Stacey McKee Knight

Knight said she is often the only woman at the table when it comes to resolving traditional labor disputes. As a trailblazer, she was lead negotiator for freight hauler Toll Global Forwarding in working out the first California collective bargaining agreement between her client and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

So how does the gender disparity operate at the bargaining table? "They're nice guys," Knight said. "They negotiate by workforce committee. We get along." The long-running parlay opened when the union filed numerous unfair labor practices charges regarding operations at the Port of Long Beach and, in a separate East Coast matter, in New Jersey. The beefs were part of the Teamsters' effort to organize Toll's company drivers. The National Labor Relations Board dismissed or the union withdrew most of the claims, leading to lengthy talks between Toll management, its driver workforce and their union.

Once the California collective bargaining agreement was in place and it came time for renewal, Knight said, things went much more smoothly. "We negotiated an extension in record time. We were very far apart when we started, but we almost rocket docketed the talks. Both parties gave and got. We had learned there's benefit in getting rid of the posturing and getting a deal done." From its beginning in February, the deal was done and ratified by March 30, she said, calling the result "shockingly quick."

Knight was aware that speed was essential. "My client didn't want a disruption in operations and loss of productivity. We stripped away all the rhetoric and focused on what's relevant. We eliminated the white noise, and it was easier the second time because we had developed trust and rapport at the table."

She said she doesn't approach negotiations with all-male counterparties as a woman lawyer. "I come at it as a lawyer," she said. "How do we get there? My goal is to make them forget I'm a woman — except when it might benefit me, of course. There's certainly a shorter line for the restroom for me."

Things haven't gone so smoothly in the New Jersey talks, Knight said. Her client withdrew its recognition of the union base on the request of a majority in the bargaining unit, and the union challenged the withdrawal. "The Teamsters think what we're doing is unlawful," she said. "But we think we are reasonable." Trial of the issue before the board is set for August or September.

Knight said that despite her extensive work with truckers, she has never ridden in an 18-wheeler. "My heels are too high to get up in that cab," she said.

— John Roemer