Firefighter Forum

Jennifer Dunn Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Franczek P.C.

Jennifer represents private and public sector management clients in all areas of labor and employment law. She has extensive experience advising clients in traditional labor matters, including representation and unfair labor practice proceedings, grievance arbitrations, collective bargaining negotiations, and mediation. She regularly appears before state and federal courts and administrative agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board, Illinois Labor Relations Board, Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Illinois Department of Human Rights.

Prior to joining the firm, Jennifer was an administrative law judge with the Illinois Labor Relations Board. In that capacity, she investigated and presided over unfair labor practice and representation proceedings, issued recommended decisions and orders and advised the Board on pending court litigation. She also worked as an assistant general counsel for the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150, where she represented the union in grievance arbitration hearings and in matters pending before the National Labor Relations Board, as well as state and federal courts. In addition, she has served as an adjunct professor at DePaul University College of Law where she taught Labor Relations in the Public Sector.
 

Jennifer is a member of the American (Labor & Employment Section), Illinois State (Labor & Employment Section) and the Chicago Bar Associations.

Education

J.D., with honors, DePaul University College of Law, 1999 (Order of the Coif)

B.A., the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1996 (political science)

Benjamin Gehrt Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Clark Baird Smith LLP

Ben Gehrt focuses his practice on traditional labor law and employment litigation. He has experience in grievance and interest arbitration cases, contract negotiations, and unfair labor practice charges. Ben also represents clients in EEO and wage-hour litigation. Prior to practicing law, Ben worked as a Plant Manager for a food manufacturing company in suburban Chicago. His experience as a supervisor and a manager gives him a unique perspective that helps him relate to the day-to-day challenges our clients face while managing people.

Ben has represented public and private sector clients in contract negotiations and interest arbitration. In those settings, he has helped clients obtain significant cost savings through changes in staffing levels, wage schedules, retiree insurance benefits, sick leave buyback benefits, and work rule changes, among other things.

Ben is also an experienced litigator. In addition to representing clients in grievance arbitration proceedings, Ben has also litigated cases in the state and federal trial courts. His litigation experience includes cases involving allegations of discrimination, employment cases alleging deprivation of constitutional rights, wage-hour disputes, and disputes over employee benefits under both ERISA and Illinois state law. In addition to his trial court experience, Ben has successfully represented clients in the state and federal courts of appeal.

Additionally, Ben has developed a niche practice at Clark Baird Smith LLP, counseling the firm’s clients on a wide variety of wage and hour issues under both state and federal law. In addition to handling the traditional wage payment questions that arise with private sector businesses, Ben is skilled at answering questions that are unique to the public sector, such as questions about compensatory time, 7(k) work periods, pay for canine handlers, and duty shift trades, to name a few.

Ben has also authored and contributed to numerous books and articles regarding labor and employment law, including contributions to the NPELRA Legal Corner, The Developing Labor Law (BNA), How To Take A Case Before The NLRB (8th Ed. BNA), and a chapter in Municipal Law, a reference book published by the American Bar Association’s Section on State and Local Government Law.

Ben was selected to the 2016 Illinois Rising Stars list. Only 2.5% of all attorneys in the State of Illinois were selected.

Jerry J. Marzullo Related Seminars and Products

Shareholder

Asher Gittler & D'Alba Ltd.

Jerry Marzullo is a shareholder in the firm of Asher, Gittler & D’Alba Ltd. and concentrates his practice in the representation of Labor Unions and Pension Funds.  He has successfully represented clients in both pension and labor matters, including collective bargaining, discipline, arbitrations, pension hearings (representing Pension Boards), administrative review, and declaratory judgment proceedings at Administrative, State, and Federal Levels.  Jerry has considerable experience in both litigation and appellate work with numerous decisions. He also serves as Deputy General Counsel for the Illinois Public Pension Fund Association and the Metropolitan Alliance of Police.  He serves as an Advisory Committee Member for the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Law Conference and on the Board of the Chicago Chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association.

Jerry received his Juris Doctorate from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law and his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with a dual concentration in Strategic Management and Managerial and Organizational Behavior.

He has previously taught undergraduate, Master’s Degree, and Law School courses in various labor and employment law topics. Jerry has been a frequent speaker on both labor and pension-related issues for the Illinois Public Pension Fund Association, the Metropolitan Alliance of Police, the Associated Firefighters of Illinois, the Illinois Professional Firefighters Association, the Illinois Government Finance Officers Association, and the Chicago-Kent Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Conference and the American Bar Association. Jerry has authored legal articles for publication, including, most recently, the Illinois Public Employee Relations Report (A Statement of Facts: The Reality of Public Safety Employee Pension Funds in the State of Illinois; Vol. 37 No. 3; Possible Wisdom and Wit regarding the Arbitration of Discipline; Vol. 39 No. 3). He has also helped train command staff police officers and firefighters at the Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy (NIPSTA).

Jerry is a City of Berwyn Battalion Chief (IAFF-AFFI Local 506), where he currently has 24 years of creditable service and is former President of the City of Berwyn Firefighter's Pension Fund and former Vice-President of IAFF-AFFI Local 506. He is a Certified Fire and Arson Investigator, Advanced Technician Firefighter, and Chief Fire Officer.

Finally, and most importantly, he is happily married to one of Chicago's finest Police Lieutenants and has two evil pugs that he barely restrains from taking over the world.

Chuck Sullivan Related Seminars and Products

President

Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois

Chuck is President of the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois.  He has served in that role since January of 2020.  The AFFI represents over 15,000 firefighters and paramedics in 225 locals across the state.

Prior to becoming the President, he served as the AFFI Central District Legislative Representative from 2008-2020.  During that time, he worked extensively on legislation and rules within Article 4 of the Illinois Pension Statute that affects Downstate and Suburban Firefighters. Chuck Sullivan was appointed to the Firefighters’ Pension Investment Fund Board on January 31, 2020. Chuck has served as Chairperson of the Board of Trustees since the Board’s inception.

Chuck has an Associate’s degree in Fire Science and a Bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University. He was a firefighter with the City of Champaign from 1995 until his retirement in March of 2022 at the rank of Battalion Chief.  In addition he is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and served in Desert Storm.