Professor Gerald Berendt has been named to Governor-elect Rod Blagojevich’s Labor Policy Committee.
Professor Berendt will be serving with labor relations neutrals, academics and union and management representatives. The committee will advise the Governor-elect on legislative proposals and policy initiatives having to do with private and public sector labor relations.
Professor Berendt served from 1986 through July 2002 on the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board and was chairman of the board for most of his tenure. During his 16 years on the board, he participated in more than 1,500 agency decisions implementing the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act. During his tenure at the agency, the annual number of educational employee strikes declined dramatically from an average of 25 strikes per year to 5-10 per year in recent years.
Prior to his appointment to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, Berendt was Chairman and Executive Director of the Illinois Office of Collective Bargaining.
Professor Berendt has taught labor law at John Marshall for the past 27 years. Before joining the faculty, he served as an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board in Washington.