Thursday, April 26, 2018

PERB Announces Conference to Commemorate 50th Anniversary of Taylor Law


The Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) today announced a two-day conference to recognize the 50th anniversary of the Taylor Law, the law that grants public employees in New York State the right to collectively bargain with their employers while prohibiting strikes. 

Held in partnership with the School of Industrial Relations at Cornell University and the New York State Bar Association, the conference will showcase the Taylor Law’s substantial influence on public sector labor relations over the past half century. The conference will be held from May 10 to 11, 2018, at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Albany, New York.

The 50th anniversary conference will feature presentations by practitioners and scholars to illustrate the Taylor Law’s significant contributions to New York State public sector labor-management relations, examine and assess areas where the Law’s effectiveness has evolved, and document and analyze emerging and alternative legal and public policy models and frameworks. To register for the conference, visit www.ilr.cornell.edu/professional-programs/dr800/taylor-law.

“The conference could not be more timely in view of the recent amendments to the Taylor Law, which seek to stabilize collective bargaining in the wake of an anticipated ruling by the Supreme Court in Janus v. AFSCME,” PERB Chair John Wirenius said. “We are excited about the wide range of panelists and speakers who will participate in this conference and exchange views on how to meet the challenges confronting both management and labor, as the Taylor Law and PERB enter their second half-century.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed landmark legislation to strengthen the rights of working men and women in New York State, increasing access to and protecting union membership in New York’s public-sector workplaces in anticipation of the pending Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court case.

The conference will include a plenary session discussing the potential legal and legislative ramifications of Janus v. AFSCME, along with keynote addresses from Professor Harry Katz of Cornell University and Professor Cynthia Estlund of the New York University School of Law.

Other plenary sessions will include:
the Taylor Law in Context: National and International Comparisons; a discussion with Former PERB Chairs reflecting on their time at PERB and the meaning of the Taylor Law; and the Taylor Law and Impasse Procedure:  Creative Resolution Despite Protraction

To view the full conference agenda, including information on presenters, click here

Passed by the New York State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, the Taylor Law became effective September 1, 1967, and served as one of the first comprehensive labor relations laws for public employees in the nation, guaranteeing the right of public employees to union representation and collective bargaining - whether employed by the State, or by counties, cities, towns, villages, school districts, public authorities or certain special service districts.

Additional information on the Taylor Law, the Public Employment Relations Board, and the 50th anniversary of the Taylor Law can be found on the PERB website at www.perb.ny.gov.

Source: PERB

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