Overview

tronc, one of the country’s leading multimedia companies, is seeking a Labor Relations Director to join our Human Resources team. At tronc we continue to drive transformation and help power the future of digital news while promoting award-winning, culture-impacting journalism. If you’d like to directly impact the success of our company (and would like to grow with us, of course), then this may be the job for you!

The Labor Relations Director is responsible for all union-related activities within the Midwest and Corporate regions of the Company, including developing and effectuating labor-related objectives and strategies, negotiation and administration of collective bargaining agreements, oversight of labor and employment-related litigation, maintaining the non-union status of the unorganized employee population, providing labor-related advice to senior staff and all levels of management, handling all interactions with union officials with this region.

About Us

tronc, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRNC) is a media company rooted in award-winning journalism. Headquartered in Chicago, tronc operates newsrooms in ten markets with titles including the Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, The Baltimore Sun, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida's Sun-Sentinel, Virginia’s Daily Press, and The Virginian-Pilot, The Morning Call of Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, and the Hartford Courant. Our legacy of brands has earned a combined 60 Pulitzer Prizes and is committed to informing, inspiring and engaging local communities.

tronc also operates Tribune Content Agency and the Daily Meal and is majority owner of BestReviews.

Our brands create and distribute content across our media portfolio, offering integrated marketing, media, and business services to consumers and advertisers, including digital solutions and advertising opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Contract negotiations – develop company objectives and strategies in preparation for collective bargaining, prepare proposals, participate in bargaining as chief negotiator or on bargaining committee, oversee bargaining-related research, financial analyses, information request responses, obtain appropriate legal review and advice
• Contract administration – develop strategies to successfully accomplish company objectives despite extent of unionization, provide on-going advice to senior leadership and managers at all levels on contract-related questions, handle all grievances, creatively trouble-shoot issues to accomplish company goals while minimizing labor-associated risk
• Identify mid-term bargaining needs and negotiate solutions
• Work directly with corporate legal staff and outside counsel on contract issues within this region
• Partner with Executive Director, Labor Relations to ensure alignment and consistency for labor relations strategy across the Company
• Collaborate with local and corporate human resources staff to ensure appropriate application of company policies and procedures to unionized employees, evaluate impact on policy changes on union and non-union employees, maintain non-union status of unorganized employees
• Manage all interaction with union officials within this region
• Strategize and effectuate reorganizations, restructurings, layoffs and voluntary separations in unionized departments
• Develop strategies to resolve problematic employee situations and employee relations issues in unionized departments
• Work integrally with senior leaders to facilitate accomplishment of their business objectives

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in labor relations or related field
• Minimum of 15 years’ experience as a labor relations professional in multi-union environment
• In-depth knowledge of labor and employment law
• A proven track record in interacting and influencing senior leadership
• Labor Relations negotiating skills and acting as the chief negotiator during bargaining sessions
• A JD/MBA/MS in law and/or labor relations is a plus