Providence, RI -- The Quirk Institute of Industrial Relations at Providence College will sponsor the John H. Fanning Conference on Labor-Management Relations on Friday, June 10, 2005 at the College. The conference, sponsored in conjunction with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, will examine some of the challenges to the structure of collective bargaining and the efforts of the parties to reach an accord.

During morning sessions, the conference will explore "Current Issues in Public Sector Bargaining: Pension Reform and Health Care Co-Pay," and "The Arbitration Process: Two Views from the Bench." Speakers will include the Honorable Donald L. Carcieri, Governor of the State of Rhode Island; Robert A. Walsh, Jr., Executive Director, National Education Association Rhode Island; the Honorable Francis X. Flaherty, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island; and the Honorable William E. Smith, Judge in the U.S. District Court.

The luncheon speaker will be the Honorable Wilma B. Liebman, a member of the National Labor Relations Board, who will speak on "Developing Labor Law and the NLRB."

Three individuals will be honored with the Quirk Award for their exemplary contributions to the cause of industrial peace: George Nee, Secretary/Treasurer of the Rhode Island State AFL/CIO; Kenneth C. Kowalski, retired Regional Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; and Daniel L. Beardsley, Executive Director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns.

The conference runs from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The $75 registration fee includes lunch and conference materials. Registration deadline is June 8, 2005. For more information or to register, call (401) 865-2194.  

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