Gregory P. Ripple

Gregory Ripple is a labor and employment lawyer who helps small privately held companies to large publicly traded corporations navigate the intricacies of employee and union relationships.

Greg also guides employers through occupational safety matters, including government safety inspections, defending against penalties and ensuring compliance with safety regulations, as well as shaping policies and handling workplace incidents.

From negotiating and administering union contracts and handling union elections, to representing clients in legal proceedings related to unfair workplace practices or employee grievances, Greg advises employers nationwide across a diverse range of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing and transportation.

Through strong relationships built on a deep understanding of his clients’ businesses, Greg takes pride in shaping strategic solutions aligned with their culture and objectives. He delivers actionable advice related to collective bargaining negotiations, representation elections, unfair labor practice proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, labor arbitrations and a diverse range of labor and employment law issues. He has defended clients in state and federal court on employment issues, including federal and state civil rights claims, wage payment claims and whistleblower claims.

Outside of his active practice, Greg is the author of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce’s Occupational Safety and Health: A Guide for Michigan Employers. He has also enjoyed teaching engagements at the Notre Dame Law School and the Seidman School of Business at Grand Valley State University. Greg is a member of the Executive Advisory Committee of the Notre Dame Law Association.

Experience

• Led the bargaining team of a large Midwestern academic medical center during negotiations with the union representing their skilled maintenance employees for a new collective bargaining agreement. After months of tense negotiations, the union tried to force the medical center to concede to unrealistic demands by going on strike. The union agreed to the contract offer provided by the employer before the strike.
• Represented a large regional Midwest healthcare system in the acquisition of two unionized facilities in California. The acquisition terms required the healthcare system to assume the collective bargaining agreements. On an accelerated integration timeline, agreements were negotiated on behalf of the healthcare system allowing changes to the employee benefits, and they were advised on the implementation of system policies in the facilities. Also negotiated successor collective bargaining agreements on behalf of the acquired hospitals.
• Negotiated collective bargaining agreements on behalf of a large regional Midwest healthcare system for multiple bargaining units at various hospitals. Several of the hospitals had been acquired and the terms of the various collective bargaining agreements were neither uniform nor reflective of the system’s institutional nature or goals. Over a series of negotiations, language in the agreements was standardized to match system policy while also level-setting wage scales.
• Represented a national chemical producer in negotiations for collective bargaining agreements at their unionized operations in the Midwest and South. The employer needed to make modifications to the design and cost of their employee health insurance benefits, while at the same time controlling wage growth. Despite strike threats, new collective bargaining agreements were reached without a work stoppage.
• Defended a national cannabis producer and retailer in a labor arbitration regarding the meaning of the collective bargaining agreement for one of their production facilities. This was the initial contract between the union and the company at this facility and the Union’s interpretation would have significantly increased the financial impact of the contract.