Michael Akins

Email: makins@milaborcouncil.org

Michael Akins joined the POLC staff in 2017. As a partner at Gregory, Moore, Jeakle, and Brooks, P.C., he served as a union-side labor and employment attorney for police unions and private security guards. He presented labor arbitration cases involving discipline, discharge, and contract interpretation disputes; reviewed grievances and collective bargaining agreements; represented clients during Garrity interviews and in labor-related state and federal lawsuits; assisted in the presentation of Act 312 arbitration hearings; and was involved in National Labor Relations Board proceedings and employment law matters including FLSA, FMLA, Title VII ADA ADEA, and USERRA. He graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Labor Studies from Wayne State University. While earning his Juris Doctor degree from Wayne State, he served as a POLC/GELC Law Clerk, conducting extensive research for labor and employment law matters; assisting with grievance reviews; writing arbitration briefs, including Act 312 and briefs for MERC proceedings, and prepared pleadings and motions in state court cases.

Brendan Canfield

Email: bcanfield@milaborcouncil.org

Attorney. Received a Bachelor of Arts (Honors), Oakland University. Attended Wayne State University Law School receiving a Juris Doctor (Honors). He has worked as a business defense attorney, and importantly, spent two years working for the Michigan Employment Relations Commission in a legal clerkship. He assisted in drafting decisions relative to labor disputes regarding public employees under the Public Employee Relations Act (PERA) and Labor Relations and Mediation Act (LMA). Brendan has a particular interest in labor relations with a strong training emphasis in labor law, employment law, labor relations, collective bargaining, labor history and contract negotiations.