Alex Hunstein

Alex Hunstein represents private and public sector employers nationwide before arbitrators, administrative agencies, and state and federal courts at all levels.  She has successfully represented employers in labor and employment litigation, unfair labor practice proceedings, arbitration hearings, and collective bargaining in numerous states. With a background in litigation, Alex can quickly assess legal risk and offer pragmatic advice and preventative solutions in difficult situations.

Traditional Labor Relations

Alex’s traditional labor practice focuses on all aspects of management and labor relations, including collective bargaining, unfair labor practice charges, strikes and picketing, union avoidance, proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and arbitrations. She regularly counsels clients on their rights and responsibilities under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). 

She has conducted comprehensive union avoidance training for national and regional employers; worked closely with company executives in developing and implementing labor relations strategies; successfully represented employers in multiple union organizing campaigns and related representation proceedings; negotiated collective bargaining agreements; helped employers respond to strikes, picketing and other concerted activity; and represented employers in unfair labor practice proceedings, representation cases, arbitration hearings and related federal court lawsuits.

She litigates labor matters in state and federal courts involving the following:

• Labor Management Relations Act
• National Labor Relations Act
• Appeals before the U.S. Courts of Appeals.

Alex also frequently advocates on behalf of employers in private labor arbitrations before third-party neutrals.

Throughout collective bargaining and contract administration, Alex is also a trusted advisor. In unionized workplaces, Alex offers practical guidance on managing a unionized workforce, strike preparation, bargaining obligations, grievance processes, and general union relations. For those employers who are not unionized, Alex helps them respond to organizing attempts, targeted action by local unions, and employees engaged in protected concerted activity. Alex regularly offers trainings for supervisors about their rights and responsibilities, tailored to the industry and the needs of each management team.

Industries

Alex found her passion for traditional labor and employment work while serving as in-house counsel for a large public school system in Chicago on the labor relations team. After managing labor relations litigation, counseling employees, and navigating the bureaucracy of a very large organization, Alex is deeply familiar with the challenges that employers face daily. She has partnered with clients in a broad range of industries, including:

• Banking and finance
• Construction
• Consulting
• Energy/Utilities
• Food Service
• Healthcare
• Higher Education
• Hospitality
• Manufacturing
• Nonprofit
• Retail/Sales
• Restaurants
• Staffing
• Technology
• Transportation/Logistics   

Alex began her legal career as an Equal Justice Works fellow at a legal aid in Chicago, where she provided civil representation to incarcerated young mothers and created a domestic violence resentencing project based on changes to Illinois criminal resentencing law. She attended Loyola University College of Law, where she served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Children’s Legal Rights Journal and was an accomplished oralist on multiple moot court teams.