2015Shop Steward Training

St. Peter’s College – October 23rd, 2015

• 9:15 Back to Basics 

 – What is a grievance?

• 10:45  Group Activity

– Each group will research grievances and discuss their conclusions for presentation to the assembly. Each group will pick one grievance to submit in written format

 • 11:15 Grievance Presentations

 • 12:15   Lunch

 • 1:15 Grievance Presentations (Continued)

• 3:00 Working Out of Title

• 3:45 Closing comments from the Local 655 and 755 Presidents

 

Please stay and get your gift from Jackie Porzio

Here are some tips for the Steward:

 

First of all, remember that as a Steward you have the support of the Union, both the national union USWU/IUJAT and your Local 755 President and Executive Board and our full time Union Representative. That means that if you don’t know the answer to questions or are not familiar with procedures, ask your Union Representative. With your position comes a huge responsibility and you need to be able to provide the right answers to members and follow the correct procedures in your dealings with management. Your members will respect you for following this simple advice.

Take your time. Listen carefully. Write things down. Buy yourself a spiral notebook and begin to document your activities. If you investigate a grievance, write down the 5Ws (who, what, when, where, why . . . and how) in your notebook or on the grievance fact sheet that the local provides with the grievance form.

Be on your toes. You will be tested by management the moment you become a steward. Think of it as hazing. But don’t give in. Act professional and be aware of your rights. Your supervisor or manager will probably try to tell you what you can or cannot do as a steward. Remember you are hearing this information from a self-serving and biased source.

Know your rights. You are management’s equal in all matters relating to the contract and the union-employer relationship. Your contract may outline some of your rights as a steward but much of it has a legal basis. That means the “sit down and shut up” mentality of some supervisors is incorrect, unprofessional, and in some cases downright illegal. If you are denied rights which make your defense of a member impossible, make sure your Business Representative is aware of this situation—immediately.

Check out your Steward Guide on a regular basis for grievance guidance. As you read over it, highlight those items of particular interest. Keep a file for them so that you can easily refer back to them when needed.

You are a representative of USWU to your members. Introduce yourself and greet new hires. Be the strongest advocate for the union on the property. Pass along information from your local. Squelch any rumor before it spreads. Work together with your local’s officers. That means the politics of the past union election, if there was one, is over. You are part of the team.

If a member comes to you with a complaint that could be grievable, investigate it quickly and professionally. Resolve the issue in the quickest and fairest way. Don’t make the member wait unnecessarily for an answer. Tell him/her that you will get back to them with an answer and then get back to them. If the issue is not grievable, see if there is a way to resolve it.

If there is no grievance, be honest with the member but explain why the issue is not a grievance under your agreement. Work with other stewards so that they are aware of the issues you have been presented with. You don’t want a member going behind your back to another steward because he/she did not agree with your decision not to press a complaint.

Read everything you can about your work— the daily newspaper and labor books. Make sure education is part of your union’s regular business.

Discipline

Consistency creates the sentinel effect. If the employer knows you are watching , they are less likely to attempt violating the contract.

• Burden of proof is on THE GRIEVANT (and the Union)

– Must have some legal basis

• Independent Arbitration is final and binding.

• Union may opt not to arbitrate. It is not the decision of the grievant.

Types of GrievancesViolation of Contract, Policy,

Practice or Law

Minor or Major Discipline

WEINGARTEN STATEMENT

"If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated, or affect my personal working conditions, I respectfully

request that my union representative, officer, or steward be present at this meeting. Until my

representative arrives, I choose not to participate in this discussion.”

(If called to a meeting with management, state the following to management when the meeting begins)

EMPLOYEE RIGHTS

• Under the Supreme Court’s Weingarten decision, the following rules apply to investigatory interviews:

• The employee can request union representation before or at any time during the interview.

• When an employee asks for representation, the employer must choose from among three options:1. Grant the request and delay questioning until the union representative arrives;

2. Deny the request and end the interview immediately; or 3. Give the employee a choice of:

(a) Having the interview without representation or (b) Ending the interview.

• If the employer denies the request for union representation and continues the meeting, the employee can refuse to answer questions.

• Employers sometimes assert that the only function of a steward at an investigatory interview is to observe the discussion; in other words, to be a silent witness. This is incorrect. The steward must be allowed to advise and assist the employee in presenting the facts. When the steward arrives at the meeting:

• The supervisor or manager must inform the steward of the subject matter of the interview: in other words, the type of misconduct being investigated.

• The steward must be allowed to have a private meeting with the employee before questioning begins.

• The steward can speak during the interview, but cannot insist that the interview be ended.

• The steward can object to a confusing question and can request that the question be clarified so that the employee understands what is being asked.

• The steward can advise the employee not to answer questions that are abusive, misleading, badgering, or harassing.

• When the questioning ends, the steward can provide information to justify the employee’s conduct.

STEWARD RIGHTS

What is “JUST CAUSE?”

Daugherty’s 7 Tests1. Was the employee forewarned of the consequences of his or her actions?

Is there a policy in place? Ignorance of the rules is not always an excuse.Common sense may apply

2. Are the employer's rules reasonably related to business efficiency and performance the employer might reasonably expect from the employee?

Was the employee asked to do something illegal or dangerous? If an employee has a REASONBLE belief that something is illegal or unsafe, they are protected from an

insubordination charge. Otherwise, the rule is: Do it now … grieve it later.

3. Was an effort made before discipline or discharge to determine whether the employee was guilty as charged?

4. Was the investigation conducted fairly and objectively?

5. Did the employer obtain substantial evidence of the employee's guilt?

Notice that it does NOT mention ‘Beyond A Reasonable Doubt’.

6. Were the rules applied fairly and without discrimination?

Generally, What is good for one employee should be good for all. Be certain to compare apples to apples. Do not invoke the “But everybody speeds defense”. You must show that the employer was aware of similar behavior and intentionally did not enforce the

rules. Avoid throwing other members under the bus. Not everyone has to be treated exactly the same, however.

7. Was the degree of discipline reasonably related to the seriousness of the employee's offense and the employee's past record?

NOTE: The County generally follows a policy of Progressive Discipline.

Progressive Discipline• Progressive discipline is an employee disciplinary system

that provides a graduated range of responses to employee performance or conduct problems. Disciplinary measures range from mild to severe, depending on the nature and frequency of the problem.

– For example, an informal coaching session might be appropriate for an employee who is tardy or violates a minor work rule, while a more serious intervention -- or even termination -- might be called for if an employee commits serious misconduct or doesn't improve a performance problem after receiving several opportunities to do so.

Discipline SummaryAs a Shop Steward, you are responsible for step one

of the process.

If you are asked to be present during presentation the of discipline, you can/should:

1. Take notes2. Advise the client of their rights.

“The member chooses not to answer questions at this time.”3. Have the client limit their responses4. Ask questions5. Request documentation of incident or prior offenses6. If it is a verbal or written warning, the member can submit a ‘rebuttal’.7. Ask for a caucus (break) to discuss the discipline with the employee/member8. Offer solutions (if possible)9. Refer the client to the Union office (especially in cases of major discipline)

Violations of Contract, Past Practice or Law

Consistency creates the sentinel effect. If the employer knows you are watching ,

they are less likely to attempt violating the contract.

• Burden of proof is on THE GRIEVANT (and the Union)

– Must have some legal basis

• Independent Arbitration is final and binding.

• Union may opt not to arbitrate. It is not the decision of the grievant.

The First question that should be asked: WHAT ARTICLE OF THE CONTRACT DOES THIS VIOLATE??

• Read your contract thoroughly – Don’t Cherry Pick!

• Contracts often refer to the same issue under different clauses.

• How has this been interpreted in the past? What has been the past practice?

(Don’t confuse Past Practice with past practice)

• Know your facts before filing the grievanceThe employer will know when you are uninformed.

ALWAYS USE THE PHRASE “At least but not limited to”

when writing a grievance.

The 5 W’s( Essential Information for Filing a Grievance)

HOW:• How does the employer remedy the grievance/complaint? • What adjustments are necessary to correct the situation? • How can you return the aggrieved worker to the same condition had the violation not occurred?

1-WHO: Who was involved in the grievance?• List name, department, job classification, shift. Include the name of the management representatives involved.

2-WHAT: What is the grievant’s story? Management position? • The reports of witnesses? • Collect all the facts you can, always looking for “hard” facts • but accepting and weighing “soft” facts and different versions.

3-WHEN: When did the incident or condition occur? • Give dates and times as accurately as possible. When in doubt, use “On or about”.

4-WHERE: Where did the grievance take place?

• Give the exact location, department, area, etc.

5-WHY: Why is this a grievance? What has been violated? The contract? Federal, state, municipal laws? Past practice? Workers’ rights? Previous ruling or awards?

Where the contract language is ambiguous or the contract is silent, past practice can be used to give the contract meaning.

Several questions need to asked about past practices:

•Is there mutuality in the practice?

•What is the history of the practice?

•Is the practice clear and consistent?

•How many times has it been repeated?

•Has it been a widely accepted practice?

•What conditions gave rise to the practice and have those conditions changed?

Violation of Past Practice

The Supervisor of your group sometimes lets you go home early with pay.

Payroll forgets to take out your medical deductions.

Employees working in seven day operations with varying schedules have always been afforded at least two consecutive days off in a row. Now, the

employer wants to change that.

You've always been allowed to use three sick days each year to stay home with your children if they are sick. Now your boss says you can't stay home

unless you are sick.

Until recently, your boss has allowed you to stop work a few minutes early so you can wash up. Now, she says you have to stay on the job until your

finish time.

The employer has for years allowed you to play radios while working. Because there have been complaints about the type of music, the boss

says, “no more radios”.

Are these PAST PRACTICES?

A Violation of Law may be better addressed in different forum.

– Discrimination• County Policy addresses these concerns. They should file complaint and allow

the employer to investigate. • EEOC – Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (Federal)• LAD – Law Against Discrimination Division (NJ)

Ideally, you want to have direct evidence rather than circumstantial evidence when filing a discrimination claim.

SEE ARTICLE “How to Prove Workplace Discrimination”.

– Wage and Hour issues should be addressed in contract but can be reported to State/Federal Government Wage and Hour Division. (Usually has a 2 year limitation.)

– Workers Compensation• Work place Injury is addressed in contract • Recommend speaking to a WC attorney for serious injury since it will protect the

employee over a longer period of time.

Grievance V. GripeA Shop Steward may get more gripes than Grievances.

• We are advocates.– But we can’t make all the people happy all the time– Listen to the member and brainstorm possible answers– See the big picture – Talk to other Stewards to see how they might handle things– Ask grievant to outline the details and what they a see a resolution.

• We try to be problem solvers– Know your members– Remain unbiased– Develop a relationship with the employer and your members– Gain the employees and the employers respect

Reminders about Grievance Filing

– “This is a violation of, at least but not limited to …”– Every grievance should state what the grievant expects as a resolution.

– Every grievance is 50/50.– Don’t make promises or predictions

– Take notes.

Witnesses

Witnesses are not really reliable

We all bring our own bias to anything we witness.

They can change their tune.

An initial discipline meeting

– In discipline, wait for the evidence before you start your arguments. – Don’t talk too much –

– Don’t ask questions you don’t know the answer to– Advise client to limit their comments

– Do not ask client to lie– You can always ask for a ‘caucus’ (break) to confer further with the client.

BE TIMELY! Every grievance must have a beginning, middle and END!DO NOT SIT ON A GRIEVANCE

If the employee asks you to wait, advise them of the time issues and follow up in writing.

You do not want the grievant to claim you dropped the ball.

Even though there aren’t specific time limits to filing a grievance, an Arbitrator may still rule a grievance as untimely if the Grievant was aware of the problem but chose not to grieve it.

LISTEN!

Grievance Breakout Groups

• Review grievance as a group• Discuss and decide which grievances may or may not

be valid• Elect at least member of the group to speak for the

group• Prepare to present an opinion on each of the

grievances• Submit the first grievance as a formal WRITTEN

grievance.