A grievance is a form that is submitted when a person believes that the company violated the contract, policy, or in some cases, past practices. Being bypassed for overtime or a road trip are the most common examples.
The first step when you believe the company has wronged you is to talk to a shop steward. Explain to them the circumstances and have them assist you. It cannot be stressed enough how important documentation is. A steward should assist is getting copies of overtime call-out sheets, overtime sign-up sheets, log book pages, written statements from witnesses (if necessary), or anything else that may help your case. It is also important to note that you should state in the grievance what article and paragraph was violated (if the contract was violated), or what paragraph (if a policy was violated). Finally, it is important to state in the grievance what you are asking for. The most common sentence to write is "I am asking to be made whole in every way including, but not limited to, all lost overtime pay." If you and your steward need further assistance please ask for help from a Chairperson, or Executive Board Member.
You can ask your steward that helped you write the grievance, or a Chairperson, or an Executive Board Member.
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You are responsible for keeping track of your own grievance. The union will do is best to keep track of it also, but ultimately you are responsible. That is why keeping a grievance within time limits is so important.
You have 7 days from when you find out you were wronged to file a grievance. (This is the First Step)
After your grievance is filed, the company has 7 days to respond to the First Step.
After the company has responded, you have 10 days to take the grievance to the Second Step.
After you take your grievance to the Second Step, the company has 10 days to respond.
After the company has responded to the Second Step, you have 20 days have the Executive Board take the grievance to System Board. (It is very important to notify your steward immediatly after recieving your Second Step answer from the company. It takes time for us to submit your grievance to the System Board level and we want to make sure you stay within your time limits so you don't lose out!)
After your grievance is submitted for System Board you will be notified with all the details pertaining to when your case will be heard before the joint Union and Company Board.