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The Grievance Procedure - Know Your Contract
UNM Employees who are included in the Education Support Unit have the right to file a grievance with the University to address any violation of the terms and conditions of their employment outlined in their current contract with the University as well as specific sections of "Big Red." The Grievance Procedure, Article 24 of the contract, is filled with important timelines and procedures that employees must meet in order to have their complaints heard through this procedure.
What is a grievance?
A grievance is defined as a charge by either the employee or the employer that the other party has violated one or more provisions of the contract, or that a disciplinary action taken by management is not based on proper cause. Remember, a grievance is not just important in protecting one employee, but all of the employees in the unit. The grievance procedure is important in protecting the integrity of the contract so that the rules remain the same for all employees.
An example: "Union member Jane" believes that she has been disciplined unfairly. She was written up by her supervisor for being late to work. She is upset because it is the first time in a year that she has been late for work and feels that a written warning in her personnel file is drastic for being late. Jane would like to get this written warning out of her file so she decides to file a grievance in an attempt to get the written warning removed from her personnel file. Jane calls her Union Representative and initiates the process.
Another example: "Non-union member John" just received the only lay-off notice in his department, but he knows that a more junior employee should have received the lay-off before he did. Under the contract, lay-offs follow seniority rules. Non-union John calls the US-UNM office and is directed to the contract grievance article by a Union staff member. John is counseled as to his rights and encouraged to join the Union so that he could have Union representation. He chooses not to join the Union, so the John is on his own to file a grievance according to the contract. Good luck, John!
What is the process?
There are four steps to the grievance procedure. Time lines in filing your grievance and/or appealing it to the next level must be adhered to or the grievant forfeits his or her right to file and/or appeal the grievance.
Step One: Mediation Between the Employee and the Supervisor Prior to Filing a Formal Grievance
Because US-UNM and the University agreed that every attempt to resolve problems informally is best for both the employee and the University, we agreed to mediation at the beginning of this process. The employee must file his or her grievance within 15 calendar days following the date the employee became aware of the issue or incident or the date the employee should have reasonably known of the issue or incident that gave rise to the grievance. From the date the employee files a grievance at level one, the University has 30 days to attempt to resolve the issue. The employee may bring a representative into these meetings and the supervisor must meet with the employee to try to work out this issue. If the supervisor refuses to participate or the University can not remedy the grievance to the satisfaction of the grievant within 30 days, then the employee may appeal their grievance to the next level.
Step Two: Review by the Dean or Director
If the employee wishes to appeal a grievance to step two of this process, an appeal must be filed within 10 calendar days from the date of the expiration of the 30 day resolution period provided for in step one. The Dean or Director has 10 working days from the date of filing to step two to hear and attempt to resolve the grievance.
Step Three: Director of Human Resources
If the employee wishes to appeal a grievance to step three of this process, an appeal must be filed within 10 calendar days of the expiration of the resolution period provided for in step two. The Director of Human Resources has 15 calendar days to hear and resolve the grievance.
Step Four: Binding Arbitration
If the issue is not resolved within the time limits provided in Step three, the grievance may be submitted to Arbitration. Arbitration is a process where the University and employee (or employee’s representative) choose an individual who is independent of the University to hear the grievance and make a ruling. In Binding Arbitration, the decision of the Arbitrator is final and both parties must abide by the decision. While there is no timeline for requesting arbitration, the process must begin within 10 working days of the submittal of the arbitration notice. An appeal to arbitration may be made by the University, the Union or an employee acting on his/her own behalf. Arbitrations normally occur when the grievance is severe enough to warrant paying the costs of arbitration hearings (e.g., suspensions, discharges, etc.). Each party to the grievance will share equally in the cost of the Arbitrator. Employees acting on their own behalf will be responsible for the costs or arbitration and may be required by the Arbitrator to place a dollar amount in escrow prior to proceeding to arbitration. When the Union agrees to pursue arbitration, Union members will not have to pay for such services.