The Importance of Grievances

By -Jack Profijt  One of the biggest and best mechanisms that a union has to defend itself, and its members, is the grievance procedure. Every union or association has its own different version of this process. The one consistency throughout all agreements is the right of the member to grieve violations of the collective agreement.

In some cases it has become clear that some members don't understand the importance of this fundamental right of union membership.

It is important to remember that grievances have the ability to effect the present and the future. When a grievance is filed, starting from the complaint step, it is the first step towards a potentially legally binding award from a provincial court.

If in the event you file a grievance and it makes it to the Labour Board and it is won or lost, it can be used as a precedent in other arbitrations or grievances.

Our employer has stated on many occasions that it reserves the right to weigh each incident or discipline on a case by case basis. This means that they want to be able to choose who gets what discipline, and how severe it will be. This flies in the face of the legal process that has made up this country's legal system for hundreds of years.  An arbitrator or judge, must look at previous awards and ruling's to help ascertain the proper application of the law.

Another thing to remember about grievances is the fact that you cannot be disciplined for filing one. It is a recognized right of union membership, and no negative impact should arise from you exercising your right.

Grievances are not limited to the collective agreement. The process can be used for violations of the ESA, OSHA, and the HRC, just to name a few.

Grievances also have the ability to shape and influence negotiations. In some cases the employer will ask for evidence or proof to support a claim or an item that we have tabled. If we can provide proof, that's one more push in our favour.

The grievance process is  here for the betterment of the union and, our working lives. I encourage you to use this process.  Just remember that it is your right to file a grievance and to have access to the grievance procedure. Never wave your right to this process, it is something that has been fought over ever since unions began. Grievances,

Technorati Tags: union,grievanes,arbitration,cases,employer

and the procedure belong to you, the member, and  it can not be taken away.

Day 2 - Feb 19 2009

Ok day two was again a long day. First off we have more dates for bargaining.They are March 5,11,12,13,17,20,26. Today we received the employers response to your proposals. In our view the day was productive, they employer as well as the union did show some flexibility on some issues and put forward an intention to commit to further discussion on others. Most of the day the team pored over language in different collective agreements to help us work through some issues that we are facing at the table. For the whole team it was a long day as we were there at around 8 am and not finished until around 5:30 PM. Bargaining is continuing, and the teams task now, is to go over the there responses, and to decide how to best move forward while still minimizing the risks.

Now having said all of that, on behalf of the team I want to say a heart felt thank you to all of you who have wished us well, and expressed your thanks to the team for the job that we are doing. The words of encouragement really mean a lot. However I must also add, that we are all part of the same team, but we are just acting in different capacities.

Union Membership in Canada 2008

 

Union Membership

This is a very interesting link to say the least it has a lot of information. Its worth a look.

Day 1 Feb 13

Ok we are at the end of our first day. We presented our first proposal today and we went over the changes with the employer that we would like to see. The employer is in the process of going over some of our issues and has given there assurances that   they will have responses at the next bargaining date. All things considered the say went well.

Also on the positive side the employer has stated that they will begin filling some of the full time positions that have come available. They didn't indicate a date but did imply in the near future. You will see this in the Security officer news letter that is coming out on the Feb 14. 

Also I will take this time to address issue of secrecy and the need for confidentiality at the bargaining table. They need for this is necessary because the team needs to be able to operate with out interference from the out side. We as a team cannot discuss with you the things that go on in the caucus room, because they have a funny way of ending up on the other side of the table.   Also another  reason is, that if we say that the employer is offering this really great thing at the beginning of negotiations and then by the end we don't get that thing, it usually results in very pissed off members. It also prevents the team from getting manipulated by the rumour mill.  I will do my best to keep you all informed to the best of my ability. We do have bargaining bulletins that will be coming out when the time is necessary.  

I Can See You !!!

For those of you that are not tech savvy, what these are hit reports that I use to keep track of how many visitors I get to our blog so that I can determine how effective it is. Although I can not see exactly who is visiting the blog, I can see the IP address and who owns the server. The first image is self explanatory but the second one is a little more interesting. Hicks Morley is the name of the law firm that represents our employer.

How ever this kind of stuff is common and to be expected. It should not be a cause for alarm. I just posted it so that you all can see and that you are all aware of what is going on.

 

Have a look at this

Casino Security Guards May Form Union
The International Union of Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) has filed paperwork with the New Jersey Casino Control Commission to begin a labor drive for security officers in Atlantic City.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/160820/casino_security_guards_may_form_union.html

First Contact...

By Jack Profijt  Ok the meeting with the employer went as expected. Not much came out of it, as I have already mentioned to many of you. Basically the employer stated their position on the current state of our collective agreement. Their position is that everything  is great in the department and they stated that they believe that they treat all employees fairly, and that it is a great place to work.  They also feel that we have a really good collective agreement. They asked us to consider the possibility that we role over our current language into  a new collective agreement.We responded in turn stating that we answer to our members, and that our members  have expressed issues that they would like us to address. Neither side went into any specific  detail as this meeting was not intended as a negotiating session.

The employer expressed the desire and intent to come to a quick and equitable resolution to the current contract negotiations.  The team mentioned to the employer that they, as well as the union, share in that reasonability. It was also mentioned  that they have the ability to control to a certain degree, the length of time that these negotiations take. The employer passed us some of the information that was requested in our Intent to Bargain, such as seniority lists and benefits information. As in both previous negotiations the monetary issues are going to be dealt with last and non monetary issues will be up front.

The meeting lasted about an hour. We then proceeded to the Fonthill office, to consolidate the demands. and believe me we did a lot talking with our staff reps.  and we have come up with a good first draft of a proposal.

Moving forward we have two dates set up already Feb.  13  and the 19. We have also proposed four dates in March 6,12,13 and 17. We are waiting on a response from the employer on those dates. We finished up at Fonthill around 5:30. 

Just a Reminder

Just a reminder to everyone that the bargaining team has a meeting to day with the employer and some of their team members. I don't suspect that there will be a lot coming out of this meeting. we are not doing any negotiating this morning, but we will be laying down some ground rules. Also today we will be doing some training in the Fonthill office and going over the surveys again to come up with your final list of demands.
I suspect a long day today and I will see all you guys tomorrow. If there is anything that is news worthy I will let you all know