Scheinman Advisory Board Spotlight: David Hyland - ILR Neutral-In-Residence
The Scheinman Institute’s Advisory Board is composed of leading figures in the field of conflict resolution, including esteemed arbitrator and mediator David Hyland. Recently he served as a Neutral-In-Residence at the ILR School.
David Hyland Education:
Cornell University School of Industrial & Labor Relations, B.S. 1986
CUNY School of Law, J.D. 1993
Professional Experience:
I started fresh out of ILR as a union organizer and administrator and spent nearly a decade representing building service employees, school support staff, communications workers and physicians. I moved to management-side labor relations in 1995 and spent the next 13 years representing the NYC Transit Authority in disciplinary and contract arbitrations and in major contract negotiations in 1999, 2002 and 2005. In 2008 I started my arbitration and mediation practice and currently serve on arbitration panels covering State and municipal employees and handle private sector cases administered by the American Arbitration Association.
What was your motivation to serve as Neutral-In-Residence at the ILR school?
I can’t think of many better privileges than being invited into classrooms to talk about my experience in labor relations and offer students a window into the day-to-day realities of what it’s like to serve as a labor arbitrator. It didn’t hurt that I already knew most of the faculty teaching the classes I visited. Frankly, I was not entirely sure when I accepted the invitation that I had enough to offer and was happily surprised to find out that I did. I would be delighted to know I played a small role in making this career path seem more accessible to these students.
How did your work with the Scheinman Institute Board influence this decision?
This is a working board whose members are actively engaged in the field and deeply interested in the growth of the Institute and attracting students who will end up being leaders in conflict resolution. Marty and Laurie Scheinman have promoted a culture of saying yes to opportunities to serve. I do my best to live up to it.
How did your being an alum of the ILR School influence you?
I have made a few decisions in my life that have truly changed its trajectory. The one I made at 17 – to apply to ILR – was one of them. I will always be indebted to ILR and the University. I recall my time as an undergraduate student. I suppose it’s inevitable that I would feel a kinship with current students.
What courses did you observe?
In the Fall of 2023, I presented in the Campus Mediation Practicum, ILRLR 2050 and 5000 (Labor Relations). In the Spring of this year I again presented in the Campus Mediation Practicum, and also presented in ILRLR 4028 (Mediating Organizational Conflicts), ILRLR4012 (Managing and Resolving Conflict), ILRLR 2050 (Labor Relations).
How did the students respond to the presentations?
Much of what I talked about was my own career trajectory – from union organizer/advocate to management side advocacy and my transition to become a full-time neutral. I also offered some studies from real cases that highlighted some of the opportunities and problems that face parties and neutrals, including decisions about how best to resolve conflicts through traditional arbitration vs. mediation. Students showed real sophistication about those kinds of choices, asked excellent questions and offered some solutions that had me taking notes. For me, that’s the best kind of class.
What did you learn from the students?
Part of this field involves learning a dialect we use in conflict resolution. It has developed over more than a century and continues to grow and change. Because much of what we do deals with the workplace, we are never cordoned off from the real world. The way we talk and write about issues necessarily must reflect societal changes within and outside of the workplace and, in the current moment at least, attempt to avoid further polarization. How we describe controversies and solutions matters. I left campus with a renewed sense that every conflict I am asked to adjudicate or resolve is a chance to rethink how and what I say and write.