The Center for Independent Employees (CIE) is pleased to announce that Kelley LaBedz has joined the organization as General Counsel/Educational Services.
Ms. LaBedz’s connection to CIE’s mission is personal. As a teacher in Florida, she served on her local teachers’ union’s executive board and collective bargaining team. When she questioned how the union handled its finances and asked to see its records, the union expelled her without notice or a hearing.
CIE represented Ms. LaBedz in her challenge before Florida’s Public Employees Relations Commission, which found that the union unlawfully denied her access to its financial records and violated her due process rights. That ruling established a new statewide standard: Florida public-sector unions must give members notice and an opportunity to be heard before expelling them. Since then, the union has appealed to Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal.
“Kelley knows firsthand what it takes to stand up to a union, and she knows the law,” said Dan Remmenga, CIE’s Executive Director. “We’re thrilled to have her on our team to help employees become independent from unwanted unions."
In her new role, Ms. LaBedz will focus on CIE’s work with teachers and school employees. She brings experience in law, education, and public administration. She served as a Senior Assistant Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General in the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. There, she represented state agencies and professional regulatory boards in administrative, regulatory, and employment matters. She has also practiced law in Illinois and Texas and served as Civil Courts Director in Florida. As a history and civics teacher in Florida’s Martin County School District, she earned the Florida Civic Seal of Excellence endorsement.
She holds a Juris Doctor from Valparaiso University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and History from Capital University.
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The Center for Independent Employees (CIE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides legal representation and assistance to independent employees who are opposed to union oppression in their workplaces.