Description
Legal Webinar: Is There A Union in Your Future
Is there a union in your nonprofit’s future? How would you react if there were? Some employers might have a knee-jerk reaction of dread. Fight to the end! Even if it takes years and costs a fortune! What if there were another way?
Employers have a lot of tools to oppose unionization. We read about them almost daily in the business world. Those same tools are available for nonprofits.
Yet there are also tools and strategies to support organizations that want to choose a different path — one that respects staff’s desire to be represented and leans into organizational values. We will talk about them in this webinar.
A nonprofit CEO, Melissa Gerber Weiler, and her lawyer, Patricia McCausland, who negotiated and implemented a union contract will talk about their experience and how to center the nonprofit’s values.
Together they will discuss:
- How to advance values-based changes while aligning with mission and improving staff retention.
- The advantages of working with your employees to achieve the organization's goals.
- Making rapid values-based decisions.
- Challenges of working with unions and counsel more accustomed to the for-profit environment.
- Explaining restricted funds, lack of budget flexibility and other constraints peculiar to nonprofit.
- Investing in negotiations to promote more positive relationships between management and the union.
- Keeping the board informed and providing management training and engagement throughout the process.
- Dealing with unforeseen circumstances in the first year and beyond.
ABOUT THE PRESENTERS
Melissa Gerber Weiler, AccessMatters.org & CollectivePromise LLC | Melissa Gerber Weiler was President and CEO of AccessMatters.org, a reproductive health nonprofit in Philadelphia, and oversaw the process. She is now Founder and Principal of CollectivePromise LLC, a consultancy dedicated to helping mission-driven organizations move effectively through major organizational changes. Patricia McCausland, now a Special Counsel at Duane Morris in Philadelphia, was her lawyer.
Patricia McCausland is a litigator with extensive experience in employment law and complex commercial litigation. Ms. McCausland defends employers of all sizes in arbitration, in state and federal court, and before federal, state and local administrative agencies in a wide range of employment law matters, including against claims of breach of contract, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, FMLA violations, unfair labor practices, and wage and hour violations. Ms. McCausland received her law degree magna cum laude from Villanova University School of Law and her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University. Ms. McCausland also holds an M.A. from Tulane University.
Donald W. Kramer, Esq., Nonprofit Issues & Montgomery McCracken | Donald W. Kramer serves as chair of Montgomery McCracken’s Nonprofit practice group. Don has more than 45 years of experience dealing with the concerns of nonprofit organizations, not only as a lawyer, but also as a teacher, writer, publisher, and board member. He has worked with nonprofits of all types and sizes, helping structure startup situations and restructure multiorganizational health and educational systems. He counsels on a wide range of nonprofit corporate structure and governance, private and community foundations, continuing care retirement communities, exempt organization taxation, low-income housing tax credit transactions, real estate, charitable giving, and other nonprofit issues. Don serves as the editor and publisher of Don Kramer’s Nonprofit Issues®, a national newsletter of “Nonprofit Law You Need to Know,” which he founded in 1989. Prior to joining Montgomery McCracken in 1972, Don served as deputy development coordinator and assistant to the mayor of Philadelphia.
Ashley Suhler Tobin, PANO | Ashley Suhler Tobin is a strategic nonprofit professional with over 16 years of experience in program development, program management and relationship management. As a Licensed Consultant for the Standards for Excellence in Pennsylvania and nationally, she brings deep expertise in nonprofit governance and management for PANO’s Standards for Excellence program. Ashley’s career includes roles such as Program Development Director at Turning Points for Children and as a consultant for a variety of nonprofits in Pennsylvania. Ashley also ran a nonprofit networking program in Philadelphia called Connecting Coffee. With a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from The George Washington University, Ashley is dedicated to fostering transparency, upholding ethical standards, and delivering high-impact results.
WEBINAR ORIGINALLY PRESENTED ON August 13, 2025
Once you have purchased this webinar, you will be emailed the link and password to access the video, along with a link to download any supporting materials (e.g., copy of the PowerPoint, handouts, etc.). This email will be sent to the address that you list when you check out. If you have any questions, please email info@pano.org or call PANO’s main business line at 717-236-8584.
