Office of Collective Bargaining

Introduction

Director's Message

Board Members & Professional Staff

News

CONTACT US

BOARD MEMBERS

Marlene A. Gold, Chair and Impartial Member

Marlene A. Gold is the Chairperson of the Board by joint appointment of the Mayor and the Municipal Labor Unions. She became Director and Chairperson in 2000, after serving as the Deputy Director and Chief Mediator for five years. Ms. Gold brings to OCB her many years of experience in New York City Labor Relations. A Boston College Law School graduate, Ms. Gold has been an arbitrator and mediator in a variety of industries since joining the Office of Collective Bargaining in 1995. She is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators.

George Nicolau, Impartial Member

George Nicolau, an Impartial Member of the Board since 1987, is the Past President of the National Academy of Arbitrators and the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution, now the Association for Conflict Resolution, and serves as the Vice Chair of the United States Branch of the International Society for Labor and Social Security Law. Perhaps best know for his nine-year service as Impartial Chairman in Major League Baseball, he served a similar role in basketball, hockey and soccer, and now serves as System Board Chair for a number of airlines and their pilots, flight attendants and ground personnel, and is the Industry Chair for the League of Voluntary Hospitals and 1199, SEIU.

Carol A. Wittenberg, Impartial Member

Carol A. Wittenberg, a mediator and arbitrator for the past 24 years, serves on more than 40 labor arbitration panels in the following industries: airlines; publishing; sports; trucking; theater; entertainment; telecommunications; health care; education and government. She is the designated arbitrator in several class actions, including Robinson v. Metro North Commuter Railroad, deciding allegations of race discrimination in discipline and promotion cases.
Ms. Wittenberg is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators. She is also a graduate of Cornell University's School of Industrial & Labor Relations and holds a M.S. from Hunter College.

Charles G. Moerdler, Labor Member

Charles G. Moerdler is the founding partner of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan's Litigation Practice. He concentrates in the areas of health care, international law, real estate, labor law, administrative law and zoning.
Born in Paris in 1934, Mr. Moerdler immigrated to the United States at the age of twelve and was admitted to the bar nine years later. Since that time he has become a prominent litigator and a civic leader. Among the may organizations which have retained Mr. Moerdler as outside general counsel are one of the largest hospitals in the country, one of the nation's largest health maintenance organizations, and a major New York City daily newspaper, for which he has also served as director. He regularly counsels Austria's largest bank in international litigation and served as Board Chairman of its U.S. subsidiary. He also acts for Austria's largest electricity and power enterprise, one of its largest realtors, and has represented other major European companies in a variety of matters. Mr. Moerdler has served as lead negotiator for numerous municipal labor unions, including the United Federation of Teachers, the Uniformed Sanitation Workers Association, and the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association. On numerous occasions he has been appointed by federal courts to serve as a Special Master for the resolution of complex issues. He has served as a private arbitrator and mediator in a variety of contexts.
Mr. Moerdler has extensive public sector experience. At age thirty, he was appointed Commissioner of Housing and Buildings of the City of New York, making him the youngest commissioner in the City's history. He serves as a real estate and development consultant to New York City Mayor John Lindsay, as a member of the City's Air Pollution Control Board, and as Chairman and Commissioner of the New York State Insurance Fund. Currently, he serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the New York City Housing Development Corporation.

Gabrielle Semel, Labor Member

Gabrielle Semel is District Counsel to District One of the Communications Workers of America ("CWA"). She has represented the CWA for over 20 years. Prior to her appointment as CWA District Counsel, she worked for Region 2 of the National Labor Relations Board. She is a graduate of the City University of New York and Wayne State Law School. She speaks frequently on various labor and employment law issues and is an adjunct faculty member at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations in New York City. She served as Alternate Labor Member for several years prior to her appointment as Labor Member to the Board of Collective Bargaining.

Vincent J. Bollon, Alternate Labor Member

Vincent J. Bollon was reelected in August 2004 to a fifth four-year term as General Secretary-Treasurer of the International Association of Fire Fighters. The IAFF represents over 275,000 professional firefighters across the United States and Canada. Mr. Bollon has been a member of the IAFF for over 42 years.
Mr. Bollon was president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association (Local 854) from 180 to 1988, and an executive board member of the association in 1978. He was elected vice president of the New York State Professional Fire Fighters Association and served in this capacity from 1984 to 1987. Mr. Bollon is a director of the National Fire Protection Association.
He was financial recording secretary of the New York City Uniformed Fire Fighters (Local 94) from 1975 to 1977 and served as first vice chairman of the largest firefighter pension fund in the United States and Canada from 1980 to 1988. He was also chairman of his local union's annuity trust fund. This fund has grown from $6 million in 1978, and is presently in excess of $40 million.

Peter B. Pepper, Alternate Labor Member

Peter B. Pepper is a labor consultant, playing an active role at the bargaining table, in union administration, in grievance and arbitration advocacy and training for unions in both the private and public sectors. Since 1997, Mr. Pepper has been a Lecturer in Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining at Baruch College, City University of New York. From 1999 until 2006, Mr. Pepper worked for Region 29 of the National Labor Relations Board. Prior to this, he served as a representative for the New York State Public Employees Federation and as an administrator for the trustees of U.A. Plumber's Local Number 2.
In June 2006, Mr. Pepper was re-elected to a second term as National President of the Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring. He has served on the Board of the Forward Association, the publisher of the Forward newspapers, and several other not-for-profit organizations.
Mr. Pepper holds a Masters of Science degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University / Baruch College, City University of New York, where he graduated with honors, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Baruch College, City University of New York.

M. David Zurndorfer, City Member

David Zurndorfer is a partner in the Labor and Employment Department at Proskauer Rose LLP, where he has represented the City's Office of Labor Relations in numerous matters. He is a graduate of Penn State University and Harvard Law School. In addition to serving as a member of the Board of Collective Bargaining, he is a member of the Board of Learning Leaders and a past member of the Labor and Municipal Affairs Committees of the City Bar Association.

Pamela Silverblatt, City Member

Pamela Silverblatt is the Vice Chancellor for Labor Relations at the City University of New York; the nation's largest urban public university. Prior to joining the City University, Ms. Silverblatt served as the First Deputy Commissioner in the Mayor's Office of Labor Relations in both Mayor Bloomberg's and Giuliani's administrations. Ms. Silverblatt's labor relations and collective bargaining experience is extensive and varied, including higher education, education, healthcare, and all facets of municipal public sector services. During her career, Ms. Silverblatt has represented both unions and management.

Ernest F. Hart, Alternate City Member

Ernest F. Hart is Assistant Vice President of Employee and Labor Relations at Columbia University. He is lead negotiator for the University which has 15 collective bargaining units. In addition to being an alternate member of the New York City Board of Collective Bargaining, he is Chair of the New York City Equal Employment Practices Commission, Chair of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation Personnel Review Board and a member of the Character and Fitness Committee- Supreme Court Appellate Division, 1st Department.

Peter J. Madonia, Alternate City Member

Peter J. Madonia is the Chief of Staff to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. The Chief of Staff reports directly to the Mayor and oversees all aspects of the Mayor's Office, including correspondence, citywide services, appointments, fiscal and administrative affairs. He also serves as an advisor to the Mayor on all aspects of city government operations and policy. Madonia's experience in city government includes serving as First Deputy Commissioner of the Fire Department, Deputy Commissioner for Budget and Operations at the Department of Buildings, and Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Operations. In additions, he owned and operated a family-owned business. Madonia received a Bachelor of Arts from Fordham University, where he has taught as an adjunct professor for urban studies, and a Masters in Urban Studies from the University of Chicago.

OCB'S STAFF

Besides the Director-Chair, the officers of the OCB include two Deputy Directors, a Deputy General Counsel, the BCB's Executive Secretary, a Director of Representation, and a Director of Administration. One Deputy Director serves as General Counsel and, in that capacity, advises the Board Members, supervises the legal staff, and generally directs the legal business of the OCB. The other Deputy Director serves as OCB's chief mediator and administers the agency's dispute settlement procedures pertaining to contract negotiations (mediation and impasse panels) and grievance arbitration. This Deputy also serves as one of the arbitrators for the expedited arbitration process administered by OCB. The Deputy General Counsel represents OCB in court proceedings which involve the appeal and/or enforcement of Board decisions and assists the General Counsel in day-to-day operations. The Deputy General Counsel also serves as the agency's Executive Secretary and in that capacity reviews all improper practice petitions for timeliness and sufficiency and manages BCB's docket. The Director of Representation processes all representation petitions filed with the agency and conducts the initial investigation into those cases. The Director of Representation also acts as an Information Officer, who responds to inquiries and Freedom of Information Law requests from the media and the public.

The OCB legal staff includes five Labor Relations Trial Examiners, who conduct hearings and draft decisions for the agency's two Boards. One Trial Examiner also acts as a Pro Se Officer and answers procedural and jurisdictional questions from employees who are considering filing an improper practice petition; and supporting clerical and administrative employees.

The Director of Administration supervises the agency's budgeting, purchasing, and personnel functions. OCB has a network administrator who is responsible for all of OCB's technology. In addition, there is a staff of four administrative assistants who provide support for OCB's legal staff.

The Professional Staff:

Steven C. DeCosta

Steven DeCosta joined the staff of OCB as a Trial Examiner in 1980, and became General Counsel in 1988. He received his J.D. degree from Hofstra University School of Law, where he was Research Editor of the Law Review. Prior to joining OCB, he served as an attorney in the New York City Law Department and in the General Counsel's Office at District Council 37, AFSCME.

Michael T. Fois

Michael T. Fois Joined the staff of OCB as an Executive Assistant to the Director in 2007. He received his B.S. from Fordham University in 1988 and his J.D. from the University of Virginia in 1991. After graduating Law School, Michael spent seven years with the Legal Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York before starting his own private practice.

Mariam Manichaikul

Mariam Manichaikul joined OCB as a Trial Examiner in June 2008. She is a graduate of Rutgers School of Law�Newark where she was an Editor of the Rutgers Law Review. She received her undergraduate degree from Oberlin College. Prior to joining OCB, she served at the Office of Administrative Law Judges, U.S. Department of Labor.

Stephen McQuade

Stephen McQuade joined the OCB staff as a Trial Examiner in 2004. He received a B.A. from the Univesity of Notre Dame, and his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. Prior to joining OCB, he worked as a union-side labor attorney concerning all labor litigation matters, including prevailing wage law, construction law, and ERISA.

Susan J. Panepento

Susan Panepento joined OCB's staff in 2001 as the Director of Representation and became the Deputy Chair for Dispute Resolution in January 2004. She is a graduate of Cornell University - NYS School of Industrial and Labor Relations and Brooklyn Law School. Prior to joining OCB, Ms. Panepento served as a Field Examiner and Attorney with the National Labor Relations Board in Brooklyn, New York and practiced with the law firm Cohen, Weiss and Simon in New York City, where she represented national and local unions.

Beverly M. Poppell

Bevery Poppell joined the staff of OCB as Executive Assistant to the Director in 1992 and became Trial Examiner the following year. She is a graduate of New York University and Touro Law Center. Prior to joining OCB, she had her own law practice and was a radio news anchor/reporter covering labor and government in New York City.

Karine Spencer

Karine Spencer joined the OCB staff in 2003 as a Trial Examiner and became the Director of Representation and the Information Officer in 2004. She received a B.A. from McGill University and a J.D. from New York University School of Law. Prior to joining OCB, she was a litigation associate at a major New York law firm and a small labor and employment firm in Boston.

Melissa von der Lieth

Melissa von der Lieth joined OCB as Executive Assistant to the Chair in 1997 and became a Trial Examiner in 1998. She is a graduate of Hofstra University School of Law where she wrote for the Labor Law Journal. She also teaches at New York University. Prior to joining OCB she was a litigation associate in a law firm in New York.

John F. Wirenius

John Wirenius joined OCB in March 2006 as Deputy General Counsel. He graduated from Columbia Law School in 1990 as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. John has served as an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the New York City Law Department and has represented labor as an Associate Counsel for New York State United Teachers. John has authored numerous scholarly articles, and the book First Amendment, First Principles: Verbal Acts and Freedom of Speech (2d Ed. 2004).