News/Press

May 30, 2017

Partner Josh Adams spoke at the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee Conference in May.

Partner Josh Adams spoke at the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee Conference in May. His panel focused on how labor unions should approach investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor into internal union affairs, including officer elections.

Jan 24, 2017

JOE KOHANSKI HAS BEEN DESIGNATED A 2017 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA “SUPERLAWYER”

Joe Kohanski has been designated a 2017 Southern California “Superlawyer, ” in the area of business bankruptcy. “It’s ironic to land on this list for business bankruptcy insofar as all of my bankruptcy work is on behalf of unions and wage and hour claimants, ” notes Kohanski,” but over the last few years we’ve collected tens of millions in residuals for our clients in some difficult film bankruptcy cases here and in New York, including Yari Film Group (Persik Productions), RHI, and Relativity.” “And some of our best work is in workout situations or intercreditor negotiations that are confidential.” Kohanski has managed the … Continue reading →

Apr 28, 2016

NLRB ISSUES HISTORIC COMPLAINT ALLEGING MISCLASSIFICATION VIOLATES NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT

The National Labor Relations Board last month issued a precedent-setting complaint alleging that misclassification is a violation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Based on arguments set forth by Counsel for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the NLRB complaint finds that Intermodal Bridge Transport has interfered with port truck drivers’ right to organize under the NLRA by misclassifying those drivers as independent contractors. The NLRB complaint is groundbreaking because, for the first time, it claims that the very act of misclassification constitutes an unfair labor practice by effectively sending the message to workers that they do not have the … Continue reading →

Jan 20, 2016

PARTNER JULIE GUTMAN DICKINSON’S HUFFINGTON POST ARTICLE REFLECTS ON THE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS MADE TO ADVANCE THE CAUSE OF WORKERS’ RIGHTS IN 2015

Historians may remember 2015 as the year of the minimum wage—and for good reason.  Twenty-one states and multiple cities raised the minimum wage in the past 12 months, scarcely two years after the “Fight for $15” was dismissed as a pipe dream by some observers.  The past year also saw other major advances for working Americans.  Here are ten of the most important:  Open article to continue reading…. 

Jan 20, 2016

PARTNERS DAVID AHDOOT AND JOSH ADAMS FACILITATE THE RECOVERY OF $1.5 MILLION FROM BANKRUPT TODD-SOUNDELUX, LLC

In representing the Motion Pictures Editors Guild, Local 700 and the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plans in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Todd-Soundelux, LLC, partners David Ahdoot and Josh Adams helped recover approximately $1.5 million in administrative and priority payments in the form of severance, holiday, pension and health payments for Local 700 members and the Plans, through bankruptcy proceedings and litigation before the NLRB.  The case remains pending.

Jan 20, 2016

BUSH GOTTLIEB PARTNER JOSH ADAMS CO-CHAIRS BARGAINING NEGOTIATIONS WITH ILWU LOCAL 30, RESULTING IN FIVE-YEAR EXTENSION OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING WITH U.S. BORAX

Partner Josh Adams co-chaired bargaining negotiations with ILWU Local 30 in reaching a five-year extension of the collective bargaining with U.S. Borax, a Rio Tinto subsidiary.  The renewal, which was ratified by the membership in December, occurred five months before the expiration of the present contract and includes 2.5% wage increases for each year of the contract.

Dec 29, 2015

Misclassified Port Truck Drivers at Pac 9 Awarded $6.9 Million

The California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) awarded  $6.9 million to misclassified port truck drivers at the drayage company Pac 9 right before Christmas.  The ruling sends a message loud and clear to the trucking industry that companies that misclassify their drivers as independent contractors , when in fact they are employees, will pay a big price. Port drayage companies that want to survive  will need to comply with the law or face multimillion dollar liability and recurring labor unrest. State courts, federal courts, the National Labor Relations Board, the U.S. Department of Labor, the State Employment Development Department … Continue reading →

Mar 16, 2015

Partners Pete Dickinson and Erica Deutsch congratulate co-counsel to the United Farmworkers Trust Funds Marcos Camacho who was appointed to the Kern County Superior Court by Governor Brown

Feb 2, 2015

Bush Gottlieb Partner Bob Bush Addresses Relevance of the Labor Movement to Business Community – see link to article below

Why the Labor Movement Matters and Who Protects It – Fortune (January 1, 2015) and Bloomberg Businessweek (January12 – January 18, 2015) “You hear it all the time on the news and during political campaigns: Strengthen the middle class.”

Jan 9, 2015

Port truck drivers from Shippers Transport Express are reclassified as employees and elect to join Teamsters following neutral unionization process

“Teamsters organizing drive continues at Port of LA” Los Angeles, Long Beach port truckers vote to unionize at Carson company https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHVt-tRxtkc – “November 2014’s historic port drivers strike”