Sr. Manager, Labor Relations

Job Location:  Hershey, PA

Job summary:

The Senior Manager, Labor Relations is responsible for developing and maintaining positive work environments within its domestic and international facilities as well as ensuring union readiness across our co-manufacturing and warehouse network. This position manages union avoidance initiatives, union contract negotiations, and support grievances and arbitrations.  This position also provides advice to managers and HR leaders on labor-related issue, both domestically and internationality. This position will develop and implement labor relations policies and procedures to ensure compliance with labor laws and regulations.  The Senior Manager also provides oversight to the development and implementation of an audit program to develop action plans to ensure Hershey’s maintains a positive union-free work environment. Additionally, this person will develop and provide leadership tools for union avoidance training.  

Major duties and responsibilities:

Lead positive labor and employee relations (LER), including risk assessments and mitigation plans, issue identification, and positive work environments at Hershey’s non-union facilities and its business partners.

• Assess current labor relations policies and procedures, identify areas for improvement, and implement changes as necessary.
• Subject matter expert on the development of a union-free labor relations strategic plan.
• Collaborates with the Hershey Employee Relations Team to conduct assessments to drive positive employee engagement:
  • Develops labor and employee relations audit materials
  • Train HR professionals on union avoidance tools and provides oversight of audit activities
  • Creates and oversee the annual audit schedule
  • Ensures comprehensive action plans are developed for post-audit findings to be reviewed with senior management
  • Track progress on audit action plans
• Development of union education materials for Hershey employees (i.e., Town Halls, new hire orientations, etc.):
  • Handouts
  • Videos
  • Websites
• Oversee, train, and manage a team of HR leaders performing ER/LR assessments across our entire US manufacturing network. 
• Provide a critical role in strategically ensuring policy consistency and uniformity across the network. 
• Provide supervisor training on best practices such as non-solicitation policies, leadership of choice, labor law changes, etc.
• Conduct regular audits of co-manufactures and third party logistics centers to ensure readiness for potential union activity
• Help develop and lead organizational response to union organizing campaigns and/or elections.
• Conduct external benchmarking to ensure our labor relation practices remain world-class.

Provide traditional labor relations support at our US & Canada locations while serving as a subject-matter expert at the other Hershey global operations:

• Keep abreast of changes in US labor laws and regulations
• Able to serve as first chair and/or provide primary support for contract negotiations
• Provide guidance on contract interpretation, grievances, and arbitrations
• Provide support for the company’s response to potential union concerted activities (picketing, hand billing, strikes, etc.)
• Develop and provide training to HR and plant leadership aimed at building internal capabilities on a wide range of labor/union-related subjects
• Hold regular check-ins with HR leaders throughout our global manufacturing network to keep apprised of upcoming contract negotiations, and union avoidance activities at our union-free locations

• Coordination of the LER site assessments, development of the union avoidance training documentation, contract negotiations preparations, strike contingency planning, and support of labor contract negotiations, as needed.
• Generation of LR data and information in response to internal requests (i.e., annual stockholder report, ESG report, etc.) as well as government disclosure requirements (i.e., annual LM-10 reports).

Minimum knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform major duties/responsibilities:

• Past experience with the management of human resources at union and non-union locations.

• Basic knowledge of applicable state and US labor laws and regulations affecting the workplace is critical.
• Ability to effectively communicate, verbal and written, with all levels of the organization.
• Strong project management skills.
• A detail-oriented, logical, and methodological approach to problem solving. Understands the underlying issues and components of a problem or opportunity and perceives complex cause-and-effect patterns. Identifies patterns and trends from past experiences that relate to a current situation and uses that knowledge to come up with creative solutions and new ideas.

• Experience working with training of employees and leaders at all levels of the organization..
• Experience with union avoidance and union organizing campaigns is strongly desired.
• Experience with the administration & interpretation of collective bargaining agreements
• Past experience with contract negotiations.
• Past work conducting site HR audits to ensure positive work environments would be a strong plus.
• Uses available technology to improve personal performance and ability to contribute to the business i.e.) MS Office, SAP, etc.
• Strong influencing and leadership skills with the ability to challenge decisions and facilitate change.
• Able to travel as needed.

Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor’s Degree (a concentration in Labor Relations preferred) or equivalent experience and education.

• Experience: 7-10 years in union and nonunion manufacturing facilities serving in a a Labor Relations role.

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