Sandulli Grace attorney John Becker is quoted extensively in an article published June 12, 2023 in Salon, a national publication. The article focuses on labor law opinions issued by the most recent appointee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. In...
Alan Shapiro
About Alan
Mr. Shapiro has practiced law with the firm since 1984 and has been a partner since 1987. He formerly served as a Hearing Officer and Staff Counsel at the Massachusetts Labor Relations Commission from 1981 to 1984. Like all of the firm’s attorneys, his practice concentrates in the representation of labor unions and their members.
A graduate of the Roxbury Latin School (1969), Harvard College (1973), University of Massachusetts, Boston (MA English 1977) and Emory University School of Law (1980), Mr. Shapiro has taught courses at The Labor Guild and participated in numerous seminars sponsored by the Massachusetts and Boston Bar Associations and Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. He has argued cases before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Appeals Court, and First Circuit Court of Appeals.
When not practicing law, Mr. Shapiro avidly bicycles both long distances on weekends and to and from work, weather permitting. He also plays a fairly mean game of pool. He lives in Jamaica Plain with his wife, Marie Lee, Esq.
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Alan’s Blog Posts
Vaccine Mandates Are Coming: What Can Be Done?
With today’s Federal Drug Administration approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for those 16 years of age and older, and with approval of the Moderna vaccine expected soon, we can anticipate a wave of employers imposing vaccine mandates on their employees. For those...
Police Unions And The Current Climate
On December 22, the New York Times published an article entitled, “How Cities Lost Control of Police Discipline.” To someone reading the story without an understanding of labor relations and the arbitration process, the message was clear: the ability of police unions...
Families First Coronavirus Response Act: A Brief Explanation
Under a new federal law, titled the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the federal government has created several new programs to assist workers during the current crisis. There are now ten (10) additional fully paid sick days for employees unable to...
Civil Service Commission Upholds Termination Of African American Boston Firefighter For Social Media Posts But Also Orders Investigation Into Boston Fire Department
In Rowe v. Boston Fire Department (D1-18-074), issued on August 29, 2019, the Civil Service Commission upheld the discharge of Boston Firefighter Octavius Rowe for the content of his social media posts and podcasts. The Commission’s summary of its decision states:...
Social Media Will Ruin Your Whole Life, Again
More than four years ago, my colleague Jennifer Smith wrote a blog entry entitled “Social Media Will Ruin Your Whole Life.” The blog detailed how one corporate executive lost her job over one “stupid tweet.” Atty. Smith’s advice to police officers, teachers, and...
Supreme Court’s Janus Decision: What Does It Mean?
On June 27, 2018, the US Supreme Court issued its long expected decision in the case of Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31. By a 5-4 majority, the Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for a union representing public employees (federal, state, or municipal) to require its...
Why Can’t The Boston Teachers Get A New Contract?
Last week, I was talking with a business agent for a large public sector union which represents thousands of employees in the City of Boston. When our conversation turned to city negotiations, I asked why the Boston teachers couldn’t get a new contract, since the...
What People Say When They Get Arrested
The Boston Globe has a front page story on April 10 titled "Arresting Words." Written by columnist Yvonne Abraham, the story weaves the words from Boston police reports into a tapestry of what police officers face daily on the streets and in the health clinics and...
U.S. Department Of Labor About To Issue New Regulations Expanding Overtime Coverage To Over 5 Million Workers
Sometimes, I start thinking there isn’t much difference between Democrats and Republicans, since a lot of them remind me of the kids in high school who were running for student council president. But then, when I look at some federal regulations, I am reminded that...
NLRB: SCHOLARSHIP COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYERS CAN UNIONIZE
Yesterday, the Chicago regional office of the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency which regulates private sector employees and labor unions, ordered that a union election be held among the scholarship college football players at Northwestern...
Waltham Police Conduct Informational Picket
On Friday afternoon, the Waltham Police Patrol Officers and Superior Officers, both locals of the Massachusetts Coalition of Police, the largest police union in New England, held an informational picket at Waltham City Hall. Their message was simple: after more than...
Never Let The Truth Get In The Way Of A Good Story: David Williams And BPD Commissioner Ed Davis
On June 20, highly respected Arbitrator Michael Ryan issued a decision overturning the discharge of Boston Police Officer David Williams. All of the facts are meticulously set out in the decision’s 44 pages but are briefly summarized here. On March 16, 2009, Michael...
Scott Walker Setting His Sights On Police And Fire?
When Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and the Republican state legislature virtually eliminated collective bargaining for public sector workers two years ago, they largely spared police and fire unions. But now, it appears that the honeymoon is over. In a story in...
Civil Service Overturns Discharges Of Six Boston Police Officers: Hair Testing Not Ready For Prime Time
In a landmark ruling with national and even international implications, the Massachusetts Civil Service Commission upheld the appeals of six former Boston Police Officers who had been fired solely because a California drug testing company (Psychemedics Corporation)...
Civil Service Knocks Out Quincy Mayor’s Choice for Fire Chief and a Judge Agrees
Based on many recent Civil Service decisions and, even more poignantly, the courts' reaction to those decisions, many of us concluded that challenging a bypass promotional case was about as promising as hitting a trifecta at your local race track. [1] That perception,...
Civil Service Suspensions: 5 Days Can Be 8 But Not 16
While, for the Beatles, eight days a week may not have been enough to show they cared, the Appeals Court has said that it is enough for a five-day suspension. Civil Service law, Mass. Gen. Laws Chapter 31, § 41, allows a police or fire chief to suspend a tenured civil...
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES: THE NEW SCAPEGOATS
In an article published yesterday by former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, entitled “The Shameful Attack on Public Employees,” Professor Reich rebuts the most common myths about public workers. Included among these myths are: Public employees earn more than private...
Attorney Joseph Sandulli To Again Teach At The Labor Guild
As he has for many years, Atty. Sandulli will be teaching a course at the Labor Guild’s School of Labor Relations. Classes run in two sessions on Monday evenings from September 13 through November 15, from 7:00 – 9:30 p.m. in Weymouth. Joe’s class, entitled “Labor...
Sandulli Grace Attorney Alan Shapiro To Speak At American Arbitration Association Conference
Attorney Alan Shapiro will be speaking on June 2, 2010, at a conference at the Boston office of the American Arbitration Association on the subject of Brief Writing and Closing Arguments. The program flyer is available here. Attorney Shapiro, whose clients include ...