42nd Lou Manchise Labor Management Conference focuses on effective partnership

May 12, 2025 - The annual Lou Manchise Labor Management Conference is back at Northern Kentucky University for its 42nd year. Hosted by the Alternative Dispute Resolution Center in the Haile College of Business, this year’s theme, Building Effective Partnerships: Innovative Strategies for Labor-Management Relations for Business, Union and Human Resource Leaders, will take place on Friday, May 16.

The annual Lou Manchise Labor Management Conference focuses on a different topic each year that is relevant in workforce strategy and operations. This year, conference breakout sessions will focus on topics like implicit bias, resolving workplace conflict, ADA compliance and employment law updates. The honorable Jamie Link, Secretary of the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet, and Pastor Edward Palmer will serve as this year’s keynote speakers. Additional panelists include Jeff Noel, Secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development; Ashli Watts, President and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce; Jessie Schook, Vice President of Workforce and Economic Development for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System; and Michael Yoder, Interim Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Workforce Development.

“For more than four decades, the Lou Manchise Labor Management Conference has brought labor and management leaders together to collaborate and address the evolving challenges of the workplace,” says Kathy Carnes, Director of NKU’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Center. “This year’s discussion on innovation and effective partnership is more crucial than ever in shaping productive and sustainable labor-management relationships. Our attendees will leave with practical strategies to enhance their partnerships and navigate the complexities of the modern workforce.”

At the conference, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Center will recognize Stephen Simon and Brian Dershaw with Lifetime Achievement Awards. Stephen Simon is the Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney at the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office and has extensive legal expertise. Simon also served on the Board of NKU’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Center from 2009 to 2014. Brian Dershaw is a management-side employment and labor attorney and serves as the Cincinnati Practice Group Chair of Taft’s Employment & Labor Relations practice. Dershaw was named Cincinnati’s 2024 Labor Lawyer of the Year, and has been recognized by Cincy Magazine as a Cincy Leading Lawyer from 2021 to 2025.

For more information on the Lou Manchise Labor Management Conference and to register, visit the NKU website.