Labor Relations Manager

Position Summary

The Labor Relations Manager is responsible for the administration, interpretation, and strategic support of the organization's collective bargaining agreements and labor relations programs across a highly complex, multi-site unionized environment. This position serves as a key labor relations leader supporting operations within aerospace, industrial engineering, aviation maintenance, logistics, manufacturing, and government services programs. Reporting directly to the Senior Labor Relations & HR Compliance Manager, the Labor Relations Manager partners with operational leadership, Human Resources, Legal, Contracts, Program Management, and union representatives to ensure effective administration of collective bargaining agreements, consistent application of labor policies, operational continuity, and mitigation of labor-related risk. The role supports labor relations activities impacting more than 1,500 (+) unionized employees across multiple bargaining units and geographic locations and assists in the administration of more than 50(+) collective bargaining agreements involving various national and local labor organizations. The Labor Relations Manager plays a critical role in grievance administration, investigations, negotiations, arbitration preparation, workforce transitions, and union engagement initiatives in support of enterprise operational objectives. This position requires strong labor law knowledge, operational business acumen, advanced conflict resolution capabilities, and the ability to effectively operate within high-pressure, mission-critical government contracting environments.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

• Labor Relations Administration: Administer and interpret collective bargaining agreements across multiple business units, operational sites, and bargaining units to ensure consistent application of contractual obligations and labor policies. Serve as a primary point of contact for labor relations matters involving supervisors, managers, union representatives, employees, and HR business partners. Provide guidance and recommendations to operational leadership regarding contract interpretation, disciplinary actions, investigations, attendance matters, workforce scheduling, overtime administration, reductions in force, and employee relations concerns. Partner with site leadership to ensure compliance with collective bargaining obligations while maintaining operational effectiveness and customer support requirements. Conduct labor relations investigations involving grievances, disputes, workplace concerns, policy violations, and potential contract violations. Prepare grievance responses, settlement proposals, labor correspondence, management briefs, and arbitration support documentation. Support grievance resolution efforts through informal discussions, labor-management meetings, mediation activities, and settlement negotiations. Track and maintain grievance, arbitration, bargaining, and labor relations metrics and reporting tools.
• Collective Bargaining Support: Support the Senior Labor Relations & HR Compliance Manager in collective bargaining negotiations, effects bargaining, memorandums of agreement (MOAs), memorandums of understanding (MOUs), and successor contract transitions. Participate in bargaining preparation activities, including proposal development, costing analysis coordination, operational impact assessments, and strategic planning. Assist with development of bargaining summaries, contract comparison analyses, labor costing information, and negotiation tracking documents. Coordinate and maintain labor relations calendars, bargaining schedules, notice requirements, and contract expiration tracking systems. Support implementation of newly ratified collective bargaining agreements and associated operational communication plans.
• Investigations, Discipline & Arbitration Support: Conduct and support workplace investigations involving potential misconduct, policy violations, attendance concerns, safety violations, and employee complaints. Review disciplinary actions for contractual compliance, consistency, just cause standards, procedural adherence, and risk mitigation. Assist in preparation for arbitration hearings, unfair labor practice matters, mediations, and administrative proceedings. Coordinate documentation, witness preparation, investigatory records, and case summaries in partnership with legal counsel and labor leadership. Support labor-related responses involving National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) matters and other labor agency inquiries.
• Operational & Strategic Partnership: Partner closely with operational leadership to proactively identify labor risks, workforce concerns, staffing challenges, and employee relations trends. Support workforce transition activities associated with government contract start-ups, recompetes, successor employer obligations, and organizational restructuring initiatives. Provide labor relations training and coaching to managers and supervisors regarding collective bargaining administration, investigatory practices, employee communications, and labor compliance expectations. Promote collaborative labor-management relationships while maintaining the organization's operational and strategic objectives. Assist in development and implementation of enterprise labor relations policies, procedures, templates, and best practices.
• Supervisory Responsibilities: May provide guidance and direction to Labor Relations Specialists, HR Generalists, or site-level HR personnel supporting labor-related functions. May lead project teams or cross-functional initiatives related to labor administration, bargaining preparation, or workforce transitions.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Labor Relations, Industrial Relations, Business Administration, Employment Law, or related field required. Master's degree or advanced labor relations certification preferred.
• Experience: Minimum of 5–8 years of progressive labor relations experience within unionized environments. Demonstrated experience administering collective bargaining agreements and handling grievances, investigations, and labor-management relations matters. Minimum 1 year negotiation experience as chief negotiator. Experience handling 10+ CBAs. Arbitration and mediation experience preferred. Experience within government contracting, defense, aerospace, industrial manufacturing, logistics, aviation maintenance, or similarly regulated industries. Working knowledge of federal labor and employment laws, including the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), Service Contract Act (SCA), Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and related employment regulations.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong understanding of labor relations principles, collective bargaining administration, grievance handling, and labor law fundamentals.
• Ability to interpret complex collective bargaining agreements and apply contractual language in operational environments.
• Strong investigative, analytical, organizational, and conflict resolution skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to draft professional labor correspondence and executive summaries.
• Ability to manage sensitive and confidential matters with professionalism and discretion.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build credibility and maintain effective working relationships with leadership, employees, union representatives, and business partners.
• Ability to prioritize multiple high-impact matters simultaneously in fast-paced operational environments.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, HRIS systems, labor tracking systems, and case management tools.

Preferred Requirements

• Experience supporting large, geographically dispersed unionized workforces.
• Experience within mission-critical government operations or industrial service environments.
• Demonstrated ability to manage high-volume labor relations activity in complex operational settings.
• Strong understanding of workforce transition issues associated with government contracts and successor employer obligations.
• Ability to effectively balance labor relations strategy, operational needs, employee engagement, and risk mitigation.

Scope & Impact

The Labor Relations Manager plays a critical role in maintaining productive labor-management relationships, minimizing organizational risk, supporting operational continuity, and ensuring consistent administration of collective bargaining obligations across the enterprise. This role directly contributes to workforce stability, operational readiness, customer satisfaction, and the organization's overall labor strategy within a highly regulated and operationally demanding environment. Works in a professional office environment providing administrative and operational support across departments. Duties may include coordinating communications, maintaining records, scheduling, data entry, document preparation, customer service, and general clerical support. Work is typically performed in a fast-paced setting requiring strong organizational skills, attention to detail, confidentiality, and the ability to manage multiple priorities while using standard office equipment and computer software.