Experience that shapes practical advocacy
Going AWOL brings together experienced arbitrators and labor relations professionals committed to practical, accessible advocacy in labor arbitration.
Our team has worked as advocates, arbitrators, trainers, and practitioners, bringing firsthand experience from labor–management relationships to every program we deliver.
We emphasize clarity, preparation, and sound judgment, helping others develop the practical skills needed for effective advocacy.
Practical experience. Clear guidance. Effective advocacy.
Charlene MacMillan
Arbitrator, Advocacy Trainer & Labor Relations Professional
Charlene MacMillan brings more than three decades of labor relations experience to her work as an arbitrator. Her background includes extensive experience as a labor relations professional and advisor, and chief negotiator in both the public and private sectors.
As an advocate, Charlene has handled a wide range of matters, including grievance arbitration, administrative appeals, disciplinary actions, and collective bargaining disputes. Her experience includes developing negotiation strategies, drafting and interpreting collective bargaining agreements, and advising on complex labor and employment issues.
She is known for her ability to translate complex issues into clear, actionable guidance, and provides training for both labor and management advocates. Her work emphasizes the practical realities of collective bargaining and dispute resolution, and she is known for her ability to translate complex issues into clear, actionable guidance. She enjoys providing training to labor and management advocates.
She is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators and serves on a number of arbitration panels.
Experience
30+ years in labor relations
Practice areas
Grievance, discipline, collective bargaining
Membership
National Academy of Arbitrators
Trainings
Labor & management advocates
Page A. Todd, Esq.
Arbitrator, Speaker & Labor Relations Professional
Page A. Todd brings a multi-faceted approach to arbitration as an experienced neutral factfinder, mediator, union advocate, and management representative. With over twenty years in labor–management relations, she builds strong rapport with her clients, excels at contract and policy interpretation, and issues well-reasoned decisions and awards.
She currently serves as a Labor Relations Adjudicator, Mediator, and Trainer with the Public Employment Relations Commission, State of Washington, administering statutes covering nearly half a million public sector employees. She is also the owner of NW Arbitration Services, providing private arbitration and labor law training for both private and public sector employers and bargaining units.
Page has also served as Executive Director of the Vancouver Education Association, Senior Labor Negotiator at the University of Washington, and has presented at numerous conferences including the National Academy of Arbitrators Annual Meeting and Education Conference.
Experience
20+ years in labor-management relations
Panels
California, Montana, Alaska arbitration panels
Education
J.D., Seattle University School of Law
Presenter
NAA Annual Meeting & Education Conference
Richard (Rick) Bales
Law Professor, Arbitrator, Author, Speaker & Labor Relations Professional
Richard (Rick) Bales is a faculty member at Ohio Northern University Law School, where he teaches labor and employment law and alternative dispute resolution. He also serves as a labor arbitrator and has issued more than 200 arbitration awards in both the public and private sectors.
Rick’s hearings are relatively informal but carefully managed; advocates are not expected to use particular “magic words” to introduce exhibits or preserve evidentiary objections. He generally admits questionable evidence for what it is worth, while giving advocates practical guidance about its likely significance, and he rarely asks substantive questions except to clarify the record. He allows advocates to control the presentation of their cases, remains closely engaged throughout the hearing, redirects testimony when it becomes tangential or repetitive, and is willing to begin early or continue late so that no party feels rushed.
Rick’s awards provide parties with a clear, fully reasoned explanation of how the record, the collective bargaining agreement, and the parties’ arguments lead to the result. He examines the evidence closely, enforces contractual and procedural protections, and decides each case independently rather than according to any predictable management or union orientation. He also considers the practical administration of the agreement and the parties’ continuing relationship, particularly when shaping an appropriate remedy.
Awards issued
200+ arbitration awards
Books
Authored 10 books on labor/arbitration.
Membership
National Academy of Arbitrators
Authored 120+ academic articles and essays.
Articles
Sylvia Skratek
Mediator, Arbitrator, Dispute Systems Designer & Labor Relations Professional
Sylvia Skratek is a mediator, arbitrator, and dispute systems designer with decades of experience in labor relations and dispute resolution. She has served on numerous arbitration and mediation panels, including panels administered by FMCS, AAA, and other organizations in the United States, Canada and Switzerland.
Sylvia’s experience spans a wide range of industries including airlines, major league sports, international sports, public sector employers, and private organizations. She has served as a grievance arbitrator, unjust dismissal adjudicator, and mediator in complex labor and public policy disputes.
In addition to her work as a neutral, Sylvia has extensive experience as a labor relations professional and has developed and taught graduate level courses in conflict resolution, contract negotiations and administration, organizational effectiveness and interpersonal relations.
She has served as a facilitator of Joint Labor Management Committees for major corporations and their respective unions throughout the United States. She has also designed and delivered Dispute Resolution training programs for Employers and their Unions
She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Michigan with an emphasis on labor relations and conflict resolution.
Panels
FMCS, AAA — United States, Canada & Switzerland
Membership
National Academy of Arbitrators
Leaderships
Leadership roles within NAA
Experience
40+ years in labor relations
A collaborative approach to training
We collaborate to design and deliver training tailored to each program. Depending on its size and focus, one or more team members may be involved, bringing diverse perspectives while maintaining a consistent focus on practical, effective advocacy.