Baker's Dozen

Baker’s Dozen:
Rules for Handling Grievances

1.     Contract administration, like contact negotiations is an extension of the right to bargain. And like bargaining, the ability to successfully handle grievances comes with practice and experience. And remember, just like in bargaining there are no rules to which there are not exceptions, this rule being the exception.

2.     Every grievance that you get has the potential to go to arbitration. Therefore it is crucial that you do a complete and thorough investigation. This includes, among other things, interviewing the grievant and witnesses, obtaining all relevant records from management, and examining past arbitration awards and other sources of information that may be relevant to the case. Remember to answer the key questions: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. In addition, document your case! You need to keep good records of your investigation of the grievance. This includes writing down notes from interviews and/or meetings with the grievant, witnesses, and management.

3.     As a steward, you should familiarize yourself with the contract. When you are approached by a potential grievant, review the agreement to find out if a provision was violated by management. If not, was there a violation of the law or a violation of an existing past practice? If none of these exist, what you have is a gripe and not a grievance. When discussing a grievance with a member, whether you believe that it is a good grievance or not, it is important that you are understanding to his or her situation. However, you must be careful not to promise to the grievant what you can’t deliver. It is always better to say, "I think you have a legitimate grievance. Let me look into it," rather than "You have a sure winner here. I guarantee that management will have to pay this time."

4.     Two easy ways that management uses to discipline and/or discharge people is through insubordination or admission of guilt. As a steward, it is easier to stave off problems by making sure that your members don’t make these two mistakes. For insubordination, you can use your rights as a steward to intervene for the worker. To keep someone from making an admission, you can educate them about their "Weingarten Rights" and their rights under the contract.

5.     Treat the grievant as you would like to be treated if it were your grievance. That means that you should keep the grievant informed on the progress of the grievance, sine grievances often take a long time to work their way through the procedure.

6.     Before meeting with management on a grievance, you should prepare enough so that you can present your case with the evidence to back up your argument. In addition, you need to anticipate what management’s position is on the grievance so that you can have counterpoints to its argument. In a grievance meeting, your objective is to get a settlement that is favorable to the grievant. You should know what it will take to resolve the grievance and be prepared to make arguments that support your position. If you can’t get a satisfactory settlement, there is no reason to panic or to get angry with management. You can always appeal the ruling to higher levels of the grievance procedures.

7.     In discipline cases, management must have cause and they have the burden of proof. You should understand what constitutes ‘cause’ for discipline and use that knowledge to aid in your investigation and representation of workers.

8.     When in a grievance meeting, listen carefully to what management is saying. It may be telling you something that will help you settle the grievance either in that meeting or later on in the procedure. And remember to keep calm and reasonable. You’re there to win a grievance, not to score debating points with the supervisor.

9.     One of the easiest ways to lose a grievance is to miss a time limit. You must keep track of all of your grievances and make sure that they are submitted within the time allowed by your contract. Exhaust each step of the grievance procedure before advancing the grievance to the next level.

10. Most unions have a grievance form that is used to file grievances. When writing a grievance, you should not only cite the article of the contract that was violated but you should include the phrase "and all others" so that if your investigation uncovers additional violations, they will be covered in the grievance.

11. When writing the description of the incident that caused the grievance, make that description as brief as possible. You do not argue or present your case in writing the grievance. The more you write, the more you tell management about your case and the more you tie your hands at later stages of the grievance procedure.

12. Every person covered under the contract (members and non-members alike) is entitled to be fairly represented by the union. Even workers who refuse to pay dues to the union are entitled to receive the same representation as the most loyal member.

13. Being a good steward means that you actively enforce the contract. You should watch to see that management is not taking action that might weaken the union at some future time. In addition, you need to be prepared to file grievances for the union if you see that management is violating the contract and no one wants to take action.