Darin M. Dalmat

Bio

Recognizing the dignity of work, the hardship of economic struggle, and the power of working together, Darin vigorously advocates for workers and their unions. A seasoned litigator, Darin manages complex litigation and has prevailed at trial and at every appellate level. Combining sharp analysis with creative problem-solving, Darin seeks to identify, in seemingly settled areas of law, unexpected opportunities to advance workers' rights and hold employers accountable for their violations. His practice spans a variety of industries, with particular expertise in litigation, the Railway Labor Act, wage-and-hour law, and representation of unions in bankruptcy reorganizations. Darin is a Senior Contributor to onLabor.org and a Senior Editor of the leading RLA treatise.

Darin has also partnered with community organizations, such as OneAmerica, the D.C. Employment Justice Center, and the Public Justice Center.

Before joining the firm, Darin was a partner at James & Hoffman and in-house counsel to SEIU. He is the author of Bringing Economic Justice Closer to Home: The Legal Viability of Local Minimum Wage Laws Under Home Rule, 39 Colum. J.L. & Soc. Probs. 93 (2005).

Representative Work:

• Glacier Northwest v. Teamsters Local 174, 598 U.S. 771 (2023): Maintained the existing framework for federal labor preemption (Garmon preemption) along with broad protections for strikes that result in perishable products spoiling.
• Miller v. Sawant, 2024 WL 389924 (9th Cir. Aug. 22, 2024): Defended councilmember’s freedom to call the police killing of Che Taylor a “murder” indicative of “deeply unequal,” systemic “racial injustice.”
• Liang et al. v. Wash. Dept. of Soc. & Health Servs., No. 20-2-02506-34 (Thurston Cty. Super. Ct.); SEIU 775 v. Wash. Dep’t of Soc. & Health Servs., No. 97216-8 (Wash. Supreme Ct.); SEIU 775 v. Wash. Dept. of Soc. & Health Servs., No. 99659-8 (Wash. Supreme Ct.): Co-lead counsel in multi-year litigation that resulted in a $116 million class settlement on behalf of nearly 56,000 caregivers who provided personal care services to clients whose paid care hours were reduced by DSHS because of DSHS’s “shared benefit” rules and a settlement that ended administrative “shared benefit” rules that, according to home care workers and their union, shortchanged caregiver wages.
• Karstetter v. King County Corrections Guild, 23 Wn. App. 2d 361, 516 P.3d 415 (2022), rev. denied, 200 Wn.2d 1024, 522 P.3d 46 (2023): Obtained and defended summary judgment for union against claims by former attorney for wrongful termination and breach of contract—ending seven years of litigation.
• Airlines for America v. Washington Dep't of Labor & Indus., 859 Fed. Appx. 181 (9th Cir. 2021): Defended flight attendants’ and pilots’ right to paid sick leave under Washington law, against airlines’ constitutional and preemption challenges.
• Columbia Export Terminal, LLC v. ILWU, 2 F.4th 1243 (9th Cir. 2021): Defended union and 154 employees against RICO claims alleging mail-and-wire fraud based on CBA-based wage claims.
• Freedom Foundation v. Teamsters Local 117 Segregated Fund, 197 Wn.2d 116, 480 P.3d 1119 (2021): On a matter of first impression, defended unions from harassing campaign-finance litigation; established that private organization failed to comply with statutory prerequisites for citizen’s action.
• SEIU 775 v. Evergreen Freedom Foundation, No. 16-2-12945-5 SEA (King Cty. Super. Ct. Nov. 24, 2020): Obtained summary judgment for union against anti-union organization that conspired with a former union staffer to wrongfully traffic in the union’s confidential data.
• SEIU 775 v. State of Washington, No. 97216-8 (2020): Obtained direct review of regulation that required home care workers to work without pay when agency determined they shared in the benefit of the work they provided their home-care clients—resulting in a settlement that eliminated the agency’s rule.
• Alaska Airlines, Inc. v. Schurke, 898 F.3d 904 (9th Cir. 2018) (en banc), cert. denied 139 S. Ct. 1445 (2019): Defended flight attendants' rights to paid family care against RLA preemption challenge.
• Murray v. Amalgamated Transit Union, 719 Fed. Appx. 5 (D.C. Cir. 2018): Defended union at trial against LMRDA claims and sustained verdict on appeal.
• Salinas v. Commercial Interiors, Inc., 848 F.3d 125 (4th Cir. 2017): Established joint employer liability against a general contractor—an issue of first impression in the Fourth Circuit.
• ASII v. IAM, District Lodge 160, 2017 WL 11140352 (D. Alaska Aug. 22, 2017): Defeated strike injunction sought by ASII against fuelers based on lack of RLA jurisdiction—resulting in CBA.
• Herrera v. Command Security Corp., 837 F.3d 979 (9th Cir. 2016): Established enforceability of status quo claims by voluntarily recognized union—issue of first impression nationwide.
• ASII v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, Local 117, 779 F.3d 1069 (9th Cir. 2015) (en banc): Vacated strike injunction against unrepresented fuelers because carrier failed to take reasonable efforts to settle dispute— issue of first impression nationwide.
• In re AMR Corp., 477 B.R. 384 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Aug. 15, 2012): Defeated American's Section 1113 motion to reject CBA in bankruptcy.