The need

Attorneys representing a union in their contract arbitration with a large school district needed an expert in financial analysis to strengthen their case. The union was requesting raises and better insurance benefits for its members. Due to a budget shortfall, the school district claimed it could not afford to grant these requests. As such, the expert would need to review the budget and determine whether there was money available to grant the union’s requests. Additionally, the expert would need to review new money the district was receiving from the state, where it was being spent and what the cost would be to raise the funds necessary to meet the union’s demands. If funding the union’s requests meant not funding something else, the expert would also need to identify the options.

Our approach

From conversations with the clients, we understood that the possibility of a settlement was remote, and a hearing would be the likely outcome. Given that and the fact that the school district was in arbitration with other unions as well, the expert would need experience testifying and be able to withstand a rigorous and unpleasant cross-examination. We went to work to find the best expert.

The expert

We found an expert with an M.S. in Labor Studies and a Ph.D. in economics and 25 years of experience as a consultant specializing in assisting unions in research, financial analysis, bargaining and arbitration. He had also taught Economics and Labor Studies at various universities throughout his career. Additionally, he had been a union organizer and a Fellow at a labor research center where he analyzed economic development trends and implications for workers, businesses, public services, and union organizing. Finally, he had been retained in hundreds of interest arbitration matters and had extensive experience testifying in such arbitrations.