Michelle Abidoye is a labor and employment partner with more than two decades of experience advising and defending employers in healthcare, aviation, logistics, retail, and other complex operating environments.
Drawing on experience as a union organizer, judicial law clerk, senior in-house labor executive, and outside counsel, Michelle brings a practical, 360-degree perspective to labor strategy, organizing campaigns, collective bargaining, strikes, grievances, arbitrations, and employment litigation.
Before returning to FordHarrison, Michelle held senior leadership roles in which she led enterprise-wide labor relations functions, built proactive labor strategies, managed high-stakes organizing campaigns, negotiated collective bargaining agreements, and guided organizations through strikes, corporate campaigns, and other intensive labor activity.
Most recently, Michelle served as Chief Labor Relations Officer and Vice President for a large, multi-state healthcare system, leading a 15-person labor relations team supporting more than 120,000 employees and 22 union-represented groups. She also led employee and labor relations for a major technology and e-commerce retailer across the U.S. and Canada, and held senior people and labor relations roles for a regional airline, where she negotiated Railway Labor Act agreements and managed complex grievance and arbitration matters.
Earlier in her career, Michelle represented employers in arbitrations, collective bargaining, and complex employment litigation, including wage and hour class actions and claims involving wrongful termination, retaliation, harassment, and discrimination.
Her early work as a union organizer with SEIU and UNITE HERE, including completion of the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute apprenticeship program, continues to inform her people-centered approach to labor strategy and union dynamics.