Overview
Tami Essis Culkar is co-leader of the firm's Construction Industry team. Tami has been a traditional labor lawyer for nearly 20 years, representing private and public sector employers in contract negotiations, grievance arbitrations, unfair labor practices charges, strikes, and other litigation involving employment law and benefits.
Tami is a skilled negotiator who bargains pro-employer collective bargaining agreements with a constructive and collaborative approach. She has negotiated over a hundred labor agreements covering industries including education, performing arts, logistics, cannabis, construction and hospitality. She utilizes her training in interest-based approaches to negotiate client-centered agreements that enhance effective operations and improve employer-employee relations. Her practical and efficient approach allows her to help clients reach their goals while building relations.
If union avoidance and/or litigation is required, however, Tami has conducted labor board hearings concerning representation, unfair labor practices, work jurisdiction disputes, and unit clarification. She works to mitigate clients’ risk and achieve business goals through cost-effective and pragmatic approaches.
Tami regularly counsels employers on a spectrum of personnel management issues including Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), Colorado Labor Peace Act, Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, and work-related implications of COVID-19. She is uniquely qualified based on her years of negotiating and understanding of human nature.