Labor Relations Specialists
Business, Management and AdministrationO*NET 13-1075.00United States
Resolve disputes between workers and managers, negotiate collective bargaining agreements, or coordinate grievance procedures to handle employee complaints.
- Median annual earnings
- $95,407
- Projected change
- +2.7%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 65.64K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
42.8% of the workforce
Growing to 67.42K by 2035
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The work
What labor relations specialists do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- 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.
- Draft contract proposals or counter-proposals for collective bargaining or other labor negotiations.
- Interpret contractual agreements for employers and employees engaged in collective bargaining or other labor relations processes.
- Mediate discussions between employer and employee representatives in attempt to reconcile differences.
- Prepare evidence for disciplinary hearings, including preparing witnesses to testify.
- Review employer practices or employee data to ensure compliance with contracts on matters such as wages, hours, or conditions of employment.
- Monitor company or workforce adherence to labor agreements.
- Recommend collective bargaining strategies, goals, or objectives.
- Call or meet with union, company, government, or other interested parties to discuss labor relations matters, such as contract negotiations or grievances.
- Assess risk levels associated with collective bargaining strategies.
- Present the position of the company or of labor during arbitration 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.
- Research case law or outcomes of previous case hearings.
- 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.
- Schedule or coordinate the details of grievance hearings or other meetings.
- Review and approve employee disciplinary actions, such as written reprimands, suspensions, or terminations.
- Select mediators or arbitrators for labor disputes or contract negotiations.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $50,474
- 25th percentile
- $71,919
- 50th percentile
- $95,407
- 75th percentile
- $123,439
- 90th percentile
- $156,242
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $95,407 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+2.7%average or slower
202565,642 jobs
2035 projected67,424 jobs
1,782 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 42.8%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 19%
- High school diploma or less
- 9.5%
- Some college
- 9.5%
- Associate degree
- 9.5%
- Certificate
- 4.8%
- Doctoral degree or more
- 4.8%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- 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.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Employee Relations Specialists1,217 postings
- 02Employee Relations Partners257 postings
- 03Labor Relations Specialists211 postings
- 04Employee Relations Consultants195 postings
- 05Directors of Employee Relations121 postings
- 06Employee Relations Generalists99 postings
- 07Employee Relations Business Partners89 postings
- 08Employee Relations/Human Resources Specialists83 postings
- 09Employee Relations Investigators79 postings
- 10Employee Relations Managers77 postings
- 11Employee and Labor Relations Managers77 postings
- 12Employee Relations Coordinators73 postings
- 13Human Resources Employee Relations Managers71 postings
- 14Leave Specialists71 postings
- 15Employee Relations Advisors65 postings
- 16Compliance Investigators64 postings
- 17Employee and Labor Relations Specialists60 postings
- 18Organizational Consultants52 postings
- 19Employee Relations Representatives42 postings
- 20Labor Relations Representatives41 postings
Top employers
- 01Maximus109 postings
- 02Ryder66 postings
- 03GE Aerospace64 postings
- 04Cayuse Holdings54 postings
- 05Cardinal Health53 postings
- 06UKG48 postings
- 07Robert Half42 postings
- 08Goto.Com37 postings
- 09Pizza Hut34 postings
- 10Aston Carter23 postings
- 11Lee Hecht Harrison23 postings
- 12McKesson22 postings
- 13Novogradac & Company Llp21 postings
- 14Cushman & Wakefield20 postings
- 15Ford20 postings
- 16Bechtel19 postings
- 17PNC19 postings
- 18CVS Health18 postings
- 19Clarvida16 postings
- 20Molina Healthcare15 postings
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