Ken Margolies and Jim Potterton have been working as recruiting consultants for the labor movement for over 30 years.
We are now, Margolies, Potterton and Associates Union Search, LLC. We have added a diverse group of Associates to increase our reach and handle a significant increase in demand for searches.
We do searches for positions from entry to top level for unions and associations at the local, regional and national/international levels.
We are proud of our excellent record of finding and placing a diversity of candidates who are working throughout the labor movement.
- We come from the labor movement and understand its staffing needs
- We have extensive contacts in the labor movement including 1000's through social media.
- We have the time, experience and persistence to keep at it until we find worthy job candidates.
- Experienced union staff considering a job change call us for confidential advice and assistance.
Why We Are Successful
Why We Are Successful
Depending on your needs we can help you find, screen, interview, evaluate and hire excellent staff
Depending on your needs we can help you find, screen, interview, evaluate and hire excellent staff
JIM POTTERTON has a long association with the labor movement both as a union staff member and organizational development consultant. He began offering executive recruiting services to unions in the mid-1980's adapting a search and selection model used by government agencies to hire key executives.
Jim previously served as an organizer with SEIU in the Midwest and California. For over thirty-five years he worked as a labor educator and social psychology professor at San Jose City College. He has a graduate degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology (Southern Illinois University) and a doctorate in Organizational Leadership from the University of California Santa Barbara.
He is a retired member of AFT Local 6157. Jim lives in Santa Cruz, CA.
Jim is a Founding Partner of UnionSearch, Margolies, Potterton & Associates.
About Us
KEN MARGOLIES has worked in the labor movement all his adult life. A rank and file member of the teamsters he graduated from Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. His first job on a union staff was with SEIU Local 715 in San Jose where Ken and Jim Potterton met.
Ken's career included working as National Bargaining Representative for the Association of Flight Attendants, Organizing Coordinator and Director at CWA and then 30 years at The Worker Institute at Cornell University in NYC.
At Cornell he provided training, consulting and facilitation to unions in every sector. His specialities are organizing, diversity, collective bargaining, staff and leadership training and managing union staff.
While at Cornell, Ken took a leave to work as Education Director at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters during the presidency of Ron Carey where Ken worked with Patricia Johnson.
He has a BS in Industrial Relations from Cornell, a MS in Labor Studies from the University of the District of Columbia and an MPS from Cornell.
Ken is a Founding Partner of UnionSearch, Margolies, Potterton & Associates.
kenmargolies@unionsearch.org
kenmargolies@unionsearch.org
PATRICIA JOHNSON worked for twelve years at International Brotherhood of Teamsters headquarters in the Research Department, the Contracts Department and performing corporate research for organizing campaigns and collective bargaining.
She helped her coworkers organize into OPEIU Local 2 and served on the bargaining committee.
When she worked as the office manager in the Teamsters Education Department she worked with Ken, where she found her passion as a Labor Educator. In this role, she trained organizers, shop stewards, business agents and local union leaders.
She was also lead trainer on a joint venture between Teamsters Canada and the Canadian Ministry of Labour, where she helped design training materials and taught Arbitration Techniques to Teamsters Canada business agents coast to coast from Vancouver, BC to St Johns, Newfoundland.
Pat was an officer in the US Army Reserve, serving as a combat medic.
Pat is a Partner and Business Manager of UnionSearch, Margolies, Potterton & Associates.
patjohnson@unionsearch.org
patjohnson@unionsearch.org
DEBBIE SCHWOCH-SWOBODA began her career as a teacher and local union leader in Wisconsin public schools followed by 17 years of service as a union advocate with the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), an NEA affiliate. At WEAC, she was a negotiation specialist for, advising local leaders and staff related to economic/taxation/benefit issues.
She joined the staff of the National Education Association (NEA) as an organizational specialist. She worked across the country in a range of complex growth, organizing and cutting edge approaches to growing leadership skills, bringing together parties and communities around issues that were focused on strengthening public schools.
At NEA Debbie moved up to Associate Director of the National Council for State Education Associations (NCSEA), and a year later until her retirement, was promoted to Executive Director. In this role, she worked with the NEA Center for Organizing to support the success of NEA’s 51 state affiliates and specifically, their leadership teams of state presidents and executive directors. She was responsible for assisting with executive transition in the state affiliates (developing a hiring process for state executives and managers, onboarding executives and presidents and facilitating strong partnerships between all.
Having worked with Margolies, Potterton while at NEA, Debbie developed a professional working relationship that grew into a close friendship.
She shares a deep commitment to education, unionism, and social justice. She is dedicated to continuing to help unions succeed in an ever-changing and challenging environment.
Debbie is now a Partner of UnionSearch, Margolies, Potterton & Associates
UnionSearch.org is expanding and improving our reach with NEW PARTNER Debbie Schwoch-Swoboda
Continuing our strategy of increasing our capacity to conduct searches to fill staff positions at unions, social justice organizations and nonprofits, we have asked Associate, Debbie Schwoch-Swoboda to become a partner at Magolies, Potterton and Associates, UnionSearch.org.