Senior Labor Relations Specialist

About Us

Join us at WinCo Foods, where we're more than just a grocery retailer - we're a growing family of over 140 supermarkets in 10 states with over 22,000 employee owners. Our purpose is to make the lives of our customers and employee owners better by offering the lowest possible prices to feed their families. Currently, WinCo is the second largest Employee-Owned company in the United States. With more than 500 millionaire employee-owners in our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Our benefits, including top-tier medical plans and tuition support set us apart. In your role, you'll be instrumental in making a real impact in the communities we serve, embodying our purpose every day.

Overview

Job Summary

The Sr. Labor Relations Specialist is responsible for leading and supporting Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations for retail, distribution center (DC), and office/support locations. This role provides direction and guidance to management on Labor Relations (LR) activities, including CBA implementation, administration, interpretation, and response to employee representative inquiries.

Typical Duties and Responsibilities

• Facilitate the collective bargaining process, including tracking contract expirations; conducting wage and working conditions research; supporting negotiations; drafting agreements; and overseeing administration and compliance.
• Provide guidance to peers and store/DC/office management in administering, interpreting, and ensuring compliance with CBAs and company labor relations policies and practices.
• Respond to inquiries from management and employee representatives regarding CBA-related dispute resolution matters, including grievances and arbitrations.
• Partner with business leaders in strategic planning for area contract negotiations, including identifying business changes/flexibility needs and conducting ongoing competitive wage and working conditions research, analysis, and planning.
• Draft Wages and Working Condition documents for new location openings.
• Facilitate the delivery of proactive and positive employee and labor relations strategies and initiatives aligned with business objectives.
• Communicate with management, HR staff, finance, payroll, benefits, and employee representatives on LR related items.
• Partner with payroll on CBA implementation and administration, tracking accruals and minimum wage compliance.
• Develop and deliver training to supervisors and management trainees on matters pertaining to Labor Relations such as grievance procedures, CBA’s, and other LR related areas as needed.
• Remain current on new and proposed labor laws, regulations, and case developments to ensure compliance.
• Performs other duties as assigned or needed.

Requirements

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Industrial Relations, Business/Public Administration, or related field, OR equivalent education, training and/or experience listed below.

Experience:

• At least four (4) years of progressively responsible Human Resources experience.
• Demonstrated Labor Relations experience, including negotiation experience and experience with the collective bargaining process, CBAs, and dispute resolution processes—preferably in a retail, warehouse/distribution center, or similar environment.
• Strong working knowledge of general Human Resources policies, practices, programs, and procedures.
• Maintaining compliance with HR/Labor related laws and regulations (e.g. NLRA, Title VII, ADA, FMLA).
• Working knowledge of conflict resolution methods and practices.
• Demonstrating working knowledge of Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.).

Ability to:

• Communicate clearly and professionally, utilizing excellent verbal, written and inter-personal communication skills.
• Establish and maintain effective and professional working relationships with functional areas across the organization and all those contacted in the course of work.
• Organize and prioritize assigned tasks to meet established schedules, timeliness, and/or deadlines.
• Work pro-actively, independently, and be dependable, self-directed, and attentive to detail.
• Maintain a high level of confidentiality, integrity and dependability.
• Travel overnight as needed.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature of work performed by the employees assigned to this job.  All employees must comply with Company policies and applicable laws.  The responsibilities, duties and qualifications required of personnel may vary.

EEO/Inclusivity

As the WinCo Foods community continues to grow, our variety of perspectives and wide range of experiences are essential to our strategy and success. We are committed cultivating and celebrating an inclusive environment in which all employees are valued and respected.

Fraud alert: WinCo advises job seekers to be cautious of unsolicited job offers and to verify the authenticity of any communication claiming to be from WinCo by checking the official WinCo careers website.