Pictured: Michael Loconto speaking on the "Ask the Arbitrator" panel during the LERA/FMCS Triad conference, Hilton Midtown, New York, NY, June 27, 2024.  Also pictured: Arthur Pearlstein, Director of Arbitration Services, Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service, Washington, D.C.; and Arbitrator Shianne Scott of Portland, OR.  Credit: FMCS.

---

 National Academy of Arbitrators (NAA) – the 77th Annual Meeting & Education Conference took place on May 7-10, 2024 at the Hilton Park Plaza, Boston, MA.  The 2025 conference will take place in Seattle, WA on April 30-May 3.

Note that the NAA also maintains a calendar of continuing education and regional activities; in particular:

• Southwest Rockies Region Will host its 46th Annual Labor-Management Conference on February 20-22, 2025 at the Marriot at Houston South Hobby Airport – 9100 Gulf Fwy, Houston, TX 77017.

• Northern California Region hosted a 2023 Labor Arbitration Advocacy Conference on September 29, 2023 at the Elihu M. Harris State Office Building in Oakland, CA (*I participated in several panels with fellow PERC and SMCS arbitrator panelists).  

• Southeast Region Labor Advocacy Training and Labor Arbitrator Conference took place on March 1-2, 2024 at the Hyatt House Tampa Airport/Westshore, Tampa, FL.

Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) – 77th Annual Meeting, June 12-15, 2025, Westin Hotel, Seattle, WA.  LERA also maintains a calendar of the 36 local chapters that meet across the country on a regular basis, with a mix of in-person gatherings and many virtual and hybrid attendance options.

Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) – National Labor-Management Conference.  The NLMC brings together labor, management, practitioners, government agencies, advocates, and neutrals.  Meetings have typically been held in Washington, D.C. or Chicago, IL, with virtual convenings in 2020 and 2022.

In 2024, the NLMC took place in New York, NY alongside the LERA and ILERA meetings as the LERA/FMCS Triad (June 26-30, 2024, Hilton Midtown Manhattan).  I moderated a Ph.D. panel on Financialization and spoke an Ask the Arbitrator panel, an AI in Arbitration panel, and a Drug Testing in the Workplace panel through the FMCS programming.  

The FMCS Arbitrator Symposium, co-sponsored by the NAA Mid-Atlantic Region and the New Jersey chapter of LERA, was last held on October 12-13, 2023 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.  2025 Save the Date: May 8-9.

American Bar Association (ABA) – The Labor and Employment Law Section hosts a number of events online and in-person throughout the year, including an annual conference each fall.  The 2024 Section conference is on November 13-16 in New York City.  The 2025 conference will be held in Denver; details to follow.

National Association of Railroad Referees (NARR) -  Annual Conference.  The annual September gathering in Chicago brings together rail carriers, rail unions, arbitrators and the National Mediation Board to discuss issues under the Railway Labor Act.

National Centers for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education Professions (NCSCBHEP) – 52nd  Annual Conference. March 23-25, 2025, Hunter College, New York, NY . This annual gathering brings together faculty and staff unions, institutional representatives, advocates, neutrals and policymakers to discuss labor and employment-related issues in higher education.  *In 2024, I moderated a panel on Collective Bargaining and Museums.

Society of Federal Labor & Employee Relations Professionals (SFLERP) - Annual Symposium.  March 13-14, 2025, Hilton Arlington National Landing Hotel, Arlington, VA.  Annual gathering of labor, management and neutrals in the federal sector.  Check the SFLERP website for additional training opportunities throughout the year, including *a replay of my recent participation in a webinar discussion on selecting arbitrators in the federal sector.

Boston LERA Chapter Meeting, November 15, 2022, Dorchester Brewing Co. (Photo Credit: M. Loconto).

Local LERA Chapters

*Remember to check the local LERA chapters for upcoming gatherings, which are regularly updated.  Upcoming and recent statewide and regional conferences to be aware of are:

California: 41st Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference.  Virtual event, July 17, 2024.  Sponsored by the SoCal LERA Chapter.

  Virginia:  Collective Bargaining & Collaborative Approaches to Labor Relations Conference. The Virginia LERA chapter          recently hosted its third annual full-day conference in Richmond on statewide public sector issues, on September 10,     2024 at the Richmond Marriott (*I participated as a panelist on the "red light/green light" arbitrator panel and discussed AI issues in arbitration).

Maine: the LERA-Maine Chapter's half-day conference was recently held in Scarborough on November 1, 2024.

Washington state: 48th Collective Bargaining and Arbitration Conference.  March 10-11, 2025, Hotel Murano, Tacoma, WA.  Sponsored by the Northwest LERA Chapter.

---

Alphabetical, by state:

Alabama

          Governor’s Labor Management Conference.  The conference last met on June 5, 2023; no current status for 2024.

Arkansas

Annual Labor & Management Conference.  Summer meeting co-sponsored by the Arkansas AFL-CIO and local industry; no current status for 2024.

California

2023 Western Mechanical Labor Management Conference. April 12-14, 2023, Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort, Rancho Mirage, CA. A program organized by unions and employers in the mechanical and plumbing industry across the Western United States and Canada; no current status for 2024 or 2025.

Florida

Annual Public Employment Labor Relations Forum.  The Florida Bar Labor and Employment Law Section maintains a roster of annual events, including a fall meeting focused on public sector labor issues.  The 2023 event took place on October 19 in Orlando (more details at the link above).

24th Annual Labor and Employment Law Annual Update and Certification Review.  January 25-26, 2024, Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando, FL.  According to the Bar's website: "The 24th Labor and Employment Law Annual Update and Certification Review is an “alphabet soup” of L & E topics.  This two-day course updates labor and employment practitioners and prepares lawyers who are taking the Labor and Employment Law certification exam."

Advanced Labor Topics 2024.  April 18-19, 2024, Omni Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC.  The Florida Bar Labor and Employment Law Section hosted the event.

Florida Labor Management Conference.  The conference last met in 2019; the Facebook page has not been updated since 2021.

Georgia

2025 Georgia Labor Management Conference.  June 10-13, 2025, Sea Palms Resort, St. Simons Island, GA.

Illinois

Federal Sector Labor Relations and Labor Law Conference.  Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, IL.  This conference was last held in September 2022. 

Kentucky

Kentucky Labor-Management Conference.  September 9-11, 2025, Kentucky Dam Village State Park, Gilbertsville, KY.

Northern Kentucky University Alternative Dispute Resolution Center.  The Center hosts an annual labor-management conference in the spring. Check the link for details.

Louisiana-Mississippi

Louisiana-Mississippi Labor-Management Conference.  The 2022 conference was cancelled (web domain no longer operational).

Massachusetts

50th Annual Robert Fuchs Labor Law Conference.  February 15, 2024, Suffolk Law School, Boston, MA (12:30 - 5 pm).  A program of the Massachusetts Bar Association, focused on the public sector.  NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran and Member Marvin Kaplan were the featured speakers at this year's event.

44th Annual Labor & Employment Spring Conference.  May 24, 2023, Suffolk Law School, Boston, MA.  A program of the Massachusetts Bar Association.  One-day conference (10 am to 6 pm) featured EEOC Vice Chair Jocelyn Samuels and a networking reception.  Look for information about the 2024 event soon.

Cushing-Gavin Awards.  Annual dinner and awards ceremony honoring labor, management and neutral contributors to the labor community.  The event is held each December, hosted by The Labor Guild of Boston.  The event typically takes place at the IBEW Local 103 Hall in Dorchester; December 6, 2024 was the date of the most recent dinner.

Annual Public Sector Conference.  The Boston Bar Association's annual tradition returns this year, on Saturday, May 3, 2025 at the Boston Bar Association, 8 Beacon Street, Boston.  Hear from state agencies, labor arbitrators and a recap of recent major state court decisions involving labor and employment issues.

Michigan

Upper Peninsula Labor-Management Council 2024 Annual Conference. Last held on March 14, 2024 at the Island Resort & Casino, Harris, MI.

State Bar of Michigan, Labor & Employment Law Section Annual Meeting.  January 24, 2025, Detroit Athletic Club, Detroit, MI. 

Minnesota

Bureau of Mediation Services Open House.  April 17, 2024, St. Paul, MN.  An event at the new BMS offices in Bandana Square, which featured an arbitrator meet & greet; an arbitrator-advocate mixer; and a reception to view the new BMS office suite.  

Labor & Employment Law Institute.  Recently held on November 16, 2023 at the Minnesota CLE Conference Center, Minneapolis, MN.  Annual program featuring NLRB officials and current issues facing the labor-management community. No 2025 date announced at this time.

Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute.  May 19-20, 2025, RiverCentre, St. Paul, MN.  

Labor and Employment Annual Dinner.  Annual dinner hosted by the labor & employment law section of the Minnesota, Hennepin County and Ramsey County Bar Associations.  No 2025 date at this time; section luncheon scheduled for Minneapolis on February 27, 2025.

Missouri

Mid-America Labor/Management Conference.  July 6-9, 2025, Camden on the Lake, Lake Ozark, MO.  The Labor-Management Council of Greater Kansas City organizes this annual event; watch the website or the organization’s Facebook page for registration information.

Montana

          Big Sky Labor & Employment Conference.  July 29-31, 2025, Big Sky, MT. Fifth annual conference; agenda to follow.

44th Annual Arbitration and Labor Relations Conference.  September 29-October 2, 2025, Best Western GranTree Inn, Bozeman, MT.

New Jersey

2025 Public Employment Conference.  April 3, 2025, Hilton East Brunswick, East Brunswick, NJ.  Annual public-sector labor law conference sponsored by the state Public Employee Relations Commission. 

2025 Labor and Employment Law Forum.  March 5, 2025, New Jersey Law Center, New Brunswick, NJ. 

New York

77th Annual NYU Conference on Labor & Employment Law.  June 9-10, 2025, NYU Law, New York, NY. 

New York State Bar Association Labor & Employment Section events.  The NYSBA hosts several in-person events each year. The L&E section programming at the NYSBA Annual Meeting in Manhattan will take place on January 16-17, 2025 and will feature a program with the NLRB at the AAA offices on 42nd St.  The section's annual Fall Meeting will take place in Niagara on the Lake, Canada on October 17-19, 2025.  Check the link for future events and webinar opportunities.

Ohio

Annual Arbitrator & Advocate Symposium.  Fall meeting co-sponsored by FMCS, LERA and NAA.  2024 event took place at the Nationwide Hotel & Conference Center in Lewis Center, OH on September 5-6.

Oklahoma

2024 Oklahoma Labor/Management Conference.  May 8-9, 2024, The Hilton Garden Inn and Edmond Conference Center, Edmond, OK.

Oregon

Oregon Labor Law Conference (OLLC).  January 31, 2025, IBEW Local 48 Meeting Hall, Portland, OR.

Oregon ERB / Oregon LERA Chapter joint one-day conference.  May 30, 2024, Salem Convention Center, Salem, OR.  Celebrated 50 years of the PECBA.  

Pennsylvania

2023 Pennsylvania Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section Annual Retreat.  March 17-18, 2023, The              Hotel Hershey, Hershey, PA; no current 2025 status.

Rhode Island

University of Rhode Island Schmidt Labor Research Center.  The Center hosts two annual conferences.  The Spring conference focuses on labor and employment law issues at the state and federal level and took place on April 4, 2024 at the Roger Williams Law School Appellate Courtroom, Bristol, RI.  The 2025 conference will return to Roger Williams on April 4.

The Fall conference focuses on labor arbitration and is co-planned by the NAA New England region.  The 2024 conference recently took place on November 7-8, 2024 at the Newport Marriott, Newport, RI (*I co-planned the event).  2025 location and date to follow.

South Carolina

Annual NC/SC Labor & Employment Conference.  The North Carolina and South Carolina bar associations co-host this annual conference and alternate sites between the two states.  The 2023 conference took place on October 27-28, 2023 at the Charleston Marriott, in Charleston, SC.  No current status is available for 2024, presumably to take place in North Carolina.

Tennessee

Annual Tennessee Labor-Management Conference.  The Tennessee Labor-Management Foundation hosts two annual meetings. The most recent scheduled meeting was in Gatlinburg in August 2024.

Virginia

Annual Conference on Labor and Employment Law.  The Virginia Bar Association hosts an annual, multi-day gathering of the labor and employment law section.  The 2025 event will take place on September 11-13 at the Omni Hotel in Richmond.