THOMAS M. O'BRIEN, ARBITRATOR-MEDIATOR

Mr. O'Brien specializes in arbitration, mediation, labor-management training, and conflict resolution.  He is currently in private practice as an arbitrator/mediator. 
Mr. O'Brien is a consultant for C. Richard Barnes & Associates, LLC.  Mr. O'Brien joined the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) in 1977 as a mediator in
St. Louis, Missouri, following eight years as Business Manager and President for the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU), Local 13.  In 1992, Mr. O'Brien relocated to the FMCS Mobile, Alabama, office.  In 1995, Mr. O'Brien was appointed Regional Director for the FMCS Midwestern Region based in Cleveland, Ohio.  In 1998, he was appointed National Deputy Director for FMCS in Washington, DC, where he was involved in several of the largest and most significant collective bargaining disputes in the country. 

Mr. O'Brien has over thirty years of practical experience in problem solving and conflict resolution in the private, public, and federal sectors.  Mr. O'Brien has assisted management and labor groups in implementing grievance mediation systems.  He provides arbitration and mediation services including grievance mediation.  He has trained extensively in the art of communication and interpersonal skills in order to improve labor-management relations.  Additional training programs include interest-based bargaining and supervisor-steward training.  In addition to training FMCS mediators, Mr. O'Brien was recognized internationally when he was assigned to train mediators in the Republic of Panama, Vorkuta and Moscow, Russia.

Mr. O'Brien earned a B.A. from Webster University in the field of Labor-Management Relations and Administration.  He has served as an adjunct professor at Washington University, Southern Illinois University, and St. Louis Community College.  He is a current member of the Arizona Labor Arbitrators Forum, and a board member of the Arizona Industrial Relations Association.  Mr. O'Brien is Past President of both the Gateway and Alabama Chapters of the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA).