SUSAN
MATTA
SHAREHOLDER
Practice Areas
Collective Bargaining
Grievance and Interest Arbitration
Unfair Labor Practice Proceedings
Union Administration
Union Organizing Campaigns
Representation Proceedings
ABOUT
Susan Matta is a partner with the firm and practices labor law, with a focus on representing firefighter clients. Her Union career began in 1995 when she entered the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute’s Apprenticeship program. After completion of that program, she worked for UFCW Local 951 as a union organizer, and worked on NLRB election campaigns and corporate pressure campaigns. After graduating from law school, Susan served as a Law Fellow with Service Employees International Union on a corporate pressure campaign against a local hospital chain, where she represented individuals who were sued for medical debt. Susan then served as the General Counsel for Service Employees International Union, Local 73 for almost ten years, where she represented both public and private employees. As in-house General Counsel, Susan gained invaluable and extensive knowledge of the institutional concerns and needs of Unions, conducted numerous trainings for both staff and members, and gained extensive experience representing the Local in negotiations, arbitrations, State and Federal Court, the National Labor Relations Board, Illinois Labor Relations Board, Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, Illinois Department of Human Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
In 2013, Susan transitioned to private practice with Carmell Charone Widmer Moss & Barr, where she became a partner, and represented firefighter clients almost exclusively. She is experienced at representing firefighter unions, small and large, in contract negotiations, contract enforcement, interest arbitration, unfair labor practice proceedings, and court litigation. In 2019, she joined the firm as a partner, where she continues to focus on representing firefighter clients. Although she is very passionate about representing unions in general, she is particularly drawn to representing firefighters because of the passion and commitment they demonstrate in their work.
Susan is a member of the American Bar Association. She also serves as an Advisory Committee Member for the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Law Conference and IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Kenneth M. Piper Memorial Lecture in Labor Law. Susan also has extensive experience speaking on labor law matters at the local and state level.