John Henry

John Henry is an experienced labor attorney who has worked on all sides of the collective bargaining and dispute-resolution process. Over the course of his career, he has represented unions and is a former Director of Dispute Resolution for the Indiana Education Employment Relations board (where he also served as an administrative law judge, mediator and agency ethics officer). Prior to joining Summit, he was lead negotiator and contract administrator for the City of Tacoma, Washington, for which he handled numerous complex collective bargaining agreements, as well as budget-mitigation processes. John has particular experience advising municipal and public employers in matters involving police, fire and other interest-arbitration-eligible groups. John understands the often-competing priorities of and pressures facing public employers, employees and the communities they serve, as well as the inherent challenges in negotiating and achieving satisfactory compromises. His philosophy and approach are straightforward, focused on identifying and aligning commonly held objectives, and designed to create fertile ground in which relationships between parties can move forward in a positive, collaborative manner. He brings competence and empathy to every interaction in order to build trust, avoid positional mindsets and achieve buy-in from stakeholders. In addition to handling collective bargaining and contract negotiations, John has helped clients navigate complex police transformational, impact bargaining objectives and highly publicized issues such as the use of body-worn cameras by law-enforcement personnel. To help clients identify and avoid disputes, John routinely works with employers, as well as elected and appointed officials, unions, and community representatives, to identify effective solutions. He has conducted numerous best-practices training sessions and professional-development seminars for employers, unions and adjudicators on regulatory compliance issues, adjudication procedures and more. When disputes arise, John represents clients in alternative-dispute resolution forums, including mediation and arbitration, in federal and state courts, and before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC), and other agencies and administrative-oversight bodies. He has handled matters involving allegations of unfair labor practices, wage-and-hour violations, grievances, disciplinary proceedings and law-enforcement liability, among other areas.