Joseph Swerdzewski (Managing Partner)

Mr. Swerdzewski obtained his law degree from Fordham University Law School in 1975. In 1993 President William J. Clinton appointed him General Counsel of the Federal Labor Relations Authority after confirmation by the United States Senate. He was appointed by President Clinton and confirmed by the Senate for a second term in 1998. He is the only General Counsel to have been appointed for a second term. He is well known for his advice and policy issuances on labor relations topics for the federal sector, which he issued while General Counsel. His creative approaches to dispute resolution led to a significant reduction in case filings during his tenure. He left the FLRA in 2001 to become President and CEO of FPMI Solutions, a federal government human resource and training contractor. While leading FPMI through a period of significant expansion of its federal business, he also acted as a labor relations consultant to federal agencies and performed numerous speaking engagements nationwide. He is a much sought-after speaker, having presented over 200 speeches and seminars on labor and employment subjects throughout the United States and abroad. He started Joseph Swerdzewski and Associates (JSA) in July 2005.

David B. Brooks (Partner)

Mr. Brooks has twenty-eight years of Federal Human Resources Management experience at the operating and staff levels within the Department of the Army. Extensive operating level experience as a Human Resources Officer, providing a full range of human resources services to include, classification; staffing and recruitment outreach; management employee/labor relations; human resources development; and personnel action processing/record keeping. Significant experience in providing Human Resources services to a broad and diverse workforces to include, medical; professional; research and development; engineering; administrative; and trades and crafts workforces. Demonstrated experience in developing concept and operational plans for major human resources initiatives, to include regionalization of human resources services, consolidation and transition of servicing for populations exceeding 100,000 and major staffing and recruitment efforts.

Nina Soden (Director of Business Development/Trainer)

Ms. Soden obtained her degree from Eastern Michigan University in 1997 with a focus on Communication in business. Following her degree she developed her skills as a Human Resources Representative in numerous private sector organizations. She has since joined JSA in 2005 as a Human Resource and Training Instructor. In her five years with JSA she has performed numerous training engagements throughout the United States in the areas of Communication, Trust and Collaboration as well as instructing on the Obama Administration’s Federal Labor Management Relations Executive Order requirements for Labor Management Forums. She is a sought-after training instructor and course developer, having an in-depth background in Communications and Trust, Collaboration, collective bargaining agreement training, as well as the Executive Order 13522. She has worked for JSA on projects with the General Services Administration and U.S. Anniston Army Depot to name a few.

Marjorie Thompson (Trainer/Consultant)

Marjorie Thompson retired from the federal government after having worked as a career federal employee for 33 years.

She began her federal career after graduating from Smith College, in Northampton, Massachusetts. Following a brief stint with the FAA, she was employed by the National Labor Relations Board in St. Louis, Missouri, where she worked as a field examiner investigating unfair labor practice and representation cases in the private sector.

She transferred to the Department of Labor, Labor-Management Services Administration, in Kansas City, where she was a compliance officer and a supervisory compliance officer for approximately 8 years. As a compliance officer, her responsibilities included investigations under E.O. 11491, the predecessor to the Federal Labor Management Relations Statute, as well as investigations of internal union elections and supervising re-runs those elections pursuant to the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act in both the private and federal sectors. In addition, she investigated and mediated resolution of claims under the Veterans' Reemployment Rights act.

She worked for the Federal Labor Relations Authority from its creation in 1979, working initially in Kansas City, Missouri as a field agent, supervisory field agent and Assistant Regional Director. She served as the Regional Director of the FLRA's Denver Region for over 20 years, until her retirement. In that position, she decided the merits of literally thousands of unfair labor practice and representation cases filed in the Denver Region, which at various times covered from 9 to 13 states. She directed a staff of labor relations specialist and attorneys in the investigation and equitable resolution of these cases, and provided training and other guidance regarding the Federal Labor Management Relations Statute to agency managers and union representatives in the federal sector. In addition, she managed the budget, training and other administrative aspects of the Regional Office.

The performance of the Regional Director position required an in-depth knowledge of the Federal Labor-Management Relations Statute and regulations implementing it, as well as of case law regarding negotiability, representation, and unfair labor practice issues. It also required a well-honed sensitivity to the needs of the parties and employees affected by the issues presented in cases, as well as a creative and balanced approach to resolution of disputes.