Following UAW win, Volkswagen advertises for a Senior Director of Labor Relations
Like other companies that become unionized, VW appears to be upskilling its management team.
By Peter List, Editor | June 25, 2024
Updated: This post has been updated below to include the Glassdoor salary range for Senior Director of Labor Relations.
Although the position is now closed to applicants, Volkswagen of America, Inc. advertised on LinkedIn for a Senior Director, Labor Relations on LinkedIn earlier this month following the United Auto Workers (UAW) April win to represent workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“This position will be responsible for negotiating, implementing and maintaining collective bargaining agreements,” the job ad states.
They will be the first and main point of contact for communication with the union and will be responsible for setting up the union interaction structure. The Head of Labor Relations will coordinate collective bargaining, and union alignment processes. They will establish and maintain trustful relationships with internal and external partners so to enhance the business opportunities, a positive working environment and the best conditions to the plant. The responsibility includes the resolution of grievances and disputes.
The posting goes on to list several responsibilities, including:
Serves as lead negotiator of company collective bargaining committee in contract negotiations with union
Maintains current knowledge labor relations trends, legal decisions, and statutory changes; conducts research necessary to support contract negotiations and labor relations. Uses appropriate negotiation strategies to develop bargaining goals and negotiate contracts consistent with Volkswagen of Americas mission, values and goals.
Administers and manages administration of union contracts; provides interpretation of union contracts to managers, employees and HR team; oversees processes for review and resolution of employee grievances.
Advises managers and employees on sensitive labor and employee relations matters, including grievance and arbitration procedures, performance issues and disciplinary actions; advises and assists managers in identifying labor relations issues and determining appropriate course of action.
Although the job posting did not specify a salary range, according to Glassdoor, positions similar to this one may offer salaries ranging from $188,000 to $327,000 (dependent on experience), with additional benefits. However, the posting did mention that the primary location for the job is Chattanooga.
In April, the UAW won an election to represent workers at Volkswagen’s plant in Tennessee. It was the union’s third attempt after losing elections in 20141 and 2019.
As sometimes happens when employers become unionized, they are required to upskill their management team to operate in a unionized environment.
This is, apparently, the case at Volkswagen as well.