By Olivia Anderson | oanderson@alextimes.com
The city announced the appointment of two labor relations positions, Chief Labor Relations Officer Kevin Stokes and Labor Relations Administrator Sean Rogers, to oversee implementation of Alexandria’s collective bargaining ordinance, according to a news release.
The appointments follow City Council’s adoption of a collective bargaining ordinance on April 17 that aims to strengthen the relationships between the city and its workers by allowing unions of specific employee groups to enter into a collective bargaining contract with the city on employment-related matters. Alexandria’s collective bargaining ordinance is a result of the General Assembly’s passage of a 2020 law that allows municipalities to establish their own collective bargaining procedures for city employees.
Stokes will act as the liaison to all departments regarding the collective bargaining process and implementation of its agreements. He earned a law degree from the University of Iowa and spent six years with D.C.’s Office of Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining where he represented agencies in collective bargaining and advised them on labor relations. Most recently, he served as interim general counsel for the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education, where he supervised the attorneys who were responsible for advising officials on employment and labor matters.
Rogers, who was appointed to a four-year term by a committee of representatives from employee organizations and City Manager designees, has exclusively practiced dispute resolution since 2003. Previously, he worked as the director of planning and policy division in the Office of Human Resources for Montgomery County, Maryland and the Internal Revenue Service as the chief negotiator for collective bargaining and impasse resolution. Rogers earned his law degree from Georgetown University and a masters in police science from American University.
Rogers entered his role on Oct. 19, and Stokes will assume his position on Dec. 13.
