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Boston Career Explorer

Business and Financial Operations

Labor Relations Specialists

Resolve disputes between workers and managers, negotiate collective bargaining agreements, or coordinate grievance procedures to handle employee complaints.

Also called: Business Agent, Business Representative, Grievance Manager, Labor Relations Specialist, Labor Specialist

Median pay in Greater Boston
$118,520
$56.98/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
1,280
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+2.6%
140 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
Bachelor's degree
Less than 5 years of related work experience

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$63,010$83,480$118,520$133,870$161,980

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Negotiate collective bargaining agreements.
  • Investigate and evaluate union complaints or arguments to determine viability.
  • Propose resolutions for collective bargaining or other labor or contract negotiations.
  • Draft contract proposals or counter-proposals for collective bargaining or other labor negotiations.
  • Interpret contractual agreements for employers and employees engaged in collective bargaining or other labor relations processes.
  • Prepare evidence for disciplinary hearings, including preparing witnesses to testify.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Higher exposure85 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 90
  • Language-model AIOE 93
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 71

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

Labor relations specialists have higher AI exposure, but observed AI use in this work is little or none so far. Tools could help draft contract language and review agreements. Negotiating, weighing union complaints, and building trust between workers and managers rely on people.

Likely to change

  • Drafting contract proposals and counter-proposals
  • Reviewing and interpreting contract language

Still relies on people

  • Negotiating agreements face to face
  • Judging whether union complaints have merit

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • General and Operations Managers

    Negotiating, resolving disputes, and coordinating people carry over. This move offers higher pay ($133,800) and lower AI exposure.

    Pay difference
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    AI exposure
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    Bachelor's degree

  • Administrative Services Managers

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  • Construction Managers

    Reading rules and contracts and checking compliance carry over. This job has high pay ($156,470) and strong growth (10.9%), with on-the-job training.

    Pay difference
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    AI exposure
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Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

7 programs near Boston (plus 4 graduate)

Related occupations

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