Partner
Contact Information
P: 312-818-6700
F: 312-492-4804
E: [email protected]
Attorney's Practice Areas
Labor & Employment
Workers' Compensation / Personal Injury
Consumer Law
Municipal Law
Education
- John Marshall Law School
- Arizona State University
Court Admissions
- State of Illinois
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Jon Magna is a Partner at CTM Legal Group. Jon has been part of CTM Legal Group for approximately ten years. Jon concentrates his practice on labor law, employment law and employee benefits law.
Jon represents unions and their members in various circumstances, including serving as counsel to executive boards, grievances and arbitrations, representation at the labor board, contract negotiations, contract compliance, and individual legal matters such as employment discrimination. Jon also serves as legal counsel to various multiemployer health and welfare, pension, and legal and educational assistance funds in the Chicagoland area. In this role Jon guides funds with legal compliance issues, serves as collections counsel, drafts summery plan descriptions, plan documents and trust agreements.
Prior to joining CTM Legal Group, Jon began his career as a research specialist for an economic research and consulting firm. Jon then moved into the labor arena and has over a decade of experience with Chicago labor unions. Jon served as a business agent for the Teamsters Union and simultaneously went to law school at night. Jon also served as a trustee on three Taft-Hartley benefit funds. Jon received his bachelor's degree from Arizona State University and graduated cum laude from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago where he received his Juris Doctor.
During Jon's career he has served a wide variety of union members including drivers, warehouse employees, package car drivers, over the road drivers, parking lot attendants, soft drink industry employees, liquor, beer, wine and spirts employees, hotel employees, trade show employees, security officers, construction employees, studio mechanics, movie drivers, pharmacists, paratransit employees, blood service employees, railway employees, tow truck drivers, garbage drivers, police officers, and various state, county and local public employees.
Jon helped create multiemployer benefit funds from the ground up, including retirement funds, legal funds, and educational assistance funds. These benefit funds provide employees with retirement benefits, provide employees legal services paid for by the fund for everyday needs of working people. With the excessive cost of college education, the educational assistance funds provide significant tuition assistance for participants, their spouses, and dependents.
Jon utilizes a progressive strategy when negotiating union contracts. Jon uses a transparent process that keeps the members informed of progress during each negotiation session. The strength of the contract comes from the unity and strength of the membership. An informed membership allows members to understand the process that the contract committee took to reach the final agreement, which leads to high contract passage rates. Additionally, if a strike becomes necessary this transparency process promotes keeping the membership unified and strong. Utilizing this strategy, Jon has secured hundreds of millions of dollars for working families through contract negotiations.
In addition to his role as counsel to various labor organizations, Jon is a frequent lecturer at training seminars for members, stewards, business agents, organizers, and union leaders. Having worked a business agent, Jon is able to draw on his unique experience to provide union representatives with effective guidance to better serve the membership and the union.
Professional Affiliations:
AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee
Chicago Bar Association
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Funds
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