Local labor activists and their allies are planning a two-day picket this week of training sessions held by the Springfield law firm Skoler, Abbott & Presser.
Skoler, Abbott—which also has offices in Worcester and Meriden, Conn.—specializes in employment law and labor relations, representing management exclusively; according to the firm’s website, “Skoler, Abbott is proud of its long history of strength in labor relations, where it has assisted employers in matters arising under the National Labor Relations Act, including representation elections and collective bargaining as well as defending unfair labor practice charges and grievance arbitration. … Skoler, Abbott has extensive experience in defending employers at proceedings before administrative agencies and federal and state courts throughout New England.”
Organized labor offers a more succinct take on what the firm does: they call it a shameless union buster, hired by employers to squelch employees’ efforts to organize and engage in collective bargaining.
Western Mass, Jobs With Justice plans to picket at two employer-training seminars offered by Skoler Abbott: a June 29 event of the Employers Association of the Northeast, at 67 Hunt St. in Agawam, on the topic of the National Labor Relations Board (the picket will run from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.), and a June 30 seminar on employment law for human service providers at the Delaney House in Holyoke (8:30 to 9:30 a.m.).
