Letitia Silas is a Partner in Conn Maciel Carey LLP’s national Labor • Employment Practice Group. Letitia’s practice has a special focus on advising and defending employers in traditional labor and employee relations matters, developing employee relations strategies, collective bargaining, and training and compliance. 

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Before joining CMC, Letitia served as a Labor Law Attorney for the National Labor Relations Board where she tried complex labor law cases and investigated unfair labor practice charges. She continued her career at Howard University (“HU”) where she served as Senior Labor Counsel and Director of Labor Relations. During her tenure at HU, she developed comprehensive labor relations programs and provided strategic direction to negotiate collective bargaining agreements.

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Most recently, Letitia served as the Executive Director of Systemwide Labor Relations for the University of California (“UC”), where she crafted and led labor strategies for a $36 billion enterprise including 10 UC campuses, 5 hospitals, and a national research laboratory, covering 135,000 union-represented employees.  Under her forward-looking leadership, the UC achieved eight historic collective-bargaining agreements covering over 60,000 employees in just two years.  Her strategic initiatives also restored trust and stability following labor strife and successfully ending a five-week labor strike while mitigating the organization’s risk of legal, business, and reputational harm.

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In her position at CMC, Letitia assists employers in effectively responding to today’s changing workplace realities, expectations, and demands with a solutions-based approach that employs strategic thought partnership and planning and gives practical advice and counsel. Her services include:

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• Dispute Resolution, Mediation, and Arbitration

• Collective-Bargaining Negotiations Strategy Planning and Contract Administration

• Strike Contingency Planning and Response

• Risk Identification and Mitigation

• Crisis and Change Management

• Labor-Management Relations/ Employee Relations

• Internal investigations

• Training and Compliance Programs

• Employee Handbook Review/Policy Development

 

Letitia’s insights have been instrumental in shaping the discourse on labor law and workplace matters, evidenced by her contributions to publications like HR Magazine and Law 360 as well as her role as a sought-after panelist at national and international conferences.