Education:
33%
Bachelor's Degree
10%
Some College Courses
Labor Relations Specialist
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Job Outlook:
Little or no change
Education:
Bachelor's degree
Salary
High:
$131,660.00
Average:
$87,470.00
Hourly
Average:
$42.05
What they do:
Resolve disputes between workers and managers, negotiate collective bargaining agreements, or coordinate grievance procedures to handle employee complaints.
On the job, you would:
- Negotiate collective bargaining agreements.
- Investigate and evaluate union complaints or arguments to determine viability.
- Propose resolutions for collective bargaining or other labor or contract negotiations.
Important Qualities
Decision-making skills. Labor relations specialists use decisionmaking skills to help management and labor agree on decisions when resolving grievances or other disputes.
Detail oriented. Specialists must be detail oriented when evaluating labor laws and maintaining records of an employee grievance.
Interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills are essential for labor relations specialists. When mediating between labor and management, specialists must be able to converse and connect with people from different backgrounds.
Listening skills. Listening skills are essential for labor relations specialists. When evaluating grievances, for example, they must pay careful attention to workers’ responses, understand the points they are making, and ask relevant follow-up questions.
Writing skills. All labor relations specialists need strong writing skills to be effective at their job. They often draft proposals, and these proposals must be able to convey complex information to both workers and management.
Personality
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Characteristics of this Career |
|---|---|---|---|
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85% | Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical. | |
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83% | Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. | |
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82% | Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. | |
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77% | Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. | |
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76% | Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. | |
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75% | Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations. | |
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75% | Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles. | |
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74% | Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems. | |
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74% | Self-Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. | |
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74% | Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace. | |
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72% | Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job. | |
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69% | Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks. | |
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66% | Leadership - Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction. | |
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61% | Social Orientation - Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job. | |
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57% | Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. | |
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54% | Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Strengths |
|---|---|---|---|
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89% | Enterprising - Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law. | |
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61% | Conventional - Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources. | |
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56% | Social - Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Values of the Work Environment |
|---|---|---|---|
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78% | Achievement - Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement. | |
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78% | Relationships - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. | |
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67% | Support - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical. | |
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64% | Working Conditions - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions. | |
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61% | Recognition - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status. | |
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61% | Independence - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy. |
Aptitude
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Abilities | Cognitive, Physical, Personality |
|---|---|---|---|
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81% | Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. | |
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78% | Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. | |
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75% | 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. | |
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75% | Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. | |
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75% | Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. | |
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69% | Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. | |
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69% | Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. | |
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69% | Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). | |
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66% | Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. | |
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63% | 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). | |
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63% | Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). | |
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63% | 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. | |
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60% | 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). | |
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53% | Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Skills | Cognitive, Physical, Personality |
|---|---|---|---|
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68% | Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively. | |
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64% | Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience. | |
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64% | Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. | |
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63% | Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior. | |
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63% | Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences. | |
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61% | Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents. | |
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59% | Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems. | |
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57% | Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. | |
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57% | Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. | |
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55% | Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action. | |
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55% | Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making. | |
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54% | Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions. | |
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52% | Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. | |
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52% | Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people. |
Job Details
Responsibilities
Advise others on human resources topics.
Negotiate agreements to resolve disputes.
Arrange collective bargaining agreements.
Arrange collective bargaining agreements.
Arrange collective bargaining agreements.
Arrange collective bargaining agreements.
Evaluate personnel practices to ensure adherence to regulations.
Negotiate agreements to resolve disputes.
Evaluate personnel practices to ensure adherence to regulations.
Arrange collective bargaining agreements.
Prepare regulatory or compliance documentation.
Present business-related information to audiences.
Arrange collective bargaining agreements.
Arrange collective bargaining agreements.
Arrange collective bargaining agreements.
Evaluate personnel practices to ensure adherence to regulations.
Evaluate personnel practices to ensure adherence to regulations.
Organize special events.
Arrange collective bargaining agreements.
Assess risks to business operations.
Measure effectiveness of business strategies or practices.
Establish organizational guidelines or policies.
Establish business management methods.
Collect evidence for legal proceedings.
Testify at legal or legislative proceedings.
Update knowledge of legal or regulatory environments.
Arrange collective bargaining agreements.
Train personnel on managerial topics.
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Attributes & Percentage of Time Spent |
|---|---|---|---|
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99% | Electronic Mail - How often do you use electronic mail in this job? | |
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94% | Telephone - How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? | |
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88% | Face-to-Face Discussions - How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? | |
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87% | Contact With Others - How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? | |
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80% | Freedom to Make Decisions - How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer? | |
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79% | Indoors, Environmentally Controlled - How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? | |
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77% | Spend Time Sitting - How much does this job require sitting? | |
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77% | Structured versus Unstructured Work - To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals? | |
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76% | Work With Work Group or Team - How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job? | |
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75% | Frequency of Conflict Situations - How often are there conflict situations the employee has to face in this job? | |
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72% | Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results - What results do your decisions usually have on other people or the image or reputation or financial resources of your employer? | |
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69% | Frequency of Decision Making - How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization? | |
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69% | Letters and Memos - How often does the job require written letters and memos? | |
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68% | Time Pressure - How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines? | |
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67% | Importance of Being Exact or Accurate - How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job? | |
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65% | Deal With Unpleasant or Angry People - How frequently does the worker have to deal with unpleasant, angry, or discourteous individuals as part of the job requirements? | |
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53% | Coordinate or Lead Others - How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job? | |
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53% | Level of Competition - To what extent does this job require the worker to compete or to be aware of competitive pressures? | |
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76% | Duration of Typical Work Week - Number of hours typically worked in one week. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Tasks & Values |
|---|---|---|---|
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87% | Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others - Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others. | |
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86% | Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. | |
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83% | Making Decisions and Solving Problems - Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. | |
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81% | Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships - Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. | |
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77% | Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. | |
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75% | Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards - Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards. | |
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71% | Processing Information - Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data. | |
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70% | Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work - Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work. | |
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68% | Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge - Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. | |
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66% | Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others - Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used. | |
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64% | Analyzing Data or Information - Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts. | |
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63% | Working with Computers - Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information. | |
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62% | Scheduling Work and Activities - Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others. | |
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62% | Developing and Building Teams - Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members. | |
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60% | Communicating with People Outside the Organization - Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail. | |
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59% | Thinking Creatively - Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions. | |
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57% | Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People - Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people. | |
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56% | Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events - Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events. | |
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55% | Training and Teaching Others - Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others. | |
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55% | Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others - Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks. | |
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55% | Documenting/Recording Information - Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form. | |
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55% | Providing Consultation and Advice to Others - Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics. | |
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54% | Developing Objectives and Strategies - Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them. | |
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54% | Performing Administrative Activities - Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork. | |
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51% | Coaching and Developing Others - Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills. |
What Labor Relations Specialists Do
Labor relations specialists draft proposals and rules or regulations in order to help facilitate collective bargaining.
Labor relations specialists interpret and administer labor contracts regarding issues such as wages and salaries, healthcare, pensions, and union and management practices.
Duties
Labor relations specialists typically do the following:
- Advise management on contracts, worker grievances, and disciplinary procedures
- Lead meetings between management and labor
- Meet with union representatives
- Draft proposals and rules or regulations
- Ensure that human resources policies are consistent with union agreements
- Interpret formal communications between management and labor
- Investigate validity of labor grievances
- Train management on labor relations
Labor relations specialists work with representatives from a labor union and a company’s management. In addition to leading meetings between the two groups, these specialists draft formal language as part of the collective bargaining process. These contracts are called collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), and they serve as a legal and procedural guide for employee/management relations.
Labor relations specialists also address specific grievances workers might have, and ensure that all labor and management solutions comply within the relevant CBA.
Work Environment
Labor relations specialists held about 64,600 jobs in 2022. The largest employers of labor relations specialists were as follows:
| Labor unions and similar labor organizations | 74% |
| Government | 4 |
| Management of companies and enterprises | 2 |
Labor relations specialists generally work in offices. Some may travel for arbitration meetings or to discuss contracts with employees or management. The work of labor relations specialists can be stressful because negotiating contracts and resolving labor grievances can be tense.
Work Schedules
Most labor relations specialists work full time during regular business hours. Some specialists work longer periods when preparing for meetings or settling disputes.
Getting Started
How to Become a Labor Relations Specialist
Labor relations specialists usually have a bachelor’s degree in labor relations, human resources, industrial relations, business, or a related field.
To enter the occupation, these specialists typically need a bachelor’s degree in labor relations, human resources, industrial relations, business, or a related field. However, the level of education and experience required to become a labor relations specialist varies by position and employer.
Education
Labor relations specialists typically need a bachelor’s degree. Some schools offer a bachelor’s degree in labor or employment relations. These programs focus on labor-specific topics such as employment law and contract negotiation.
Candidates also may qualify for labor relations specialist positions with a bachelor’s degree in human resources, industrial relations, business, or a related field. Coursework typically includes business, professional writing, human resource management, and accounting.
Work Experience in a Related Occupation
Many positions require previous work experience. Candidates can gain experience as human resources specialists, compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists, or human resources generalists before specializing in labor relations.
Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations
Some colleges and universities offer labor relations certificates to specialists who prefer greater specialization in certain topics, such as mediation. Earning these certificates give participants a better understanding of labor law, the collective bargaining process, and worker grievance procedures.
Advancement
Labor relations specialists who seek further expertise in contract negotiation, labor law, and similar topics may become lawyers. They will need to earn a law degree and pass their state’s bar exam.
Job Outlook
Employment of labor relations specialists is projected to show little or no change from 2022 to 2032.
Despite limited employment growth, about 5,200 openings for labor relations specialists are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Most of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Employment
If union membership rates decline, overall demand for these specialists will be limited. However, there will still be some need for labor relations specialists’ expertise as union negotiations and contract disputes continue.
Contacts for More Information
For more information about labor relations careers and certification, visit
Society for Human Resource Management
Federal Labor Relations Authority
Related BLS articles
For more information about union membership, read the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Union Membership Annual News Release.
Similar Occupations
This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of labor relations specialists.
| Occupation | Job Duties | Entry-Level Education | Median Annual Pay, May 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists |
Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists oversee wage and nonwage programs that an organization provides to its employees in return for their work. They also evaluate position descriptions to determine details such as classification and salary. |
Bachelor's degree | $67,780 |
|
Human Resources Managers |
Human resources managers plan, coordinate, and direct the administrative functions of an organization. |
Bachelor's degree | $130,000 |
|
Human Resources Specialists |
Human resources specialists recruit, screen, and interview job applicants and place newly hired workers in jobs. They also may handle compensation and benefits, training, and employee relations. |
Bachelor's degree | $64,240 |
|
Public Relations Specialists |
Public relations specialists create and maintain a positive public image for the clients they represent. |
Bachelor's degree | $67,440 |
|
Training and Development Managers |
Training and development managers plan, coordinate, and direct skills- and knowledge-enhancement programs for an organization’s staff. |
Bachelor's degree | $120,000 |
|
Training and Development Specialists |
Training and development specialists plan and administer programs that improve the skills and knowledge of their employees. |
Bachelor's degree | $63,080 |
|
Social and Human Service Assistants |
Social and human service assistants provide client services in a variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, and social work. |
High school diploma or equivalent | $38,520 |