Partner Jessica Harris was named to the Super Lawyers 2025 New York Metro Rising Stars list.
This honor is reserved for lawyers who demonstrate excellence in practice, with no more than 2.5% of attorneys in the New York Metro area receiving the distinction.
Harris’s selection reflects both her outstanding advocacy on behalf of workers and unions and GRM’s continued reputation for excellence in labor and employment law.
By Hernesto Galdamez
As it appeared in the Massapequa Post – https://www.massapequapost.com/articles/ncc-faculty-union-claims-contract-violations/
Faculty tensions at Nassau Community College escalated last week after Chief Administrative Officer Maria Conzatti announced that she would not submit faculty names for tenure, promotion or sabbatical to the college’s board of trustees until a new contract agreement is reached — despite the fact that the current contract is in effect until Aug. 31.
The announcement, made at the April 3 general faculty meeting, drew sharp criticism from the Nassau Community College Federation of Teachers. Union leaders claim the decision circumvents provisions of the existing collective bargaining agreement, particularly those related to faculty advancement during the final year of a signed contract.
“Our faculty was absolutely stunned to learn that NCC has unilaterally chosen to deny these standard promotions, sabbaticals and tenure positions to our hardworking professors,” David Stern, the acting NCCFT president, said. “This is truly unprecedented, and demonstrates why NCC and the board of trustees are losing confidence and enrollment while slashing programs and mismanaging our finances.”
Jessica Harris, attorney for the union, said that the administration is legally obligated to follow the recommendations of committees, composed of faculty members and an administrator, that approve faculty members’ advancement and sabbaticals.
“NCC administrators have no legal basis to refuse to consider the committees’ recommendations for promotions and sabbaticals,” Harris said. “If the administration persists in its refusal to inform the board of trustees of the committees’ recommendations, in flagrant disregard of the CBA, we will explore all legal options.”
Speaking on behalf of the administration, Jerry Kornbluth, vice president of the Office of Community and Governmental Relations, pushed back against the union’s claims. He said the accusation that the administration is violating the collective bargaining agreement is a “false narrative,” emphasizing that the college is operating under the current 2021–25 contract.
According to Kornbluth, union representatives have not responded to invitations to begin discussions of the 2025–26 contract. He also noted that faculty members must meet “certain standards,” depending on the promotion they are seeking, with evaluations conducted by the committees. Once approved, nominations are forwarded to the president.
“Until there is a conversation about the contract for 2025–26, those promotions, sabbaticals and tenure don’t take effect until the fall of 2025 — under the new contract,” Kornbluth said. “The contract acts on Aug. 31; a new one, whether there is a negotiated one or not, kicks in on Sept. 1.”
Many faculty members have already completed the formal review process and received committee approval. The union accuses the administration of stalling contractual obligations and blocking professional advancement at a time when many professors face increased financial strain due to the rising cost of living.
Kornbluth said that when no formal contract is in place, the college operates under a memorandum of agreement signed by both the administration and the union. That agreement allows the president to move faculty nominations forward for board approval.
Stern said that 15 faculty members had been recommended by their respective committees. “There has been virtually no dialogue or willingness by Ms. Conzatti or her administration,” he said.
The faculty organized a gathering on April 8 in the CCB building. Organizers said the event aimed to draw public attention to the ongoing contract and personnel disputes.
“In all my years that I’ve been at the college — which is 50 — there has never been a time that somebody who is nominated for promotion, sabbatical or tenure did not get it,” Kornbluth said. “This is all about trying to make the president, the administration look bad.”
Katherine H. Hansen of Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss LLP, along with co-counsel Stacey Leyton and Aaron Schaffer-Neitz of Altshuler Berzon LLP, is leading the legal defense for 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East in a high-profile constitutional challenge before the Third Circuit, urging the court to reject a New Jersey nursing home’s bid to halt a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) case.
The union’s legal team filed a forceful brief Tuesday opposing Spring Creek Rehabilitation and Nursing Center LLC’s request for a preliminary injunction. Spring Creek argues that the NLRB’s structure is unconstitutional due to removal protections for its members and administrative law judges. But the union warned that granting such an injunction would “render this nation’s labor laws unenforceable” and open the door to disruptive litigation.
Backed by Hansen and her legal team, 1199SEIU urged the Third Circuit to uphold U.S. District Judge Jamel K. Semper’s prior ruling, which denied Spring Creek’s injunction on the grounds that the nursing home failed to show irreparable harm.
Spring Creek’s claims center on the idea that removal protections violate the separation of powers under the Constitution. The union’s brief, however, argued that under Collins v. Yellen and the Third Circuit’s own standards, the facility must show actual harm resulting from those protections—a bar it has not met.
The NLRB, represented by a team of in-house attorneys including Steven Bieszczat and Kevin Flanagan, also opposed the injunction, arguing that the Norris-LaGuardia Act prohibits courts from intervening in ongoing labor disputes—even when challenges are framed as constitutional.
