Richard G. "Rick" Poulson

Richard G. Poulson has been representing labor unions since the inception of his career. His practice includes collective bargaining, interest and grievance arbitration and employment-related litigation. Rick specializes in advising and representing police, fire, paramedic and other uniformed employees regarding municipal affairs and public employment.

Hailing from a proud labor tradition – his father was a Philadelphia firefighter and his mother was a teacher – Rick’s labor advocacy helps unions improve the lives of working families in areas such as safe working conditions, occupational injury and illness and political action. Utilizing the collective bargaining process, including interest arbitration, Rick and his colleagues have secured groundbreaking safe-staffing, training and equipment protections for firefighters, paramedics and other public safety workers throughout Pennsylvania. Rick is also adept at directing multifaceted campaigns to obtain legal protections for workers who have become sick or injured at work. The campaigns, which involve negotiation, litigation, legislative initiatives and public relations efforts, have benefited a wide range of union members, from firefighters stricken with Hepatitis C or occupational cancers to private-sector workers facing the long-term effects of asbestos exposure.

In addition to his busy practice, Rick lectures and trains labor organizations and attorneys nationwide on utilizing state-of-the-art methods to secure improved safety and health protections for public safety workers. He has instructed at the AFL-CIO Lawyers’ Coordinating Committee Educational Seminar, American Arbitration Association Arbitrator Education Series, Pennsylvania State University Labor Education Program, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Union Leadership Academy and the Pennsylvania State University OSHA Institute, to name just a few organizations.

Rick earned his B.A. from La Salle University, having attended on an academic scholarship. He excelled as a law student at Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, where in addition to graduating cum laude, he was the associate editor of the Journal of Contemporary Health Law and Policy, vice-chancellor of the Moot Court Association and president of the ABA Law Student Division.