Regents to hire outside counsel to bargain with university unions

ByJeff Charis-Carlson

July 12, 2016

For the first time in a decade, the Iowa Board of Regents is looking to hire outside counsel to bargain with unions representing graduate employees, faculty and staff.

As part its telephonic meeting on Monday, the regents will discuss a recommendation to hire attorney Michael Galloway as the chief negotiator and spokesman. If approved, Galloway would represent the nine-member board during negotiations with staff and graduate employee unions at the University of Iowa and the faculty union at the University of Northern Iowa.

From 2004 to 2015, the board had its general counsel, Tom Evans, serve as chief negotiator with the Campaign to Organize Graduate Students, UE-Local 896, which represents nearly 2,150 graduate employees at UI; Service Employees International Union Local 199, which represents more than 3,300 employees at UI Hospitals and Clinics; and UNI-United Faculty, which represents the nearly 700 faculty members at UNI.

When Evans left the position after 11 years, he was the board's second-highest paid employee with a $155,500 annual salary.

Regent officials said Tuesday that, before Evans, the board regularly hired outside counsel for negotiations. They could not say, however, how much Galloway would be paid for his services.

"The decision is pending board approval," said Josh Lehman, a spokesman for the regents. "The rate will be negotiated after board approval."

In their proposal for hiring Galloway, regent officials described the statewide market as being "extremely limited" for attorneys who are qualified to serve as chief negotiators in a higher education setting.

"The attorney must have a demonstrated record of accomplishing what the Board is seeking and possess the knowledge of dealing with multiple issues that are unique to the Board enterprise; i.e. higher education and its relation to State of Iowa and public sector bargaining," the proposal reads.

Galloway has been with the Des Moines-based firm Ahlers & Cooney since 2002, according to the proposal. He has negotiated more than 600 collective bargaining agreements on behalf of cities, counties, school districts, community colleges and utilities.

According to the firm's website, Ahlers & Cooney "takes pride in protecting Iowa’s businesses and employers."

Charles Gribble, a Des Moines lawyer who has represented SEIU in the past and faced against Galloway in other cases, described Galloway as "a good attorney" and Ahlers & Cooney as "a very good firm."

Labor negotiations with all three unions are scheduled to begin in the fall. The board approved two-year contracts with the unions in March 2015.