of Title IX policy and process. Arbitration work included discipline and discharge, policy implementation and shift differentials.
Harvard University, Office of Labor & Employee Relations, Cambridge, MA - August 2006 – January 2016
Deputy Director for Policy and Compliance and Youth Protection Officer
(previous title held: Associate Director of Labor & Employee Relations)
Negotiated Project Labor Agreements with building and construction trades unions, a campus police union CBA, and multiple issues with a 4,500-member clerical-technical union. "Med-arb" and arbitration work included discipline and discharge, overtime, uniforms, shift differentials and policy implementation.
Led employment-related policy development and compliance efforts on whistleblowing, independent contractors, FLSA compliance, leave requirements for illnesses, new parents and domestic violence victims, nursing mother accommodations, social media use and transgender rights. Oversaw campus-wide youth program safety standards and assisted on implementation of Title IX regulations.
City of Boston, Office of Labor Relations, Boston, MA - November 2002 – August 2006
Labor Relations Counsel
Negotiated collective bargaining agreements, policy implementation and interim issues with more than a dozen large civilian, policy and fire employee labor unions. Counseled department heads on management issues and reduced sick leave abuse in a large department. Arbitration work included discipline and discharge; overtime and police details; shift differentials; pay incentives; and work assignments.
TEACHING, RESEARCH AND SPEAKING EXPERIENCE
School of Labor Management Relations, The Labor Guild of the Archdiocese of Boston - 2022 to present
Instructor: Courses on "Contemporary Issues in Workplace Disputes," "Drafting Contracts to Reduce Grievances," and "Interest-Based Bargaining" for labor and management representatives. Courses meet online and with past students participating from Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and beyond.
Northeastern University School of Law, Boston, MA - 2008 - 2010
Adjunct Lecturer: Legal writing and research program for first-year law students.
Recent and Upcoming Speaking Engagements
24th Annual Labor Arbitration Conference at the Marriott in Newport, Rhode Island on November 6. Co-sponsored by the URI Schmidt Labor Research Center and NAA New England region. Moderated a panel on how to prepare your case for arbitration. I will be co-planning the 2024 event - save the date for November 7-8.
NAA NorCal Meet the Arbitrator Conference: panelist on multiple roundtables with other California PERC and SMCS arbitrators discussing real-life case scenarios. September 29, 2023 in Oakland.
Virginia LERA Chapter's 2d Annual Conference: panelist on a roundtable with other arbitrators discussing real-life case scenarios. September 14, 2023 at the Richmond Marriott.
University of Miami Sport Industry Conference: moderating panel discussion with union and league officials on the organization of the National Women's Soccer League Players Association (2023). Related: guest lectured on arbitration in athletics during a "Legal Aspects of Sport" course in UM's sports administration program (2022).
Catholic Labor Network Conference: presented on alternative dispute resolution processes for the workplace (2023).
Northeastern University School of Law, Annual Labor & Employment Program: moderated alumni panel on current issues in labor law with labor and management advocates and NLRB Board Member David Prouty (2022).
MASC/MASS Annual Joint Conference: moderated panel on current issues in teacher contract negotiations featuring AFT, MTA and district representatives (2022).
Relevant Professional Organization Memberships and Other Prior Speaking Engagements
Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA): Executive Board President, Boston chapter. Member of the National organization and numerous local chapters. Co-Chair, Higher Education Industry Council (2008-2013). Annual Conference speaking includes: Chair of Discussion on Card Check, and panelist on Ask the Arbitrator and Drug Testing panels (2024 FMCS Triad); Building an Arbitrator's Practice, and Chair of Discussion on Collective Action (2023); Chair, Best Papers Discussion on Organized Voice (2022); Chair, Best Papers Discussion on Wages (2021); Labor-Management Collaboration in K-12 Education (joint presentation with the Boston Teachers Union, 2016); Higher Education Labor & Employment Law (2013); Public Sector Labor Law Issues in Higher Education (2012); and, Negotiation, Collective Bargaining, and Workplace Dispute Resolution (2011).
National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in the Higher Education Professions (NCSCBHEP): Annual Conference speaking includes: Collective Bargaining and Museums (2024); Discrimination in Religious Institutions (2023); Collective Bargaining and Shared Governance (Moderator, AAUP Annual Survey discussion - 2022); Labor and Education in the Biden Administration (Moderator, 2021); Legal Update (Moderator, 2019); Multi-Employer Negotiations in Higher Education (Moderator, 2016); Comparing Public- and Private-Sector Bargaining (2015); Adjunct/Part-Time Faculty Unions & Graduate Student Organizing (2013); and Impact of Electronic Media on Negotiations, Protected Activity, and Privacy in the Modern Workplace (2011, 2012 & 2014).
Society of Federal Labor and Employment Relations Professionals (SFLERP): Member (2023 - ). Presented webinar on "How to Select a Federal Sector Arbitrator" (2023).
National Association of College & University Attorneys: Committee on Legal Education (2018 - 2020).
Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE): The Legislative & Drafting Processes (2018 - 2019).
Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy: Co-Led the District Capacity Project with the Boston Teachers Union, an initiative of the Massachusetts Education Partnership (MEP) between the American Federation of Teachers-Massachusetts, Massachusetts Teachers Association, Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, and Massachusetts Association of School Committees with support from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and faculty at MIT, Northeastern and UMass Boston (2014 - 2017).
Boston Bar Association: Co-Chair, Traditional Labor Law subcommittee (2010 - 2011).
College & University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR): Conference speaking on collective bargaining (2013) and social media (2011).
RELEVANT COMMUNITY SERVICE
Boston School Committee - 2014 - 2020
Member (2014-2017) and Chairperson (2018-2020): Appointed by Mayor Martin J. Walsh (recent U.S. Labor Secretary); liaison to 12 collective bargaining units, including the Boston Teachers Union (AFT Local 66).
City of Boston - 2017
Facilitator: Dialogues to Action on Race series.
EDUCATION
Northeastern University School of Law, Boston, MA
Juris Doctor (2002)
The Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science, Minor in Economics (1999)
BAR ADMISSION
Commonwealth of Massachusetts (2002); U.S. District Court, Massachusetts (2003); U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit (2003).
Michael Loconto Arbitrator Mediator Fact Finder Grievance Arbitration Interest Arbitration Labor Arbitration Mediation Fact Finding Conciliation Hearing Officer Resolution Officer Early Neutral Evaluator Attorney Labor Employment Boston Massachusetts Lancaster Pennsylvania Minneapolis Minnesota Pembroke Pines Miami Fort Lauderdale Florida Maine New Hampshire Vermont Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New York New Jersey Pennsylvania Delaware Maryland District of Columbia West Virginia Virginia Tennessee North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Puerto Rico United States Virgin Islands Alabama Mississippi Missouri Illinois Kansas Nebraska Iowa Wisconsin Minnesota North Dakota South Dakota Kansas Nebraska Iowa Colorado Montana Washington Oregon California Nevada Phoenix Arizona Los Angeles County Public Government Employee Employees Employment Management Relations Commission Board Labor Relations Board Board of Personnel Appeals Commission of Industrial Relations Bureau of Mediation Services Board of Mediation Department of Labor and Employment Civil Service Interest Based Bargaining Training Facilitation Facilitator National Mediation Board American Arbitration Association AAA Forum ADR United ADR New Era ADR Labor Relations Connection card check union organizing ballot count Labor and Employment Relations Association Labor Guild instructor