Agenda
November 5, 2009
The National Hotel, South Beach
1677 Collins Avenue
Miami Beach, Florida

(Click here to register)
 
8:00 am - 9:00 am Breakfast
   
9:00 am - 9:10am Welcome and Introduction

Carolyn Knox, Executive Director, Ius Laboris
   
9:10 am - 10:20 am The Economic Crisis and Sporadic Recovery: Its Impact on Workplaces Throughout the Region
  The financial and economic crisis has left its mark on all aspects of
life in the Americas. This panel will take stock of the impact and the
response of both supranational organizations and national
governments, throughout the region, to the crisis and the design and
implementation for recovery.
   
  The Response of Governments and International Organizations

Brian Burkett, Heenan Blaikie (Canada) - Moderator
Eduardo J. Viñales, Funes de Rioja (Argentina)
Oscar de la Vega, Basham Ringe y Correa (Mexico)
Alfredo Hopgood, MConnell Valdés, LLC (Puerto Rico)
   
10:20 am - 10:30 am Break
   
10:30 am - 12:00 pm The Response of Employers in the Americas
  Senior company officials and leading practitioners in the
employment field will share with you the array of employer and
stakeholder responses to the economic crisis, as well as the
strategies and plans for recovery and renewed prosperity.
   
  Company Strategies and Stakeholder Responses

Mark Schneider, Littler Mendelson (US) - Moderator
Pat Burke, Vice President – Labor Relations, DHL
Manuel Cuevas, Lead Regional Counsel, Motorola
Juan Carlos Menció, Legal Counsel, LAN Cargo (US)
Enrique Munita, Philippi, Yrarrazaval, Pulido & Brunner (Chile)
   
Luncheon:
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm		 Keynote: The Right Honorable Jean Chrétien P.C., Q.C.
Prime Minister of Canada (1993-2004) and Counsel to
Heenan Blaikie (Canada)

Reflections of a Prime Minister: The Shape and Substance of
Things to Come
   
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm The Workplace Impact of Political Change in the U.S. and in
the Americas
  The trade union movement in the United States has been in a
steep decline for over four decades. Legislative reform, the
Employee Freedom of Choice Act (EFCA), is contemplated by the
Obama Administration to reverse this trend, along with other
initiatives and appointments. This panel will provide an update on
the status of the Obama Labor Agenda, including EFCA. They will
also draw on past and current experiences in other jurisdictions in
the Americas to describe the consequences, both intended and
unintended, that will likely befall the American workplace if the
Obama Labor Agenda comes to fruition.
   
  Arturo Ross, Littler Mendelson (US) - Moderator
Rafael Medina, Managing Counsel Latin America, Global Labor &
Employer Law, McDonalds Corporation
Ricardo Alpuche, Human Resources Director for Latin America, Nokia
Pedro Sosa, Araque Reyna Sosa Viso & Pittier (Venezuela)
Alvaro Cala, Brigard & Urrutia (Colombia)
Doug Gilbert, Heenan Blaikie (Canada)
   
3:00 pm - 3:15 pm Break
   
3:15 pm - 4:15 pm Movement Across the Americas – Shifting Work and/or Employees Within the Region
  Globalization contains within it the movement of people and work across national boundaries. Notwithstanding some regressive protectionist “voices” of late, it is a virtual certainty that the transfer of employees and tasks around the region will not only continue, but accelerate as economic recovery takes hold.
   
  John Craig, Heenan Blaikie (Canada) - Moderator
Radamés (Rudy) A. Torruella, MConnell Valdés, LLC (Puerto Rico)
Julio Contreras, Arosemena, Noriega & Contrera (Panama)
Malvina Longoria, Managing Regional Counsel, Latin America & 
Caribbean, Mastercard Worldwide
Jose Carlos Wahle, Veirano Advogados (Brazil)
   
4:15 pm - 4:45 pm Practical Responses for the Real World:  The Last Word
 
Peter Susser, Littler Mendelson (US)
Oscar de la Vega, Basham, Ringe y Correa (Mexico)
   
4:45 pm - 5:00 pm Concluding Remarks
  Roy L. Heenan, Founder and Chair, Heenan Blaikie (Canada)
The closing remarks will be made in both Spanish and English
 
5:00 pm Post-Program Reception