U.S Secretary of Labor Names Andrew Gasser’s Attorney Associate Deputy Secretary of Labor

Michael Avakian

Michael Avakian, one of Algonquin Township Road Commissioner Andrew Gasser’s attorneys has been named by U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Alexandra Acosta to be Associate Deputy Secretary of Labor.

Because of this new Federal appointment Avakian  has withdrawn from the local case against Local 150 of the International Union of Operating Engineers,.

A motion to that effect was filed in McHenry County Circuit Couirt on May 8, 2018.

The press release from his law firm. Wimberly & Lawson can be read below:

In a letter to Gasser, remaining attorney Robert Hanlon noted that the withdrawal of Avakian means that the hourly rate for legal services will decline.”


Comments

U.S Secretary of Labor Names Andrew Gasser’s Attorney Associate Deputy Secretary of Labor — 18 Comments

  1. When I first read the headline, I thought it means “U.S Secretary of Labor Names Andrew Gasser [as] Attorney Associate Deputy Secretary of Labor”

    Possibly consider adding an apostrophe for clarity?

    See Below:
    U.S Secretary of Labor Names Andrew Gasser’s Attorney Associate Deputy Secretary of Labor

  2. Hanlon is less than Bob Miller’s lawyerfor this suit!

    Hanlon is not even charging for his work on the matters.

    BUT Miller’s lawyer IS and it’s being paid for by the township so gripe about Miller!

  3. D.C. is a magnet for throne sniffing lawyers, who’s most notable accomplishments, mostly include massive billing statements.

    Well done scoundrel master!

  4. “DJ”, “An American” and Beth A.: Mr. Avakian has served as a COLONEL in the United States Army and has practiced labor law for over 40 years. Mr. Avakian has been on the forefront of labor law and ran the Center on National Labor Policy. He is neither a “communist” nor a “gofer boy”. He even worked for the Supreme Court of the United States. You each should be ashamed of your uninformed quips. Especially you DJ “throne sniffing”, really? Should you take any time to inform yourselves by reading a real book or a learned journal, you would know that the position Mr. Avakian was appointed (Associate Deputy Secretary of Labor) is the highest staff position in the United States Department of Labor. Yes, its a Really Big Deal and it places him at the center of numerous policy decisions for the USDOL. You do not land that position without input from the President either. Yet in your uninformed world you make such silly statements.

    NOB- If you paid any attention at all or had any constitution, or had a semblance of cognitive ability, you would know the legal fees in the cases are the direct result of what your buddy Miller elected to do in the middle of the night by having some secret deal to preserve his family’s interest. You should know that If Bob didn’t participate on a $5MM+ contract, there would be no lawsuit and no grievances by Local 150. But your too small minded enough to see that reality.

    Do any of you know how many times Mr. Avakian has appeared before the Supreme Court? Nob, I’d laugh if you even tried to count the appearances, as I do not believe you have sufficient fingers and toes.

  5. From the Daily Labor Report:

    Union Foe Tapped for Senior Labor Department Role

    • Michael Avakian named associate deputy labor secretary
    • Management attorney represented Hy-Brand in joint employer case
    By Ben Penn (Daily Labor Report)

    The Labor Department’s new associate deputy secretary is a prominent management attorney known for arguing against unions and worker-friendly decisions by the National Labor Relations Board.
    Michael Avakian recently drew attention for his defense of a company trying to overturn the board’s decision expanding the definition of a joint employer for unionization purposes. He now reports to Deputy Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella, Avakian’s firm announced.

    Avakian was practicing management-side firm Wimberly & Lawso, when he was tapped for the job. The firm wrote in a statement that in his new role, Avakian “will be at the center of the Department’s policy and management leadership team” under Pizzella, who was sworn into office last month.
    By hiring Avakian, the DOL is further endearing itself to business representatives, who cheered the selection of Pizzella as the agency’s No. 2 official. Avakian’s exact duties remain unclear, but his track record of opposing unions in court suggests he’ll be governing with the employer perspective in mind.
    Avakian has been an outspoken voice in Washington for advancing business views on labor law, whether testifying on Capitol Hill or addressing the NLRB at public meetings. The conservative Heritage Foundation has recognized him as a labor law policy expert, the Wimberly announcement said.
    As counsel to the Center on National Labor Policy, Avakian recently co-authored an amicus brief in support of the National Right to Work Foundation in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Avakian backed the NRTW’s position that public sector unions are barred by the First Amendment from collecting mandatory fees from non-members.
    A DOL spokesman didn’t immediately provide a comment.

    Hy-Brand Defense
    A review of legal filings on Bloomberg Law shows that Avakian’s name appears as the counsel for companies in cases against the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 395 Ironworkers, and Laborers Local 477.

    But it was his defense of Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors in recent months that placed Avakian at the center of a high-stakes drama over an NLRB ethics debate.

    In a March motion for reconsideration, Avakian asked the board to reinstate an original December decision to overturn the NLRB’s Obama-era ruling that made it easier to tag multiple companies as joint employers for labor liability purposes. The board in February walked back the management-favored ruling because of concerns that Trump-appointed GOP Member William Emanuel shouldn’t have participated due to conflicts of interest.

    His filing leveled new allegations against NLRB member Mark Gaston Pearce (D), who Avakian said told a group of lawyers that the Hy-Brand decision was coming before it was public.

  6. This slavish worship, of just another newly minted D.C. gadfly, is really quite amusing.

  7. DJ let’s measure your accomplishments against his.

    I doubt it will take very long.

    Ace obviously did more research than you

  8. Fortunately, most of the major injury’s ACE and Cobbler have suffered over the years, have been to the head.

  9. Big-time union bosses and honchos not liking this guy’s appointment.

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