Government Attorneys, Lobbyists - Albany, N.Y.

Richard D. Winsten

Law Practice
Richard D. Winsten, Co-Chair of Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C.’s Government Relations practice, has been a Member of the firm since 1993, having joined as an associate in 1987. With his practice based in the New York State capital of Albany, Mr. Winsten has significant and longstanding relationships with members of the State Legislature, State agencies, and all levels of State government. He has been a registered and active New York State Lobbyist since 1978.

Mr. Winsten’s major clients include the following:

Garment Industry Development Corporation
Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), with a membership of 1.5 million employees and 120,000 retirees in health care, public employment, building services, industrial and allied industries
SEIU Local 200 United
Workers United SEIU
Teamsters Local 237
CWA 1180
The New York State AFL-CIO
Workers Compensation Alliance Injured Workers Bar Association
The New York State Workers’ Compensation Bar Association
The Actors’ Fund of America
Freelancers Union
Amalgamated Bank
Amalgamated Life Insurance Company
The Consortium for Worker Education
Domestic Workers United
Major League Baseball Players Association
Writers Guild of America East
Public Utility Law Project
NY Committee on Occupational Safety and Health
Mount Sinai Occupational Health Clinic

Professional Profile
Prior to joining Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C., Mr. Winsten was the Director of Legislation and Research for the New York State AFL-CIO. In that capacity, he was the chief lobbyist for the two million member labor federation, responsible for legislative program development, bill drafting, and negotiation. In 1984, he enacted an occupational disease statute, and in 1985, he helped create a $4.8 million safety and health training program. Previously, Mr. Winsten was the Director and Counsel of the Albany Legislative Office of District Counsel 37, AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. There, he was a lobbyist on issues affecting New York City public employees. He was also responsible for drafting most legislation and was a vocal advocate and a frequent writer of newsletter articles. During this time, Mr. Winsten drafted New York State Public Employee OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) legislation which became law in June 1980. He also acted as chief negotiator of legislation for the New York State Public Employee Conference.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Winsten held many positions involving lobbying, legislative initiatives, union representation, legal counsel, budget analysis, and political action consulting. He was the Assistant Political Director of District Council 37, the largest public employee union in New York City; Washington Legislative Representative of District Council 37; and Legislative Fiscal Analyst, Legislative Analyst and Budget Analyst to New York State Assembly staff of the Majority Ways and Means Committee.

Board and Committee Appointments
Mr. Winsten is Chairman of the Board of the New York State Public Utility Law Project, a legal services backup center for representation of low income consumers of telephone, electric, gas and other utility services. He has served as a Member of the Board since 1989. He has been a member of the New York State Temporary Commission to Study Workers’ Compensation Rates since 1991, having been appointed by the Governor upon recommendation of the Speaker of the Assembly. Among Mr. Winsten’s other gubernatorial appointments are his positions on the New York State Industrial Cooperation Council, the Temporary State Commission on Workers’ Compensation and Disability Benefits, and the New York State Occupational Safety and Health Hazard Abatement Board.

Professional Affiliations
Mr. Winsten was an Adjunct Professor at Baruch College for over ten years, teaching “Political Setting of Public Bureaucracies” in the Executive Masters in Public Administration Program. He was an Associate Professor at the Long Island University Graduate School of Public Administration, teaching “Public Sector Labor Relations,” “Personnel Administration,” and “Labor, Government and Politics,” and also taught at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations. In 1985, Mr. Winsten was selected as the John J. McCloy/American Council on German Labor Fellow, studying trade union movement in West Germany.

Admissions
Mr. Winsten is admitted to practice law in New York State.