Driven to be the Best
People. Performance. Purpose.
At Avis Budget Group, we’re driven to be the best vehicle rental company in the world, together. Our 25,000 employees raise the bar every day, bringing different perspectives, taking ownership, and leading with integrity. We’re defining the future of mobility with safe, sustainable solutions that move people, businesses, and communities forward.
Reporting directly to the Vice President, Employee and Labor Relations, the Senior Manager, Labor Relations drives practical, business-focused labor relations across a large, frontline, unionized workforce. This role leads collective bargaining negotiations, supports field leaders on grievances and contract application, and manages the company’s response to union organizing and elections. Success in this role means keeping operations running, labor costs controlled, managers confident, and issues resolved before they disrupt service to customers. This is not a policy or desk role. It’s a field-facing, execution-oriented position with regular travel across the U.S. and Canada to support frontline operations, built for someone who understands how labor decisions land at the station, facility, and fleet level. Sound your speed? Come join our family.
What You'll Do:
Collective Bargaining & Labor Strategy
- Lead end-to-end collective bargaining negotiations as first chair, lead negotiator, partnering closely with Operations and field HR.
- Develop negotiation strategies, draft and evaluate economic and non-economic proposals, with an understanding of the downstream impacts to service levels and margins.
- Translate negotiated contract terms into clear, workable guidance for frontline leaders.
- Support implementation of new agreements to ensure smooth rollout and minimal disruption.
Grievance Management, Contract Application & Field Partnership
- Act as the go-to advisor for field leaders and HR on day-to-day union issues and contract interpretation, providing practical guidance that balances contract requirements with operational needs.
- Guide managers and field HR partners through grievance handling.
- Oversee arbitration strategy and support arbitration preparation with outside counsel, where necessary.
Union Elections & Organizing Activity
- Lead the Company’s operational response to union organizing activity and representation elections, including preparing communications and coaching frontline leaders.
- Coordinate closely with outside legal counsel while keeping the focus on field execution and leadership behavior.
- Proactively assess labor relations risk across locations and address issues that could trigger organizing.
Continuous Improvement & Collaboration
- Train managers on union leadership basics, contract application, and handling difficult employee relations situations.
- Partner with managers and field HR to assist in identifying recurring grievance drivers and work with operations to fix root causes.
- Monitor legislative and administrative updates to ensure compliance with applicable federal, state and local labor related laws and regulations.
- Stay current on trends and/or changes in labor relations policies and best practices and provide objective options to the organization to improve labor relations outcomes.
- Collaborate with applicable HR Centers of Excellence, including Safety, Employee Relations, Talent Acquisition, Compensation/Benefits, HR Shared Services and HR Business Partners and Legal where appropriate.
Perks You’ll Get:
- Access to Medical, Dental, Vision, Life and Disability insurance
- Eligible to elect other voluntary benefits including: Group Auto Insurance, Group Home Insurance, Pet Insurance, Legal Assistance, Identity Theft Protection, FSA, Accident Insurance, Critical Illness Insurance, and additional life insurance coverages
- 401(k) Retirement Plan with company matched contributions
- Full training to learn the business and enhance professional skills
- Employee discounts, including discounted prices on the purchase of Avis/Budget cars
- Access to an Employee Assistance Program for services including counseling, financial and legal consultation, referrals for care service and more
What We're Looking For:
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent analytical, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
- Excellent collaboration and partnership skills, both internal and external.
- Ability to understand federal, state and local HR/employment and labor related requirements.
- Ability to both follow structured processes and tolerate ambiguity as situations demand.
- Ability to communicate and make recommendations to upper management.
- Ability to connect with all levels of employees in the organization and establish rapport in an approachable manner.
- Ability to identify basic problems and procedural irregularities, collect data, establish facts and draw valid conclusions.
- Ability to multi-task and drive multiple projects.
- Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment with changing priorities.
- Ability to understand the dynamics of a business and how to support/drive labor relations priorities to suit the needs of the business.
- Ability to deal with confidential information.
- Team player, results focused, strong work ethic, high ethical standards.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite or similar software, including highly proficient in Excel.
- Valid driver’s license, authorized to work in the United States and successful completion of pre-employment qualification checks.
- Ability to work flexible hours that may include early mornings, nights and weekends as determined by business needs.
- Ability to travel throughout the United States and Canada at least 75% of the time.
Education and Experience:
- Bachelors Degree required. Preference in industrial relations, human resources or related field preferred.
- 5+ years of hands-on labor relations experience in a unionized, operational environment, with a strong working knowledge of grievance processes, arbitration, and union elections.
- Demonstrated ability to advise frontline and senior leaders in a fast-paced, high-volume, multi-location 24/7 operation, preferably in a customer-facing industry such as retail, hospitality, transportation, facilities or logistics.
- Proven experience leading collective bargaining negotiations with measurable business outcomes, applying a strong working knowledge of compensation, benefits and workforce management concepts, including health and retirement benefits, staffing models, scheduling, productivity, overtime management and peak demand planning. Knowledge of Taft-Hartley plans a plus.
- Knowledge of various employment laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the NLRA, wage/hour, FMLA, ADA, EEO, and other applicable laws.
- Comfortable balancing compliance with practical business judgment.
- Experience using HRIS software (Workday is desired), databases and web-based systems preferred.
The annual starting salary for this position is between $115,000.00 – $130,000.00 annually. Factors that may affect starting pay within this range include geography/market, skills, education, experience, and other qualifications of the successful candidate.
Who We Are:
Here at Avis Budget Group, you will be joining a team of 25,000 driven people, performing with purpose. Together, we’re moving the future of transportation forward with our innovative, customer-focused solutions.
Our culture is performance driven, where we encourage and support each other to be at our best through leadership, training, tools, and rewards.
We are proud to make a positive difference to the lives of our colleagues, customers, and communities where we operate.
Avis Budget Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer – Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran or any other category protected by applicable law.
This advertisement does not constitute a promise or guarantee of employment. This advertisement describes the general nature and level of this position only. Essential functions and responsibilities may change as business needs require. The compensation and benefits information is accurate as of the date of this posting. The Company reserves the right to modify this information at any time, with or without notice, subject to applicable law. This position may be with any affiliate of Avis Budget Group.
Las Vegas
Nevada
United States of America