California Public Sector Labor Relations

The California Lawyers Association (CLA) is a member-driven, mission-focused organization dedicated to the professional advancement of attorneys practicing in the state of California. CLA’s Labor and Employment Law Section furthers the knowledge of its members in labor law and employment issues by providing a forum for California’s labor lawyers and non-lawyers with an interest in labor relations and employment issues. The mission of the Labor & Employment Law Section is to provide diverse educational opportunities and perspectives regarding labor and employment issues to section members, the bar, and the general public.

Arthur A. Krantz is a Member of the Public Employment Relations Board. For more than 20 years prior to his appointment, Mr. Krantz represented unions, employees and nonprofits in litigation, arbitration and administrative cases, and he worked on law reform, organizing, negotiation, and strategic campaigns to effect social change. Mr. Krantz did this work as an associate and partner at Leonard Carder, LLP.

Mr. Krantz is a pro bono asylum attorney and an Executive Committee Member of the Labor & Employment Law Section of the California Lawyers Association (formerly the State Bar of California). He is a frequent presenter at conferences and has contributed to numerous publications. Mr. Krantz has mentored many public interest attorneys and stakeholders in labor-management relations. He also has served as a lecturer and practitioner-adviser at UC Berkeley School of Law.

Mr. Krantz received his B.A. from Yale University and his J.D. from NYU School of Law, where he was a Root Tilden Public Interest Scholar. As a student, Mr. Krantz worked in his college dining hall and was a shop steward for HERE Local 35, as well as a member of the union’s contract negotiating committee. After law school, Mr. Krantz served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Ellen Bree Burns at the United States District Court, District of Connecticut.

Janet Cory Sommer is the Chief Executive Officer of the California Public Employers Labor Relations Association (CALPELRA), where she regularly provides training and analysis of California public sector labor and employment issues.

Ms. Sommer served as a negotiator and represented local agencies on a variety of employment, labor relations, education, and other public law issues for over 20 years. Ms. Sommer also has substantial litigation experience on matters involving public agencies in state and federal court, and administrative proceedings. Before turning her focus to labor and employment, Ms. Sommer represented unions, public sector, and political clients in education, election, and political matters. She also worked for the California Legislature as Chief Consultant to the Assembly Education Committee.

Ms. Sommer is a former member of, and current advisor to the California Lawyers Association Labor and Management Section Executive Committee. She co-authored the California Public Employee Relations (CPER) Pocket Guide to Factfinding. Ms. Sommer earned her Juris Doctor at Stanford Law School, graduating as a member of the Order of the Coif. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley.