2026 Labor Relations/Human Resources Conference

An overview of the current state of the industry, the importance of labor relations and human resources professionals, and projections for the future.

This interactive training reveals the powerful role empathy plays in transforming workplace culture. Participants explore the two core forms of empathy—cognitive (understanding others’ perspectives) and emotional (feeling what others feel)—through engaging discussions, real-life scenarios, and science-based assessments that measure their personal empathy levels.

Framed as an innate superpower we all possess, this session shows how empathy enhances leadership, fosters deeper employee connections, and mitigates biases. By making the invisible visible, this training empowers participants to identify blind spots, improve communication, and build trust across the differences that divide organizations. Rooted in the belief that empathy is not a weakness but a form of wisdom, this experience inspires change from the inside out.

New technologies are reshaping how organizations manage work and access people data. As the environment evolves, a new question emerges: What does a fully empowered HR business partner look like?
This session highlights the core capabilities modern HRBPs must bring—strategic partnering, business knowledge, organizational design, talent insight, economic thinking, and challenging mindsets. It also explores how shifting transactional work to digital platforms creates the space for this evolution. Through Koch's journey, this session will show you how technology can enable supervisors, streamline decision-making, and create the bandwidth HR needs to operate as empowered, influential business partners.

J. Nicci Warr is a Partner at Stinson LLP and a formidable advocate in high-stakes antitrust and competition matters. She represents clients in complex litigation involving antitrust, consumer protection laws and intellectual property disputes, bringing a strategic focus to every engagement. With extensive courtroom experience and a strong record in sophisticated appellate matters, she provides clients with confident, effective representation at every stage of litigation.

Legal issues involving antitrust, trade practices and the competitive marketplace can be daunting. Antitrust enforcement agencies at the state and federal level—as well as the antitrust plaintiffs’ class action bar—have continued to increase scrutiny on employment and labor practices. This dynamic session will help participants understand and take action to mitigate antitrust risks that arise in the employment and labor context. Nicci will review trends in regulatory enforcement including challenges to wage and benefit benchmarking, investigations into the use of non-competes, and potential lawsuits related DEI programs. She will also discuss recent class actions alleging antitrust violations by employees. Participants will engage with the content through a real-time survey to help develop a deeper understanding of potential issues and best practices to mitigate risk.

A review of Empower, an employee engagement and advocacy program developed by AFPM designed to equip refining and petrochemical sector workers with the tools and information needed to share our story with local communities and policymakers.

Join a panel of labor and employment law professionals to explore the hidden legal landmines that may impact your workforce, from protected strikes in non-union workplaces to liability for the acts (and omissions) of onsite contractors.
The team will provide practical tips for avoiding liability and looks forward to questions from the audience.

This session will explore recent NLRA developments, enforcement trends, and policy considerations affecting today’s workplaces.
In house counsel and human resources professionals will gain insight into how these changes may impact employee relations, internal investigations, and workplace policies, along with practical guidance for mitigating risk.

Update and lessons learned from the Boeing Defense Strike Negotiations

Ania Krasniewska Shahidi, Global Advisory Services Leader in the Human Resource Practice at Gartner and Group Vice President, has extensive experience supporting clients as they benchmark performance against best-in-class organizations, and achieve critical business objectives through successful talent and functional strategies. Ania leads a team of 100+ executive advisors, specialists and executive education experts at Gartner and Chairs the Gartner HR Symposium conferences in Orlando, London and Sydney.

Ania’s relevant and insight-driven session at AFPM’s 2026 Labor Relations / Human Resources Conference entitled “Building Responsible AI: The HR Imperative” will equip CHROs and HR leaders with practical approaches to building and stewarding Responsible AI in their organizations. Covering ethical considerations, governing principles, latest benchmarks and developing practices from leading organizations, this discussion will help define how to approach strategies for governance, as well as pitfalls to avoid.

Phil Brzozowski, Marathon’s Vice President, HR, Labor & Employee Relations, is the lead negotiator in pattern bargaining with the United Steelworkers. Phil has more than 15 years of experience spanning arbitration, collective bargaining, litigation, industrial and labor relations, human resources, benefits administration and labor and employment law. His strategic leadership and deep expertise shape the high stakes negotiations with the United Steelworkers on behalf of our industry.

Join Phil for a powerful, insight driven session that goes beyond a standard negotiation recap. Drawing on his recent experience from the 2025–2026 bargaining cycle and the newly secured four-year national pattern agreement, Phil will break down the pivotal moments, strategic inflection points and behind the scenes dynamics that shaped the final outcomes. He’ll offer a rare, practitioner level look at how to balance risk, timing, leverage and workforce realities across large operations.

LRHR Committee transition announcements and close of conference.