Labor Relations Specialist
Continental Aerospace Technologies™ has been a leader in aviation innovation for more than 120 years, continually pushing the limits of general aviation and shaping the evolution of aircraft performance and reliability. Today, we are a global force with a full range of gasoline and Jet‑A engines, across three continents. Built on a legacy of engineering excellence, technological advancement, and a strong commitment to safety, Continental continues to deliver industry‑leading engine solutions while opening the door to exciting careers for those who want to help shape the future of flight.
At Continental, you’re not just joining an industry leading aviation company—you’re joining a team that truly loves what we do. Our T.E.A.M. values—Transparency, Efficiency, Accountability, and Morality—which guide how we work, collaborate, and support one another. We’re proud to foster an environment where every voice matters, every idea is valued, and every employee has room to grow. If you’re driven by progress and passionate about shaping the future, Continental Aerospace Technologies™ offers a career path that lets you grow and make a difference.
SUMMARY: Develops and supports positive employee relations by building trusted working relationships with Team Members, supervisors, managers, and other key partners across the organization. This position focuses on identifying concerns, resolving workplace issues, coaching leaders, supporting fair and consistent employment practices, and helping departments address problems in a practical and timely manner. The role also supports labor relations activities, compliance with applicable policies and employment requirements, and selected recruiting and workforce staffing activities as needed. No supervisory duties.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Administer, interpret, and apply collective bargaining agreements, work rules, past practices, and Company policies consistently across departments and shifts.
- Serve as a primary labor relations contact for managers, supervisors, union representatives, shop stewards, and bargaining unit Team Members.
- Administer the grievance procedure, including intake, investigation, documentation, response preparation, settlement discussions, follow-up, and tracking of grievance activity.
- Provide labor relations support during collective bargaining negotiations, including preparation of background data, issue summaries, wage or benefit information, proposal tracking, and implementation support.
- Advise and counsel managers and supervisors regarding contract interpretation, employee relations issues, corrective action, investigations, attendance, performance, policy application, and employment law considerations.
- Coordinate and participate with supervision in disciplinary, suspension, investigatory, and termination proceedings to support consistent application of just cause principles and Company policy.
- Represent or support the Company in personnel-related hearings, unemployment matters, grievance meetings, arbitration preparation, investigations, and resolution of employee-related issues.
- Prepare, maintain, and analyze statistical data and reports related to grievances, arbitration issues, disciplinary activity, attendance trends, labor costs, staffing movement, wage surveys, and other labor and personnel matters.
- Maintain accurate records, reports, logs, and documentation to support EEO, labor relations, regulatory, and audit requirements.
- Build and maintain positive working relationships with union leadership, operations leadership, supervisors, HR team members, and other internal and external stakeholders.
- Monitor labor relations trends, workplace climate, and recurring employee concerns; recommend proactive solutions to reduce risk and improve labor-management relations.
- Manage and coordinate with departmental supervision and production leaders regarding bargaining unit employees’ job skills updates and related documentation.
- Maintain data related to bargaining unit employees’ job skills in the Job Skills Matrix for posting and workforce planning purposes.
- Initiate and process status changes for bargaining unit employees, including job bids, transfers, progressions, probationary evaluations, and other contract-driven employment changes.
- Oversee new bargaining unit employees’ probation evaluations, automatic progression pay rates, and hourly bid processes in accordance with applicable labor agreements and Company procedures.
- Manage or support the hourly bid process, including postings, eligibility review, documentation, communication, and related follow-up.
- Coordinate with Operations, Quality, Training, and other departments to support skill development, craft competency, workforce readiness, and operational staffing needs.
- Write, update, and maintain job descriptions to align with hiring manager criteria, operational needs, contract language, and job performance expectations.
- Support recruiting activities as an assigned task by coordinating open positions with recruiting, assisting with postings or advertisements, participating in hiring events or interviews when needed, and supporting bargaining unit or operational staffing needs.
- Oversee or support weekly bargaining unit staffing assignment reports and related workforce movement documentation.
- Provide training and guidance to supervisors and managers on labor relations practices, grievance handling, documentation expectations, employee relations, and contract administration.
- Maintain knowledge of applicable state and federal employment and labor laws, governmental compliance requirements, and relevant Company policies; knowledge of immigration laws and processes a plus.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management, Business, Labor Relations, Industrial Relations, or related field preferred; equivalent education and experience may be considered. Specialized training in Employment Law, Labor Relations, Collective Bargaining, Conflict Resolution, or related areas is desirable.
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent; and five to ten years of related Human Resources, Labor Relations, employee relations, or unionized manufacturing experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience. Experience administering collective bargaining agreements, grievance procedures, workplace investigations, corrective action processes, and labor-management communications is strongly preferred. Recruiting or staffing support experience is preferred but is not the primary focus of the position.
LANGUAGE SKILLS
Ability to read, analyze, interpret, and apply collective bargaining agreements, policies, procedures, business correspondence, legal or regulatory guidance, and employment-related documentation. Ability to write clear correspondence, investigation summaries, grievance responses, reports, meeting notes, and other business documents. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from Team Members, union representatives, managers, regulatory agencies, and members of the business community.
MATHEMATICAL SKILLS
Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, percent, overtime or attendance metrics, wage or progression calculations, and to draw and interpret charts, graphs, and other statistical reports related to labor and staffing activity.
REASONING ABILITY
Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, evaluate risk, interpret contract language, assess consistency with policy and past practice, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
COMPUTER
Windows, Paycor, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Microsoft Outlook, applicant tracking or recruiting systems, grievance tracking software, reporting tools, and other HR or workforce management systems as required.
Equal Opportunity Employer
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.
