You are likely reading this article as a labor union member facing disciplinary action by your employer or feeling the employer has violated a term of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) signed by your union and employer.
The CBA includes a grievance procedure to resolve disagreements between you, the union, and management under the CBA. According to labor relations textbooks and labor union websites, the grievance procedure is one of the most commonly used sections of the collective bargaining agreement, if not the most.
This article explains the grievance process for union members. Its goal is to help you understand what to expect after you file a grievance and the different steps in the process. This knowledge is critical: the outcome of the grievance procedure may determine whether you keep your union job and benefits or must go to arbitration.
Keep reading to learn how to use the grievance process to resolve workplace disputes in your favor.
Then call our law firm at 804-251-1620 or complete this form to see if we will accept representation in your labor law or workers compensation case. We understand how these two processes interact and can help you recover significant damages to resolve both.
Generally, a grievance means an injury, wrong, or harm that may give rise to a complaint, a protest, or a petition for changes.
In labor law, a workplace grievance means a complaint filed by an employee or an employee’s union representative (i.e., the shop steward) with the employer, alleging unsafe working conditions, a dispute between an employee (or union) and management, or a violation of the applicable CBA.
The number of steps in the grievance procedure depends on the collective bargaining agreement.
Generally, the CBA includes a section on grievance and disciplinary procedures that outlines three to five steps to resolve the labor dispute.
Below, I describe the grievance procedures I have seen when reviewing collective bargaining agreements in past matters.
The first step of the grievance procedure is a meeting between you, your shop steward, and your immediate supervisor. This meeting aims to resolve the complaint before starting the formal grievance process.
You do not have to reduce your complaint to writing at this step. But if the problem remains unresolved after this meeting, you can submit a written grievance to your shop steward, supervisor, department head, or the Human Resources Director. Your collective bargaining agreement will tell you who to file the grievance with and how quickly you must do so.
Step Two: Written Grievance and Formal Meeting
The second step of the grievance procedure is the start of the formal stage.
Your written grievance should include the following facts:
You and the shop steward will then meet with the supervisor to try to settle the grievance.
Regardless of the outcome of the formal meeting, the employer must respond in writing to the grievance within the time specified by the CBA.
The third step of the grievance process occurs when the meeting between the employee, steward, and supervisor fails.
Now, the shop steward meets with a higher management level, such as the manufacturing or industrial plant superintendent or the department head.
Both sides review the written documents from step two and try to resolve the grievance.
At this fourth step, you, union representatives, and multiple high-level managers meet to try to resolve the complaint.
Step four is usually the last chance for the parties to resolve the grievance before submitting the dispute to binding arbitration. Once the grievance goes to arbitration, both sides lose control of the outcome and may lose entirely.
The only exception is if the CBA calls for non-binding mediation.
Nearly all collective bargaining agreements require labor and management to submit to binding arbitration as the final step of the grievance process.
Arbitration is similar to a bench trial for personal injury, social security disability, or workers comp claims. Both sides present evidence. And the arbitrator enters a decision. The arbitrator’s judgment is often final, marking the end of the grievance process.
The goals of grievance procedures are providing due process, increasing communication between labor and management, and resolving conflicts.
But what sounds good in theory does not always happen in reality. And you may struggle to get the employer to right a wrong through the grievance process.
That’s where we come in.
Contact our firm to protect your rights in the workplace.