Robert Hawkins

Robert S. Hawkins represents employers and rail carriers in labor and employment law matters, especially those involving the transportation, manufacturing, and construction industries. He represents clients in labor negotiations, arbitration, litigation, counseling, and both regulated and non-regulated transactions.

Bob’s experience includes matters involving the Railway Labor Act (RLA), the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act, the Federal Railroad Safety Act, and federal and state equal employment opportunity laws.

In 2012, he was named to the BTI Client Service All-Star list, a roster of 272 elite attorneys regarded for their attention to client needs. Bob is a senior editor of The Railway Labor Act, Fourth Edition, written by leading practitioners from the American Bar Association’s Committee on Railway and Airline Labor Law, Section of Labor and Employment Law and published by the Bureau of National Affairs, Washington, D.C., in 2017.

Bob is a board member of Court Appointed Special Advocates of Philadelphia County (CASA), an organization committed to the recruitment, training, and supervision of volunteers who represent children in the foster care system. Following law school, Bob served as a law clerk to the Honorable Alfred L. Luongo, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

EXPERIENCE :

• Represented a Canadian company in labor aspects of multiple acquisitions and mergers of U.S. operating entities since 1997, and continues to serve as national U.S. labor counsel for the acquired companies.
• Provided advice and counsel to a private equity investor on labor-related aspects of a multimillion-dollar acquisition, including review of the target’s labor agreements, advice concerning asset and stock purchase agreements, WARN compliance, and post-transaction labor and benefits issues such as retiree health and successorship obligations.
• Representation of employers under both the NLRA and RLA in lawsuits enforcing statutory and contractual dispute resolution procedures, especially those involving mandatory arbitration and no-strike obligations.
• Representation of rail carriers on labor aspects of transactions subject to approval by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board and in negotiation or arbitration of implementing agreements pursuant to approved transactions.
• Representation of multi-national corporations on international labor issues involving their U.S. business interests.
• Representation of employers and rail carriers in union organizing and decertification campaigns and representation disputes.
• Representation of employers in matters governed by “neutrality” and “card check” agreements, including interest arbitration.
• Representation of employers covered by prevailing wage legislation such as the Davis-Bacon Act, the Service Contract Act, and analogous state and municipal laws governing negotiation of collective bargaining agreements for employers party to public contracts, classification of workers under prevailing wage determinations, and representation of employers in reimbursement disputes involving employee classification.

EDUCATION :

• University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., cum laude, 1983
• St. Joseph’s University, B.A., summa cum laude, 1980

BAR ADMISSIONS : Pennsylvania; New York

CLERKSHIPS :

• Honorable Alfred L. Luongo, U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania