Union Grievance Process - Research Paper Example

Union Grievance Process Trade unions are functioning in most of the organizations in order to protect the interests of the employees. In the absence of trade unions, employers may not consider the employee complaints seriously. Collective bargaining is stronger than individual bargaining which is the core principle used by trade unions in the organizational world. An employer may not take an employee’s complaints or demands seriously if he directly approaches the employer. On the other hand, if the employee presents his demand or complaint through his trade union, employer may not take it lightly. Grievance is a term which is usually referred in the organizational world, when an employee believes that the employer has violated some of his rights. “A grievance is defined within a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). In general, a CBA may establish that a grievance arises when an employer violates a provision of the CBA, state or federal law, or "past practice"”(Johnson). More precisely, grievance is a written complaint registered by the employee about his employment right violations. This paper analyses various dimensions of union grievance process. Even though the term collective bargaining is quiet familiar to us, it was first used by the renowned economist Sidney Webb in 1891. However, the term collective bargaining gained prominence in the nineteenth century when trade unions were started to evolve in organizational world. Since grievance is accommodated within the CBA’s, the case of grievance or Union Grievance Process was also evolved along with the CBA’s. In fact, by 1944 the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that 73% of all labor contracts in America contained arbitration clauses and by the early 1980’s that figure had grown to 95%. (4) Today, 98% of all collective bargaining agreements in the United States contain arbitration clauses (Massie, p.2) The purposes of grievance procedures are; “To resolve disputes arising in the workplace, To provide contract interpretations, To protect the employees' and union's negotiated contract rights, To establish precedent, To ensure uniform treatment of employees, To maintain relative peace in the workplace”(Processing Grievances, p.502). It is difficult for an employee to work positively if he feels that some of his employment rights were disallowed by the employer. Same way it is impossible for the employer to ensure better productivity from the employees if the employer fails to keep positive relationships with the employees. Grievances help both the employer and the employee to settle their issues and strengthen their cooperation for mutual benefits. In other words, grievances are not only beneficial to the employees, but also to the employer. In most of the cases, employee will try to settle the issues with his employer directly or individually. However, in some cases, it could be difficult for the employee to argue present his arguments successfully in front of the employer. For example, if an employer dismisses or suspends an employee without genuine reasons, it is difficult for the employee to convince the employer with his arguments. If the employee is a trade union member, he will try to solve his problems with the help of the union, in such circumstances. When a trade union, negotiates with the employer to solve the problems of an employee or group of employees, the process will be referred as union grievance process. “The grievance process enforces the collective bargaining agreement, which establishes the memberships' terms and conditions of employment” (Johnson). Grievances are taking place in all the departments of an organization even though the details of some of them could be kept confidential. Union grievance process consists of certain procedures. The case of union grievance process begins when an employee approaches his immediate supervisor with a problem, dispute or employment right violation complaint. “If an employee brings forward an alleged violation of the collective agreement, the supervisor/manager must meet with that employee to discuss the issue within the time frame specified in the collective agreement”(The Grievance Procedure, p.8). If the supervisor’s power and abilities are not sufficient enough to solve that problem, he will transfer that problem to the head of the department, usually a manager. Trade unions enter the scenario at this juncture on behalf of the employee for the negotiation process or collective bargaining process. Both the employer and the trade unions discuss the issue strictly in accordance with the CBA reached earlier. To file a grievance, the Union writes a letter on behalf of the Union member, who is now called a “grievor,” to the “Employer”. This letter identifies the part of the Collective Agree­ment that the Union believes has been vio­lated, and suggests an appropriate remedy. After this letter has been written, it is fol­lowed up with a series of meetings between the Union and the Employer. These meet­ings often lead to a resolution that both the Employer and the Union/grievor accept. If the grievance is not resolved after a set number of meetings (usually 3), it may be referred to an arbitrator. An arbitrator is a neutral, third-party referee who will make a decision about whether the grievance is valid, and how it should be resolved (Guide to the Grievance Process) It is not necessary that all the employee grievances are individual ones. Apart from the individual’s employment right violation, employers can violate the rights of a particular group of employees and the agreements reached between the employer and the trade unions. Thus grievances can be classified in to three categories; individual grievances, group grievances, and trade union grievances. Union grievance cases are occurring at all levels in America time to time. Alice Johnson (2006) has mentioned the 1993 University of Illinois Hospital nurses’ grievance case as an example for group grievance. In the summer of 1993, the Hospital laid off 11 Registered Nurses and revealed plans to replace another 140 RN's with unlicensed personnel. INA challenged the plan in many ways, including filing several grievances that protested the plan. The INA nurses were successful. Eventually, the University of Illinois agreed to bargain over the plan and ceased the programs implementation (Johnson). In most of the cases, grievances are settled by the employer and the trade unions without asking for the intervention of a third party. However, in some complicated cases, trade unions and the employer may fail to settle their differences. For example, it is quite possible that the either the employer or the trade unions misinterpret some of the clauses of the CBA reached earlier, in order to safeguard their interests. Under such circumstances, the intervention of a third party becomes inevitable or arbitration becomes mandatory. Arbitration is a process of settling the disputes between the trade unions and the employers with the help of an arbitrator which could be an individual, or a tribunal consisting of the representatives of the employer, trade union and an impartial body agreed by the trade union and the employer. It is impossible for the employees to file grievances any time they like. Under normal circumstances grievances should be filed within thirty days from the date of grievance matter occurred. If the employee needs more time to gather details or evidences to argue his stands, he should inform it to the authorities within the stipulated time. To conclude, union grievance process is a dispute settlement activity between the employees and the employer. If the employee fails to get justice from the employer, he will seek the servicers of his trade union for the negotiation with the employer. If the negotiations between the employer and the trade unions fail, the case will be referred to arbitration. Works Cited “Guide to the Grievance Process”. Web. 02 August 2011. Johnson, Alice. “Grievance 101: Understanding The Process And Purpose Of The Grievance Procedure”. 2006. Web. 02 August 2011. Massie, Robert V. “History of Arbitration and Grievance Arbitration in the United States”. Web. 02 August 2011. “Processing Grievances”. Web. 02 August 2011. “The Grievance Procedure”. Web. 02 August 2011. Read More