Grievance
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What Is A Grievance?
Simply put, a grievance is a formal complaint that the Company has violated the contract.
That might sound simplistic, but it's actually critical.
For a grievance to be filed there has to be a violation of a specific aspect of the contract. Bad management, a supervisor's poor people skills, a grumpy boss, a bad shift are not grievances. They are serious problems that the union can address in the Labor-Management Committee, but they're not grievances.
Whatever the problem is, the first step for you is the same: tell your union there's a problem (www.iape1096.org/arf.php.) Fill out an Assistance Request Form (ARF) and follow-up with an e-mail to the union office (union@iape1096.org.)
Your ARF will be assigned and someone from the Grievance Committee will contact you. The case will be investigated and a determination will be made as to the best course of action.
It is important that any problem be immediately brought to the union's attention. Grievances need to be "timely," generally filed with-in 45 days of the contract violation.
Once a grievance is filed, the company and the union will meet to discuss the issue and try to find a resolution. If a resolution can not be found, the union has the right to file for arbitration, sending the case to an independent arbitrator, an expert in labor law, who serves much as judge would, hearing evidence and rendering a verdict.
A note of caution: An individual member involved in a dispute with the company might often have the temptation (or at least make the threat) to "hire a lawyer and sue them." But remember, any claims that you have must first pass through the grievance process and the current contract has an enforcement provision that limits all disputes to binding arbitration, unless the case deals with charges of discrimination.
There's much more about grievances and arbitrations-and if you have specific questions, call the union office (609-275-6020.)