Senior Labor Negotiator - Taft Hartley Expert

Senior Labor Negotiator – Taft-Hartley Expert

Join the Office of Financial Management's State Human Resources Division as a Senior Labor Negotiator – Taft-Hartley Expert and play a key role in shaping retirement benefit policies that may impact employees across Washington State government. As a senior-level lead negotiator within the Labor Relations and Compensation Policy Section, you will serve as the Governor's designee for retirement benefit negotiations, helping develop and implement statewide labor relations strategies, collective bargaining policies, and retirement benefit programs, including Taft-Hartley provisions.

In this highly collaborative and influential role, you will independently manage complex negotiations, provide expert guidance on retirement benefit issues, and serve as a resource and mentor to fellow labor negotiators. Working with agency leaders, labor organizations, retirement system representatives, and other partners, you will help advance fair, effective, and sustainable retirement benefit solutions that support the state's workforce and organizational goals.

This is an exciting opportunity for a skilled labor relations professional who enjoys strategic problem-solving, policy development, and making a meaningful impact at the enterprise level.

What you'll work on:

• Chief spokesperson representing the State of Washington and is assigned to complex caseloads and bargaining tables, specializing in retirement and healthcare benefits:
• These assignments require an in-depth knowledge of labor relations, strategy development, and the business of client agencies.
• Manage a complex caseload and bargaining tables, while also keeping the chain of command informed of critical issues.
• Conduct research, training, and implementation of labor relations and collective bargaining statute changes, specializing in retirement and healthcare benefits.
• Work on complex labor relations issues, lead work on emergent statewide issues, and represent the State Human Resources/Labor Relations & Compensation Policy Section on committees and work groups regarding issues and projects that have enterprise-wide impacts.
• Represent the state as the employer representative on a Taft-Hartley board.
• Negotiate retirement and healthcare benefits based on Taft-Hartley and serve as a lead for other staff negotiating and administering collective bargaining agreements that include those provisions or are covered by the same bargaining law:
• Strategy communication, ensuring consistency in collective bargaining agreements.
• Provide guidance to other negotiators with complex situations.
• Responsible for identifying issues that need to be elevated and addressed within the chain of command.
• Lead Negotiator Responsible for Collective Bargaining and Negotiating Agreements with Labor Unions.
• Serve as the Governor's designee in the process, and is also responsible for:
• Proposal development, approval processes, and accuracy for state bargaining proposals and agreements during the bargaining process.
• Research, prepare, and obtain costing for proposals and agreements as part of the bargaining process or settlement negotiations.
• Compose, train, and manage a team of employer bargaining team members.
• Research, develop, and present proposals at any table where a Taft-Hartley agreement is legislatively required to be bargained. This includes coordinating with the State Health Care Authority, the Special Assistant Attorney General (SAAG), and other authorities to ensure that any such retirement benefits comply with state laws.
• Coordinate with agency/institution stakeholders to develop bargaining proposals and understanding, and appropriately respond to stakeholder interests and priorities.

What we need you to bring

Required Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience negotiating collective bargaining agreements that include Taft-Hartley trusts, including multiemployer health, pension, or welfare benefit plans. Must also have negotiated the terms of a Taft-Hartley trust from its inception.
• Expertise in the negotiation, administration, and compliance oversight of Taft-Hartley trusts, including familiarity with ERISA, trust documents, fiduciary responsibilities, applicable federal laws and regulations governing multiemployer plans and multiemployer plan governance structures.
• And the following Labor Negotiator qualifications.

• Demonstrated ability to formulate and articulate labor relations principles and negotiating strategies, including the role of the union and its business interests and goals.
• Demonstrated experience effectively managing or leading teams by using influence, collaboration, and developing teamwork, demonstrating effective people interaction skills (not via command & control or hierarchy).
• Demonstrated ability to research, interpret, and understand RCWs and their implementing WACs.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the state legislative process, including bill analysis.
• Demonstrated knowledge of State Government budget related to collective bargaining implementation and…