Closing Plenary: Federal Service Impasses Panel Update

Martin H. Malin Related seminars and products

Chairman, U.S. Federal Service Impasses Panel, FLRA

Wynter Allen Related seminars and products

FSIP Member

Wynter Patrice Allen is a former Partner at the Alden Law Group, PLLC in Washington, D.C. where she practiced labor and employment law. Ms. Allen has also served as a Commissioner on the District of Columbia’s Commission on Human Rights since 2017. From 2011 until 2013, Ms. Allen served as the Chair of the District of Columbia’s Public Employee Relations Board. From 2006-2010, Ms. Allen was a Staff Attorney at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Ms. Allen has served as an Adjunct Professor for the Elon Law School Externship Program and Howard University School of Law. Ms. Allen has a law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Chicago.

Wynter Allen is also Vice President & Senior Employment Counsel for Monro, Inc.

Jeanne Charles Related seminars and products

Arbitrator & Mediator and FSIP Member

National Academy of Arbitrators

Jeanne Charles has a multi-state ADR practice predominately in the areas of workplace disputes. She earned her Juris Doctorate (J.D.) degree from DePaul University College of Law in Chicago. She currently serves as a labor arbitrator on various panels that include the City of Chicago, Chicago Teachers Union, Chicago Transit Authority, IAFF, Internal Revenue Service, the National Treasury Employees Union, AFSCME, and Major League Baseball (MLB). Jeanne is also a Special Magistrate for the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) and is listed with the American Arbitration Association, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and National Mediation Board. She is an adjunct professor at Penn State University’s School of Labor and Employment Relations where she teaches a graduate course in Human Resources and Employment Relations. Jeanne has been inducted into the National Academy of Arbitrators and serves on its Board of Governors. She is also a fellow with the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. More detailed information can be found at www.JCharles@JCharlesADR.com.

Mark Gaston Pearce, JD Related seminars and products

Executive Director of the Workers' Rights Institute, Georgetown Law and FSIP Member

Workers' Rights Institute, Georgetown Law

Mark Gaston Pearce is the executive director of the WRI and visiting faculty (distinguished lecturer) at Georgetown Law Center. Mr. Pearce formerly served for two terms as Board Member and Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. Prior to assuming his positions at Georgetown, Mr. Pearce was a visiting senior scholar and Lecturer at Cornell University’s School of Industrial Labor Relations. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Mr. Pearce received his BA from Cornell University and his JD from State University of New York at Buffalo Law School. His 40-year career includes District Trial Specialist, Region 3 of the National Labor Relations Board; co-founder of the Buffalo, New York labor and employment law firm Creighton, Pearce, Johnsen & Giroux and was a governor appointed member of the New York State Industrial Board of Appeals. He is currently an arbitrator and is a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

Howard Friedman Related seminars and products

FSIP Member

Federal Service Impasses Panel, FLRA

Howard Friedman is a Panel member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP) upon his appointment in September 2021.  The Panel resolves impasses between federal agencies and unions representing federal employees. 

Previously, Mr. Friedman served 25 years in the federal government as an attorney and 23 years as President of the National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 245, at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). A former chief spokesperson and negotiator for the Trademark attorneys at the USPTO, Mr. Friedman is experienced in federal labor law, negotiating collective bargaining agreements, labor-management and employee relations, government operations, and mediating and resolving workplace disputes. Mr. Friedman played an integral role in creating and growing the USPTO’s well-known telework program, which started in 1997 with 18 Trademark examining attorneys and now has over 11,000 employees able to work from home. He was the labor chair of the USPTO and Department of Commerce labor-management forum.

A former President of the Society of Federal Labor & Employee Relations Professionals (SFLERP), Mr. Friedman teaches federal labor relations to human resource professionals, agency managers, mediators and arbitrators, and union officials.

Pamela Schwartz Related seminars and products

FSIP Member

Federal Service Impasses Panel, FLRA

Pamela Schwartz has served as a member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP) since September 2021. She has over 20 years of experience in federal labor management relations with the Patent Office Professional Association, an independent federal labor union representing over 8000 patent examiners and other patent professionals at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This culminated in three years as Union President. While serving as chief negotiator, she represented the Union on interest-based and joint management/labor bargaining teams, and led collective bargaining negotiations, including appearances before the FSIP. She served as a Patent Examiner with the USPTO for over 35 years. She received her BSChE degree from Drexel University and her Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University Law School.

Tamiko Watkins Related seminars and products

Assistant General Counsel at the Millennium Challenge Corporation and FSIP Member

Millennium Challenge Corporation

Tamiko Walker Watkins, Esq. is an Assistant General Counsel at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). In this role, Mrs. Watkins serves as MCC’s senior legal advisor on employment and administrative law and is responsible for managing the administrative law team. She also oversees the MCC’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) program office, whistleblower protection program, and serves as the Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official. Prior to MCC, she served as a Senior Trial Attorney and Assistant Counsel for the Department of the Navy. She provided counsel and training on labor and employment law and represented the Navy in litigation. Mrs. Watkins began her legal career as a Trial Attorney for Allstate Insurance Company and Judicial Law Clerk for the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. In addition, Mrs. Watkins is an Adjunct Law Professor at Howard University School of Law. She also has notable alternative dispute resolution experience. She served as a Mediator for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, an Arbitrator for the District of Columbia Bar’s Attorney/Client Arbitration Board, and an Arbitrator for the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. She received her Master of Laws degree in Litigation and Dispute Resolution from the George Washington University Law School, Juris Doctor from Widener University School of Law, and Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from Hampton University.

Edward F. Hartfield Related seminars and products

FSIP Member

Hartfield Resolution Group

Edward F. Hartfield has spent his 45-year career as an impartial third party in the roles of mediator, arbitrator, facilitator, election administrator, and neutral convenor. Previously, Hartfield was appointed by Presidents Obama and Clinton to serve as a Member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel. He has also served as Commissioner with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and Mediator for the New Jersey Office of Dispute Settlement. Mr. Hartfield was appointed to the arbitration rosters of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the National Mediation Board, the Michigan Employment Relations Commission, the Ohio State Employment Relations Board, and the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board. Mr. Hartfield has been the International President of the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution and President of the Detroit Chapter of the Labor and Employment Research Association. Hartfield is adjunct faculty at the Michigan State University College of Law and Wayne State University. He received a Master’s in International Relations from the University of Detroit and B.A. from Oberlin College.

Joseph F. Slater Related seminars and products

Professor of Law and Values at the University of Toledo College of Law and FSIP Member

University of Toledo College of Law

Joseph Slater is a Distinguished University Professor and the Eugene N. Balk Professor of Law and Values at the University of Toledo College of Law. He holds a B.A. from Oberlin College, a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, and a PhD in history from Georgetown University. Before coming to Toledo in 1999, he practiced labor and employment law in Washington, D.C. for over a decade. Since coming to Toledo, he has published numerous books and articles on labor and employment law, especially in the area of public-sector labor law. In 2019, Professor Slater testified before Congress on the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act and the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act. He has presented many papers on public-sector labor law at conferences of academics and of practicing lawyers. He has made numerous media appearances on public-sector labor issues. He is a member of the Labor Law Group, a group of labor and employment law scholars, and of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, a group of practitioners and academics specializing in labor and employment law.

Marvin Johnson Related seminars and products

Executive Director of the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution and FSIP Member

Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution

Marvin E. Johnson is the Executive Director of the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution, which he founded at Bowie State University in 1986. He was Associate Professor of Labor Relations, Law, and Dispute Resolution at Bowie State University and an Adjunct Professor at the Catholic University School of Law. Mr. Johnson has served three terms as a Member of the Federal Service Impasses Panel and one term as a Member of the Foreign Service Grievance Board. He has worked for the Department of Labor, the National Football League Players’ Association, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the National Treasury Employees Union, the National Academy of Conciliators and Accormend Associates. Mr. Johnson has served on numerous national dispute resolution boards, including the Association for Conflict Resolution, the ABA-Section of Dispute Resolution, and the International Academy of Mediators and has served on numerous national dispute resolution panels, including the American Arbitration Association, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, JAMS the Resolution Experts, and the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution. He received a B.B.A. from Kent State University, an M.S. from the University of Wisconsin, and a J.D. from the Catholic University Law School.