Director, Labor Relations

About the role

Are you ready to explore a world of possibilities, both at work and during your time off? Join our American Airlines family, and you’ll travel the world, grow your expertise and become the best version of you. As you embark on a new journey, you’ll tackle challenges with flexibility and grace, learning new skills and advancing your career while having the time of your life. Feel free to enrich both your personal and work life and hop on board!

The Director, Labor Relations will support all aspects of the company’s relationship with their team’s union (APA, APFA, TWU‑IAM, etc.) and have responsibility for implementing, maintaining, and administering the collective bargaining agreement covering the affected union team members and other workgroups, as needed.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain a responsible relationship with union(s).
• Develop and maintain working partnerships with key work‑group senior leadership.
• Ensure company compliance with labor agreement rules, regulations and applicable laws; manage the administration and interpretation of collective bargaining agreements.
• Manage disputes and negotiate resolutions between union representatives and management.
• Provide prompt and effective support on labor‑related issues to management across multiple corporate departments.
• Develop and conduct labor relations training programs for management.
• Monitor and stay current with labor relations laws, trends and practices.
• Provide lead support to labor staff (managers, advisors) to ensure broad labor relations support to all departments within assigned groups.
• Support grievance handling, up to and including arbitration.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant studies such as Industrial Relations, or equivalent experience/training.
• 7 years of experience in Labor Relations, or operational leadership of frontline team members at an airline.
• Previous collective bargaining agreement and negotiations experience.
• Experience as a company representative or System Board member during arbitration, litigation, and/or government hearings.
• Experience in early dispute resolution strategy.
• Ability and willingness to travel as necessary.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree preferred; legal or labor‑related degree a plus.

Skills, Licenses, and Certifications

• Demonstrates the highest standards of ethics and integrity.
• Strategic thinking, skilled negotiation, ability to digest complex details and use sound judgment.
• Exceptional problem‑solving, analytical, and critical‑thinking ability.
• Highly collaborative; able to form consensus, build relationships, and work productively with a broad range of professionals.
• Effective advocacy and communication on behalf of American Airlines with external officials.
• Ability to build and facilitate long‑term relationships at all levels, internally and externally.
• Effective delegation, resource management, timely decision‑making, and awareness of decision impact.
• Strong time‑management, multitasking, and organizational skills.
• Flexibility to work a varied schedule.
• Commitment to staying current with industry practices and developments.
• Mentoring and relationship‑building skills; ability to manage group and interpersonal conflict.
• Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills; comfortable handling complex topics verbally and in writing.
• Ability to thrive in a fast‑paced, changing, and complex environment.
• Excellent organizational and project‑management skills.

Benefits

• Travel perks: access to 365 destinations on more than 6,800 daily flights for you, your family and friends.
• Health benefits: medical, dental, prescription, vision, virtual doctor visits, flexible spending accounts, and more starting day one.
• Wellness programs providing tools, resources, and support.
• 401(k) program with employer contributions available after one year, depending on workgroup.
• Additional benefits: Member Assistance Program, pet insurance, discounts on hotels, cars, cruises, and more.
• Inclusion and diversity initiatives, including 20+ Team Member Resource Groups.