In 1937 a group of forward-thinking employers in San Francisco, recognized the need to join together in an employers’ association to professionalize their labor relations with unionized employees and thus began IEDA. A variety of private sector employers have come to IEDA for representation since then. In 1968, following the enactment of the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, California’s public sector collective bargaining statute, IEDA began representing public employers as well.

Today IEDA is one of the largest associations of its kind in the United States, representing more than 150 private and public sector employers, and dealing with more than 150 different local unions. Membership is diverse, and includes for profit manufacturing, food processing and distributing operations, nonprofit organizations, cooperative enterprises, cities, counties, courts and special districts. IEDA has earned an enviable reputation among public jurisdictions as the most effective professional negotiators and now represents more public agencies for labor relations purposes in Northern California than any other employer group or law firm.

For a fraction of the cost of hiring management consultants, maintaining a lawyer on retainer, or bringing a human resource professional on staff, IEDA employers gain expert advice and assistance in a variety of areas: labor relations, human resource management including preparation of policy and procedure manuals, benefit administration, and training. An extensive reference library on labor relations and personnel matters is available to management.