IBEW LOCAL UNION 1357

The Grievance Procedure and the requirements for filing and pursuing a grievance through the various steps are outlined in Article 9 of the Labor Agreement.

Following is a summary of our requirements for filing grievances:

An employee or the Union may file a grievance if either of both believe that the Company has violated the terms or conditions of the Labor Agreement or believe that the Company has changed a long standing, customary Company policy or practice.
An employee or the Union shall have recourse to the grievance procedure if either believe that a letter of reprimand containing a warning of more severe penalty for future improper action is not justified.
The grievance shall be presented in writing to the employee's supervisor within twenty (20) days (exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and/or holidays) of the incident.
The grievance shall specify the section of the Agreement which has been violated and the manner in which the Company has committed the violation.
The date of the incident.
The solution the Union and/or employee is willing to accept.
We must abide by the time limits as established in this Article if we intend to pursue the grievance to the various levels. If we don't, the grievance will be considered settled.

This is our tool to protect the employees rights. Therefore we must be sure to meet the time limits established if we want to pursue the grievance. The company will not accept a grievance or pursue it to a higher level is we fail to meet the time requirements.

Comments on the Grievance Procedure:

The Grievance Procedure is established in the Agreement as a Union tool to protect the employees against any violations by the Company of any of the rights the Union has been able to take away from the Company through the process of negotiations. The grievance procedure is limited to the rights as established i n the Agreement. This is why the requirements, when filing a grievance, to specify the section of the Agreement which has been violated and the manner in which the Company committed the violation.

Some employees are of the opinion that they have the right to file a formal grievance anytime they are dissatisfied with the situation or condition. This is not so. We must indicate the section of the Agreement which was violated and the manner in which the Company violated the Agreement.