A policy and research organization, founded more than 30 years ago and staffed by a unionized workforce, brought Ashlee in to lead its HR function. At 10 to 15 hours a week, the role carried real management responsibility: she led the HR team and managed an HR manager, rather than advising from outside the structure. Ashlee designed the organization's employee handbook to hold up across multiple states and stay consistent with its collective bargaining agreement, a harder standard than most handbooks are written to meet. Labor-management relations strengthened alongside it, along with the organization's employee investigation and relations practices, reducing the legal exposure that comes with an unclear process. Trust with staff was not assumed. It was built through consistent, fair conflict resolution over time, in an environment where a union contract means every decision is watched closely and needs to hold up. The organization now has a handbook that satisfies both statute and its labor contract, stronger labor-management relations, and HR practices that reduce its legal exposure rather than add to it.
