IAM Local Lodge 778 is a united Lodge representing workers in western Missouri and eastern Kansas.  We are located in south Kansas City just 1/2 mile west of 71 Highway or 1 mile west of I-435 at 9404 Grandview Road.  Meeting on the 2^nd Saturday of each month.

Mailing address is:

Kansas City, MO. 64132

This Web Page last updated on Saturday, December 13, 2008 07:05 PM

7 Ways To Lose A Winning Grievance!

What's worse than losing a grievance?  It's losing a grievance that you and everyone else knew was a 100 percent sure winner.

Losing "sure winners" happens every day -- not because of the quality of the grievance, but because of the way the union handles it. Making a fundamental error or forgetting a basic detail can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Here are seven sure fire ways to lose even the best grievance.

If you were management, would you give the union a little slack if they filed an appeal too late -- especially on a case that was going to cost the employer either a lot of money, authority or embarrassment? No way.

If you have to do something within a certain time frame, get it done. It could be filing a document, preparing for a hearing, submitting a brief or filling out a form. It makes no difference. The longer you wait, the greater the chance that you'll miss the deadline and lose your case.

Just because nobody brought a problem to your attention earlier doesn't mean the union shouldn't have known about it. If it started happening a year ago, and nobody made it an issue until recently, it may be too late to do something.

That's why somebody, preferably a group of stewards, needs to examine changes in the workplace as they are happening. Can management do that under the terms of the contract? Does it hurt employees? Is it legal? If you wait until someone complains about it, it may be too late.

You may have a fantastic eyewitness who will verify everything the grievant alleges. But if you wait until the last minute to notify the eyewitness about a hearing date, you may find that he or she is out of town, in the hospital, or just plain unreachable. Then where will you be with no corroborating testimony?

Be sure your witness knows when and where the hearing is, too. Witnesses aren't much good if they show up at the wrong place or time to testify.

There's nothing like the sinking feeling you get in a grievance session when a grievant or witness says something that destroys your case. Go over every question you will ask beforehand. Witnesses shouldn't volunteer information. Their answers should be short, factual, and to the point.

Some people routinely add the words "other related sections" to the part of the grievance form that asks you to specify the contract section that was violated. Later in the grievance process, somebody may figure out that some other section of the contract provides a stronger argument. Always check the full contract first. Talk it over with someone else who knows the agreement. Cite all the articles that reasonably seem to apply. But if you can hold open your options (by listing "and other related sections") until you are asked to be more specific, you may buy some time to strengthen your case.

It lessens your victory if management drags out the grievance process needlessly long. If they stall things because they think they can win, there's not much you can do. But when they do it just out of spite and personal animosity, maybe you could have prevented it by keeping the grievance process strictly professional and not a grudge match between two individuals.

Winning is its own reward. You were right and management has to acknowledge it. Don't give them an unnecessary reason to postpone the final resolution.

"Winning" is not always as clear as it seems. Sometimes winning means getting redress -- that is, undoing a wrong or winning some sort of compensation for the victim. In other cases winning means setting a precedent for the future. In yet other cases, winning may be seen as holding management accountable for its actions -- an apology, public acknowledgement that they were wrong or embarrassment of a particularly authoritarian boss. Know what kind of win you want when you start the process, because these goals may be competing -- or even exclusive of each other. You may "win" the grievance, in the formal sense. But if you didn't demand the right resolution, it probably won't feel like much of a victory.

I have recently been made aware that many of our members have either an inaccurate or only a partial understanding of the grievance procedure. In an effort to promote a better understanding of how our union functions, the topic of this letter concerns the grievance process. It explains how one is started, how it is resolved, all the steps that are involved and what happens at each one.

The main agreements between a union and a company are the Contract, and job descriptions. There are others, for example, past practices, working conditions, company policies, prior grievances and many other things. Some of these agreements have been defined by labor law and/or arbitrations. Also, any arbitrator can, when answering an arbitration case, at any company, set rules and declare definitions that have nation wide effect. A grievance arises when either of the parties thinks the other party is not complying with these agreements. However, it is usually the union responding to a company action such as a change in policy or disciplining an associate or changing the working conditions etc.

What is a grievance? Initially, a grievance is a dispute between a Bargaining Unit Member and an official management representative of the Company. The grievance must be about something in one of the agreements between the Company and the Bargaining Unit. Please note that if a salaried person, that is not part of management, does something to violate one of these agreements, the dispute is with their supervisor who is an official management representative of the Company and not the salaried person who is not an official management representative of the Company.

What is the first step of the grievance procedure? The first action in resolving a grievance is to speak with the company management representative with whom there is disagreement. Many grievances can be resolved at this step.

If the grievance is not resolved by this initial discussion, the next action is to put the grievance in writing and submit it to the representative of the company with whom there is disagreement. This should involve the steward but it is not mandatory. The company, however, has the right to refuse to discuss it without an official union representative present.

After submitting the written grievance to the company, there may be investigation, discussion, and negotiation. During this time there will be an attempt to determine the exact nature of the problem and discussion on how to resolve it. Eventually the company will write a response to the grievance. This response may or may not be acceptable to the union. If it is not acceptable, the response is rejected and the grievance goes to the second step.

What is the second step? If the first step response is rejected, the grievance is forwarded to Human Relations department. The HR department then sends a copy to the grievance committee. At this point, there may be more investigation, discussion and negotiation. It may be resolved without going any further.

If it is not resolved, HR and the grievance committee will schedule a meeting between the HR department and the grievance committee to discuss the grievance. This meeting is an informal hearing. Both sides present their views, question witnesses and attempt to both make and refute arguments. After the hearing, there may be more negotiation in an attempt to resolve the grievance.

Eventually, HR writes a response, signs it and then forwards it to the grievance committee for their signatures. The grievance committee may either accept it or reject it.

What is the third step? If the response is rejected, another informal hearing is scheduled between the head of HR and the Business Representative of the union. At this point, there may be more investigation, discussion and negotiation. It may be resolved without going any further or the second step answer may be accepted after all.

If the third step hearing is held, then once again, both sides present their views, question witnesses and attempt to both make and refute arguments. After the hearing, there may be more discussion and negotiation. Eventually HR writes and signs the response and forwards it to the Business Representative for a signature. The Business Representative may either accept it or reject it.

What is the fourth step? If the Business Representative does not like the response, there are two choices. The Business Representative can request arbitration to resolve the dispute or the response can be accepted, unpleasant though it may be.

If the Business Representative rejects the company’s answer, the company can also request arbitration.

There are many very important things to consider before taking a case to arbitration. First, the cost of arbitration is currently six thousand dollars ($6,000). This cost is split evenly between the company and the union. Therefore there must be some cost effective benefit to pursue this course. The Business Representative will not spend three thousand dollars to recoup a one hundred dollar loss unless the problem has a wide impact or has an implication that may harm the union or many of it’s members. Unfortunately this means that sometimes a member is going to suffer an unfair loss.

Second, there is also the serious concern of what the future impact will be if a negative decision is rendered by an arbitrator. Both unions and companies have had unexpected results and consequences as a result of an arbitration.

Many arbitrators are retired judges or professors of law at some college. The arbitration hearing is an informal trial and is conducted like a trial in a real court. The arbitrator acts somewhat like a judge. After all the evidence is presented and all the witnesses are heard, the arbitrator considers the case and renders a decision. This decision is binding on the company and the union unless it is taken to a civil court.

The last step is to take the case to civil court and take it through the court system. When this has been done in the past, it has, many times, gone all the way to the U.S. Supreme court. Due to legal and court fees, this process can be very expensive.

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Editor  Greg (Homer) Olson      

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