Overview:
The Senior Labor Relations Manager is a key member of the Human Resources team and is responsible for advancing a consistent, strategic, and legally compliant labor and employee relations program at Brookdale and across One Brooklyn Health (OBH). This role serves as a trusted advisor to operational and clinical leaders, Human Resources colleagues, and union representatives on the interpretation and administration of collective bargaining agreements, employee discipline, grievance resolution, investigations, arbitrations, and labor-management initiatives.
The Senior Labor Relations Manager will help foster productive labor partnerships while protecting OBH’s operational, financial, and patient-care objectives. The successful candidate brings sound judgment, strong negotiation capability, exceptional written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to manage complex employee and union matters in a fast-paced, highly regulated healthcare environment.
Responsibilities:
Labor Relations Strategy and Contract Administration:
-
Interpret, administer, and ensure consistent application of collective bargaining agreements, policies, procedures, past practices, and applicable laws.
- Serve as a principal liaison between Health System leadership, department management, and represented employees and union officials, including 1199SEIU and other collective bargaining units as applicable.
- Advise leaders on contract provisions involving discipline, seniority, job postings, bidding, promotions, transfers, layoffs, recalls, scheduling, overtime, wages, leaves, and other employment matters.
- Identify trends, recurring issues, and operational risks requiring policy clarification, management education, or labor-management intervention.
Grievance, Arbitration, and Dispute Resolution:
-
Lead the investigation, preparation, and adjudication of advanced-stage grievances, including third-step grievance hearings.
- Prepare, present, and manage grievance, arbitration, unemployment insurance, and other governmental/agency matters.
- Negotiate grievance settlements and arbitration resolutions, in consultation with Human Resources leadership and Legal Counsel, when appropriate.
- Maintain complete, accurate, and confidential records related to grievances, arbitrations, disciplinary actions, agency complaints, unemployment matters, and labor-management meetings.
- Monitor grievance and arbitration activity to identify root causes and recommend corrective action to reduce repeat issues.
Employee Relations, Investigations, and Discipline:
-
Conduct or oversee prompt, thorough, and impartial investigations involving employee complaints, workplace concerns, misconduct allegations, and policy violations.
- Counsel leaders on fair, consistent, and legally defensible corrective action, performance management, and documentation practices.
- Partner with Human Resources Business Partners, Compliance, Legal, Security, Risk Management, and operational leadership on sensitive employee relations matters.
- Support the resolution of internal and external employee complaints, including those involving government agencies or legal representatives.
- Ensure consistent application of Health System policies, collective bargaining agreements, and relevant federal, state, and local employment laws.
Leadership Development and Labor-Management Partnerships:
-
Train and coach managers, directors, and supervisors on labor relations fundamentals, contract administration, effective documentation, investigations, discipline, and conflict resolution.
- Facilitate departmental and system-level labor-management meetings to address workplace issues, promote communication, and support constructive union relationships.
- Partner with leadership to develop proactive employee engagement, recognition, retention, and workplace culture initiatives.
- Provide guidance during organizational changes, restructuring, workforce planning, and other initiatives with implications for labor relations.
- Participate in collective bargaining preparation and negotiations, including proposal development, costing support, research, and implementation of negotiated agreements.
Operations and Continuous Improvement:
-
Prepare regular reports and dashboards on grievances, arbitrations, discipline trends, union activity, investigations, and labor relations risk indicators.
- Recommend and assist with the development, revision, and implementation of Human Resources policies, procedures, and practices.
- Participate in special projects and perform other related duties as assigned.
-
Follow through with departments on completing performance evaluations and annual mandatory and other relevant training in compliance with OBH standards and timelines.
Qualifications:
Education:
-
Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Labor Relations, Business Administration, Healthcare Administration, or a related field required or combined relevant experience required..
- Master’s degree, Juris Doctor, preferred.
Experience:
-
Minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in labor relations, employee relations, or human resources required.
- Minimum of three (3) years in leadership, management, or senior-level labor relations capacity required.
- Demonstrated experience administering collective bargaining agreements, managing grievance procedures, conducting investigations, and preparing matters for arbitration required.
- Experience in a unionized healthcare, hospital, long-term care, or similarly complex, highly regulated environment strongly preferred.
- Experience working with 1199SEIU or other healthcare unions strongly preferred.
Knowledge and Skills:
-
Strong knowledge of labor relations principles, collective bargaining agreement administration, grievance handling, arbitration preparation, and dispute resolution.
- Working knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, including those applicable to discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, leave administration, and workplace investigations.
- Demonstrated ability to manage sensitive and confidential matters with sound judgment, discretion, diplomacy, and professionalism.
- Strong negotiation, mediation, conflict-resolution, and relationship-management skills.
- Excellent written communication skills, including the ability to prepare investigatory summaries, disciplinary notices, grievance responses, settlement agreements, and hearing materials.
- Ability to influence and coach leaders at all levels of the organization, including senior executives, department heads, clinical leaders, and front-line managers.
- Ability to analyze complex facts, identify risks, develop practical recommendations, and make timely decisions.
- Strong organizational and case-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, hearings, and projects simultaneously.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, HRIS platforms, case-management systems, virtual meeting platforms, and reporting tools.
Licenses/Certifications:
-
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) certification, or labor relations certification, preferred.
Physical Requirements:
-
Position requires prolonged periods of sitting and use of a computer and screen viewing throughout the working day.
-
Position requires prolonged periods of standing, reaching, walking throughout the working day.
- Position will be required to stoop, bend, lift, and carry items weighing up to 25 pounds.
#OBH123
Pay Transparency:
The salary range and/or hourly rate listed is a good faith determination of potential base compensation that may be offered to a successful applicant for this position at the time of this job advertisement and can be modified in the future. When determining a team member’s base salary and/or rate, several factors may be considered as applicable (e.g., site, specialty, service line, years of relevant experience, education, credentials, negotiated contracts, budget and internal equity).
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
The statements herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of One Brooklyn Health (OBH).
OBH is an equal opportunity employer, it is our policy to provide equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, military status, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability or handicap or other characteristics protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.
