How to become Labor Relations Specialist in 2024

Labor Relations Specialist Resolve disputes between workers and managers, negotiate collective bargaining agreements, or coordinate grievance procedures to handle employee complaints.

Labor Relations Specialist is Also Know as

In different settings, Labor Relations Specialist is titled as

  • Arbitrator
  • Business Agent
  • Business Representative
  • Grievance Manager
  • Labor Relations Specialist
  • Labor Specialist

Education and Training of Labor Relations Specialist

Labor Relations Specialist is categorized in Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Labor Relations Specialist

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Education Required for Labor Relations Specialist

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Degrees Related to Labor Relations Specialist

Training Required for Labor Relations Specialist

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Labor Relations Specialist in different industries are

What Do Labor Relations Specialist do?

  • Advise management on matters related to the administration of contracts or employee discipline or grievance procedures.
  • Call or meet with union, company, government, or other interested parties to discuss labor relations matters, such as contract negotiations or grievances.
  • Draft contract proposals or counter-proposals for collective bargaining or other labor negotiations.
  • Draft rules or regulations to govern collective bargaining activities in collaboration with company, government, or employee representatives.
  • Identify alternatives to proposals of unions, employees, companies, or government agencies.
  • Interpret contractual agreements for employers and employees engaged in collective bargaining or other labor relations processes.
  • Investigate and evaluate union complaints or arguments to determine viability.
  • Mediate discussions between employer and employee representatives in attempt to reconcile differences.
  • Monitor company or workforce adherence to labor agreements.
  • Negotiate collective bargaining agreements.
  • Prepare and submit required governmental reports or forms related to labor relations matters, such as equal employment opportunity (EEO) forms, new hire forms, or minority compensation reports.
  • Prepare reports or presentations to communicate employee satisfaction or related data to management.
  • Present the position of the company or of labor during arbitration or other labor negotiations.
  • Propose resolutions for collective bargaining or other labor or contract negotiations.
  • Recommend collective bargaining strategies, goals, or objectives.
  • Review and approve employee disciplinary actions, such as written reprimands, suspensions, or terminations.
  • Review employer practices or employee data to ensure compliance with contracts on matters such as wages, hours, or conditions of employment.
  • Schedule or coordinate the details of grievance hearings or other meetings.
  • Write letters related to labor relations activities, such as letters to amend collective bargaining agreements, letters of dispute or conciliation, or letters to seek clarification of contract terms.
  • Assess risk levels associated with collective bargaining strategies.
  • Assess the impact of union proposals on company or government operations.
  • Develop employee health and safety policies.
  • Develop methods to monitor employee satisfaction with policies or working conditions, including grievance or complaint procedures.
  • Prepare evidence for disciplinary hearings, including preparing witnesses to testify.
  • Provide expert testimony in legal proceedings related to labor relations or labor contracts.
  • Research case law or outcomes of previous case hearings.
  • Select mediators or arbitrators for labor disputes or contract negotiations.
  • Train managers or supervisors on topics related to labor relations, such as working conditions, safety, or equal opportunity practices.

Qualities of Good Labor Relations Specialist

  • Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
  • Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
  • Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
  • Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
  • Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
  • Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
  • Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
  • Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
  • Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
  • Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
  • Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
  • Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
  • Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
  • Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
  • Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
  • Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
  • Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
  • Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
  • Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
  • Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
  • Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
  • Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
  • Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
  • Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
  • Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
  • Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
  • Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.

Tools Used by Labor Relations Specialist

  • Digital copiers
  • Handheld calculators
  • Image scanners
  • Laptop computers
  • Laser facsimile machines
  • Office inkjet printers
  • Personal computers

Technology Skills required for Labor Relations Specialist

  • Internet Grievance System IGS
  • Kubernetes
  • LaborSoft LaborForce Arbitration/Appeals Manager module
  • LaborSoft LaborForce Discipline Manager module
  • LaborSoft LaborForce EEO Claims Manager module
  • LaborSoft LaborForce Grievance Manager module
  • LaborSoft LaborForce Incident Tracking module
  • LaborSoft LaborForce Personnel Manager module
  • LaborSoft LaborForce Reporting/Dashboard Manager module
  • Micropact entellitrak Labor Relations Edition
  • Microsoft Access
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft SharePoint
  • Microsoft Word
  • Oracle PeopleSoft
  • Word processing software