What does a labour relations representative do?
Labour relations representatives are professionals who act as advocates on behalf of employees to negotiate with the management or employer about contracts and other union goals in the workplace. These representatives must provide advice to the management and union officials about the development and interpretation of labor relations policies and practices. They must facilitate the training of new employees on labor relations as well as coordinate the creation of new training manuals. Labour relations representatives must also manage disputes and initiate cohesive relationships between the management and employees.
Labour relations representative responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real labour relations representative resumes:
- Manage employee files, grievances, and update HRIS database daily.
- Manage contract negotiations, contract administration, dispute resolution, settlement agreements, grievance handling, and grievance preparations for arbitration.
- Investigate all employee complaints including harassment and EEO violations.
- Document investigations for grievance/arbitration cases, ADA and EEO complaints.
- Identify and develop new member leaders for SEIU - UHW.
- Investigate requests for FMLA and medical leaves of absence, research various historical data trends.
- Reference FMLA, EEOC, ADA, and NLRA in order to execute the essential functions.
- Serve as a labor relations liaison including grievance mediation and ensuring CBA and legal rights are not violate.
- Support SEIU in gathering data for legislative action/lobbying.
- Develop relationships with representatives from all NYC tourist destinations.
- Mediate discussions between employer and employee representatives in attempt to reconcile differences.
- Present alternative approaches to resolving issues, along with advantages/disadvantages of options; facilitate mediation and redress.
- Represent individuals in administrative hearings, arbitration, and disciplinary proceedings; successfully defend appeals of employee termination and/or suspension.
- Represent company as spokesperson on government and community issues impacting business strategy with political, community, industry and civic organizations.
- Ensure staff are trained and knowledgeable of organizational requirements, operating procedures, and CBA.
Labour relations representative skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Labour Relations Representatives are proficient in Human Resources, Collective Bargaining Agreements, and Arbitration. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Writing skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Labour Relations Representatives that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Human Resources, 10%
Collaborate with Human Resources team to ensure effective two-way communication and awareness of issues.
- Collective Bargaining Agreements, 8%
Served as lead negotiator and administrator of network television news and film collective bargaining agreements for screenwriters.
- Arbitration, 7%
Represent individuals in administrative hearings, arbitration, and disciplinary proceedings; successfully defended appeals of employee termination and/or suspension.
- Collective Bargaining, 5%
Provided recommendations to senior management regarding interactions with the Union in order to avoid violating the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
- EEO, 4%
Collaborated with Knoxville Building and Construction Trade Unions to positively increase their EEO and safety statistics.
- Industrial Relations, 4%
Supported Corporate Industrial Relations Department that handled all contracts and labor relations for over 30 locations.
"human resources," "collective bargaining agreements," and "arbitration" are among the most common skills that labour relations representatives use at work. You can find even more labour relations representative responsibilities below, including:
Listening skills. One of the key soft skills for a labour relations representative to have is listening skills. You can see how this relates to what labour relations representatives do because "listening skills are essential for labor relations specialists." Additionally, a labour relations representative resume shows how labour relations representatives use listening skills: "communicated with all levels of management regarding enforcement of collective bargainingagreements. "
Writing skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling labour relations representative duties is writing skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "all labor relations specialists need strong writing skills to be effective at their job." According to a labour relations representative resume, here's how labour relations representatives can utilize writing skills in their job responsibilities: "manage the grievance process, respond to grievances in writing, and represent organization at hearings. "
Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of labour relations representatives is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday labour relations representative duties, as "specialists must be detail oriented when evaluating labor laws and maintaining records of an employee grievance." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "revamped training for labor relations and oriented the team on hris resources. "
Interpersonal skills. labour relations representative responsibilities often require "interpersonal skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "interpersonal skills are essential for labor relations specialists." This resume example shows what labour relations representatives do with interpersonal skills on a typical day: "utilize knowledge of principles and practices of personnel administration, effective oral and written communication skills, & excellent interpersonal skills. "
The three companies that hire the most labour relations representatives are:
- Ford Motor8 labour relations representatives jobs
- Cliffs2 labour relations representatives jobs
- United States Steel2 labour relations representatives jobs
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Compare different labour relations representatives
Labour relations representative vs. Industrial relations analyst
An employee relations specialist is someone who identifies the recruitment needs of employers. The specialist collects and analyzes employee data, organizes and updates employee files, and oversees employee orientation and training. Employee relations specialists promote colleges' majors to employers through mass mailings, off-site employer visits, and cold calls. They help with on-campus recruitment events and manage employment opportunity posting. The skills necessary for this job include customer service, communications skills, knowledge in software applications, and attention to detail.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between labour relations representatives and industrial relations analyst. For instance, labour relations representative responsibilities require skills such as "human resources," "collective bargaining agreements," "arbitration," and "collective bargaining." Whereas a industrial relations analyst is skilled in "policy issues," "cpt," "sql," and "product management." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that industrial relations analysts earn slightly differ from labour relations representatives. In particular, industrial relations analysts are 1.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a labour relations representative. Additionally, they're 6.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Labour relations representative vs. Industrial relations specialist
An Employee Relations Coordinator is responsible for supporting the human resources department operations, acting as a liaison between the senior management and employees. They facilitate the hiring process, coordinating with the hiring managers for their staffing needs and qualification requirements. They reach out to potential candidates, review applications, and schedule assessments and interviews with qualified applicants. An Employee Relations Coordinator must have excellent knowledge of the human resources disciplines to resolve issues immediately and update the employees on all the changes and updates with the company policies.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real labour relations representative resumes. While labour relations representative responsibilities can utilize skills like "human resources," "collective bargaining agreements," "collective bargaining," and "dispute resolution," industrial relations specialists use skills like "cba," "davis-bacon," "wage rates," and "labor organizations."
In general, industrial relations specialists achieve similar levels of education than labour relations representatives. They're 0.2% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 6.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Labour relations representative vs. Employee relations specialist
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, labour relations representatives are more likely to have skills like "human resources," "eeo," "dispute resolution," and "contract negotiations." But a employee relations specialist is more likely to have skills like "excellent interpersonal," "corrective action," "management system," and "customer service."
Employee relations specialists earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $62,671. Comparatively, labour relations representatives have the highest earning potential in the automotive industry, with an average salary of $89,720.employee relations specialists typically earn similar educational levels compared to labour relations representatives. Specifically, they're 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 5.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Labour relations representative vs. Employee relations coordinator
Types of labour relations representative
Updated January 8, 2025
