Photo of Michael Kratochvil

Michael Kratochvil is an associate in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Labor-Management Relations & Sports Groups. Michael represents unionized and non-unionized employers in all stages of labor-management relations and in proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board.

Michael’s labor-management relations experience spans a variety of industries including healthcare, entertainment, production and manufacturing, higher education, and various service industries. His work involves bargaining units of all sizes represented by labor organizations such as SEIU, Teamsters, UAW, IUOE, UFCW, CWA and many others.

While in law school, Michael interned for Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker in the Southern District of New York and was a student volunteer field examiner at Region 2 of the National Labor Relations Board.

UPDATE: On October 6, 2026, as expected, Residential Assistants United Rising withdrew its petition to represent RAs at Stanford University, rather than risk Columbia being overturned or limited in scope.

* * *

A university may be gearing up to challenge the Columbia standard, which held that graduate student teaching…

On August 26, 2026, NLRB General Counsel Crystal Carey issued Memorandum GC 26-04, following the historic trend from recent predecessors, indicating the NLRB precedent she has asked or will ask the Board to revisit. Newly appointed General Counsels often look to overturn decisions rendered by the prior administration, so…

On February 27, 2026, the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB” or the “Board”) General Counsel, Crystal Carey, issued General Counsel Memorandum 26-03 (“GC 26-03”), which provides directives to NLRB Regional Offices concerning unfair labor practice (“ULP”) case processing. Among other things, GC 26-03 encourages Regional Offices to be less aggressive…

As an update to our previous blog, on January 28, 2026, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “the Board”) issued further guidance clarifying GC 26-01, explaining that the new docketing protocol is intended only as a practical adjustment to improve efficiency and is not meant to alter the…

On January 15, 2026, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) issued its first published decision with a new quorum. In Satellite Healthcare, 374 N.L.R.B. No. 25, the Board held that Regional Directors (“RDs”) retain their delegated authority even when the Board lacks a quorum, and…

On December 23, 2025, in one of his final acts in the role, then National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) Acting General Counsel (“Acting GC”) William B. Cowen quietly released General Counsel Memorandum GC 26-01, modifying the procedure for processing unfair labor practice charges filed after October 1…

On December 18, 2025, the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointments of Members Scott Mayer and James Murphy, and General Counsel (“GC”) Crystal Carey, to the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”).  Eleven months after Member Gwynne Wilcox’s unprecedented firing, the Board has regained a three-Member quorum and…