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What does a labor relations career entail?

Online Labor Relations Courses


Labor relations is a program that focuses on employee-management interactions and the management of issues and disputes regarding working conditions and worker benefit packages, and that may prepare individuals to function as labor or personnel relations specialists. Includes instruction in labor history, policies and strategies of the labor movement, union organization, labor-management negotiation, labor law and contract interpretation, labor economics, welfare and benefit packages, grievance procedures, and labor policy studies.

Definition of labor relations

Labor relations managers and their staffs implement industrial labor relations programs. When a collective bargaining agreement is up for negotiation, labor relations specialists prepare information for management to use during negotiation, a process that requires the specialist to be familiar with economic and wage data and to have extensive knowledge of labor law and collective bargaining trends. The labor relations staff interprets and administers the contract with respect to grievances, wages and salaries, employee welfare, healthcare, pensions, union and management practices, and other contractual stipulations. As union membership continues to decline in most industries, industrial relations personnel are working more often with employees who are not members of a labor union.