Senior Manager, Labor Relations

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.

• 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 1199
  
  SEIU 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Prepa…