Page 38 - July 2017 Newsletter

LABOR OF LOVE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 37
long standing service to the (labor and employment) field and profession.” In 2016, Best Law Firms from U.S. News and World Report and Best Lawyers awarded Asher, Gittler & D’Alba, Ltd., a Tier 1 ranking. And if you peruse the firm’s website, you will find multiple accolades like Angelucci be- ing included among the Best Lawyers in America 2016 Edi- tion in the areas of “Employment Law – Individuals” and “Labor Law – Union.”
An honor that Lodge 7 members might find equally im- pressive is the Lucite plaque D’Alba pulls out that com- memorates the Lodge winning the 1989 election to remain the collective bargaining agent. In the vote of patrol offi- cers and detectives, the Lodge held off a bid from the Team- sters who spent a small fortune campaigning, according to Dineen.
The firm’s support in procuring that victory with more than 60 percent of 10,000-plus votes included staying up until past 2 a.m. on election night watching the count of the votes. Apparently, Asher, Gittler & D’Alba, Ltd., has been in the trenches with the Lodge for quite some time.
Labor intensive
In negotiating the Lodge 41 contract last year, the state of Illinois played hardball with the Troopers. Like it demand- ed from other public employee unions, the state wanted the Troopers to take a wage reduction and take on nearly 100 percent of their healthcare premiums.
D’Alba and his team put together detailed reporting analyzing data from states across the U.S. and created a proposal that resulted in a wage freeze and a stay on the
healthcare contributions. That was the ruling that D’Alba procured in Interest Arbitration, and when the state tried to implement portions of increases in healthcare, he success- fully argued in court to fend off that attempt.
“Joel was able to successfully argue our healthcare pro- posal and save our members thousands and thousands of dollars,” Moon notes. “That was a big win for us.”
Asher, Gittler & D’Alba includes the types of attorneys who like to celebrate a big win with a handshake from the opposing side. Think of it almost like a National Hockey League playoff series: You go toe-to-toe for the duration, but when all is said and won, opposing sides praise each other in the handshake line.
Moon submits that this is why the firm is respected not only statewide, but nationwide. They don’t believe in drop- ping the gloves as opposing litigators might do. Sure, the gloves might have to come off in a collective bargaining ne- gotiation, but there is a time and place.
“Lester Asher and Marv Gittler both believed that our re- lationship with opposing counsel and people on the other side requires an understanding of how to put a contract to- gether and the interest of each side,” D’Alba explains. “But more important than anything else is the high level of re- spect and dignity for the people you have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. You have to be willing to listen to their needs and to make compromises.”
Labor gains
Check out what’s in those boxes, what fills those bind- ers: Charts of five-year to 25-year salary comparisons for cities similar to Chicago; economic analysis of each city;
38 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JULY 2017
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