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Collective Genius www.njcopsmagazine.com n JANUARY 2015 33 An NJ State PBA event that has always given members more than they bargained for n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL The NJ State PBA Collective Bargaining Seminar has been described as a presentation of “all the information needed to run a Local in three days.” It has been characterized as a “facts-of-life seminar.” It has been called the most memorable event the State PBA conducts each year. All of the above notwithstanding, the PBA’s Collective Bargaining Seminar has become a one-of-a-kind practicum, master class and learning extravaganza. “I don’t think any other labor organization in New Jersey provides this type of opportunity for its members to have this kind of access to this kind of volume,” relates Paul Kleinbaum, an attorney for Zazzali, Fagella, Nowak, Kleinbaum & Friedman who has presented at the Collective Bargaining Seminar every year since its inception in 1989. So the 26th Annual NJ State PBA Law Enforcement Collective Bargaining Seminar will take place Feb. 5-7 at Caesar’s Atlantic City. Labor Consultant George O’Brien and the PBA Collective Bargaining Committee led by Chairman John Cernek have once again put together an all-star lineup of legal, financial and business gurus who will cover nearly a dozen timely and critical topics such as interest arbitration, grievance arbitration, health benefits, contract negotiations and officers’ rights to fuel this three-day download. The seminar is O’Brien’s brainchild, an idea he had 26 years ago while still on the job and chairing the PBA Collective Bargaining Committee, a vaunted position that has been passed on to the NJ State PBA Collective Bargaining Seminar Feb. 5-7, Caesars, Atlantic City Scheduled Speakers • Paul L. Kleinbaum, Esq., Zazzali, Fagella, Nowak, Kleinbaum & Friedman - Assault on Collective Bargaining: Legislation, Interest Arbitration and PERC • Vincent J. Foti, Foti & Associates, LLC - Financial Analysis • Frank M. Crivelli, Esq., Pellettieri Rabstein and Altman Preparation for the Negotiations Process • James M. Mets, Esq., Mets, Schiro, McGovern, LLP – Interest Arbitration • Robert A. Fagella, Esq., Zazzali, Fagella, Nowak, Kleinbaum & Friedman - Grievance Arbitration and Unfair Labor Practices • David B. Beckett, Esq., Beckett Law, and Kevin Lyons, NJ State PBA LPP Coordinator - How To Negotiate Health Benefits under Chapter 78 • Christopher A. Gray, Esq., Sciarra & Catrambone, LLC, and Peter Andreyev, NJ State PBA Pension and Benefits Coordinator - Police & Fire Retirement System and Disability Pension • Stuart J. Alterman, Esq., Alterman & Associates, LLC - Law Enforcement Officer’s Rights • Daniel Geddes, Esq.- Workers Compensation Law • Christopher A. Gray, Esq., Sciarra & Catrambone, LLC, Federal Labor Safety Act (FLSA)