After many decades with a reputation as an anti-union environment, Virginia passed legislation in 2020 allowing localities to adopt collective bargaining.  The City of Alexandria was the first to take action to pass a collective bargaining ordinance, set up elections for exclusive representatives, and sit at the bargaining table with the newly established unions.  This CLE will go over the significance of the state statute and the local ordinances, and what this may mean for your clients that are local agencies, school boards, teachers, or public employees.

Heidi Meinzer
AttorneyLaw Office of Heidi Meinzer, PLLC

In 2000, Heidi graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and began her legal career as a public defender in Alexandria.  After six years in the Office of the Public Defender, she became a civil litigator for Bean, Kinney & Korman in Arlington County. In 2013, Heidi opened her own law firm, the Law Office of Heidi Meinzer, PLLC.  One of her first clients was the Metropolitan Airports Police Association IUPA Local 5004, the union that represents the Police Bargaining Unit for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department.  Heidi was able to tap into this experience to jump at the ready when Virginia passed legislation in 2020 allowing localities to adopt collective bargaining.  Heidi represents the Prince William County Police Association IUPA Local 5010, and recently negotiated their first collective bargaining agreement with Prince William County and the Prince William County Police Department.  She also represents other labor organizations, including the Alexandria Committee of Police IUPA Local.

Justin Keating
Attorney
Beins, Axelrod & Keating, P.C.

Since graduating from George Washington Law School in 2000, Justin’s practice has been primarily devoted to representing labor unions, first as in-house counsel for seven years at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and since 2007 at the law firm now known as Beins, Axelrod & Keating, P.C. He represents both private sector and public sector unions in organizing efforts, contract negotiations, impasse proceedings, contract grievance arbitrations, internal union affairs, and any state or federal litigation that arises from the union’s activities. His primary clients include Teamsters Joint Council 83 of Virginia and its seven affiliated local unions, Teamster local unions in the Carolinas, and police and other public sector unions in DC, Arlington, and Richmond. From 2013 to 2016, he was an elected member of the Alexandria City School Board.