David Sapenoff

Labor Relations Consultant

David Sapenoff has over 25 years of experience in all aspects of labor and union relations and has provided consulting services and training programs covering a wide range of topics, including: union contract negotiations, labor contract administration, and union avoidance.

Dave has extensive knowledge of employment and labor law, the National Labor Relations Act, NLRB rulings, and has proven himself to be a valuable resource to companies looking to address their labor and employee relations concerns.

Former Union Organizer Experience – Provides Valuable Insights

Dave started his professional career as a union organizer and business agent for the Teamsters union, working for a union local that had over 12,000 members. He knows how unions work, how they manage the union contract negotiating process and organizing campaigns. He has experience managing union matters for various industries and industries and employee skill sets (i.e., technicians, production workers, and professional employees).

Contract Negotiations (First Time Agreements)

During Dave’s 25 years in the labor relations and human resource management, he has successfully planned, led, and successfully concluded dozens of contract negotiations preserving management’s right to run the business, while ensuring the agreement is fair to all parties. Given his extensive experience Dave can speak with authority when negotiating with union leaders.

Dave’s experience is very unique as he has negotiated first-time labor agreements as both a union leader (Teamsters) and HR corporate executive. As a Corporate Director of Labor and Employee Relations for Sprint Communications (CenturyLink) he was responsible for 35 collective bargaining agreements split between the CWA and IBEW. These contracts covered inside and outside plant technicians and call center operations in 18 states. He successfully negotiated several first-time agreements for Sprint/CenturyLink, where he introduced health care cost sharing, moved from defined benefit pension plans to 401(k) plans, and made major operational language changes to improve worker productivity and flexibility.

Strategist to Defeat Union Organizing Campaigns

Dave has many years of experience countering union organizing tactics, and a good understanding of the NLRB election process. He has successfully managed over 48 representation campaigns against large labor unions like the Teamsters (IBT), Communications Workers (CWA), Electrical Workers (IBEW), United Steelworkers (USW), Service Employees (SEIU), Office and Professional Employees (OPEIU) and Operating Engineers (IUOE).