Labor Relations Fundamentals for Community College Districts

E. Processing the Grievance .............................................................................................................................34 1. Basic Principles of Grievance Processing ..............................................................................................34 2. Grievance as a Communication Channel ...............................................................................................34 3. Union Activity and Grievance Processing .............................................................................................34 F. Checklist: Handling Grievances at the Initial Step........................................................................................35 1. Notification ............................................................................................................................................35 2. Prepare for the Meeting..........................................................................................................................35 3. Understand the Grievance ......................................................................................................................35 4. Investigate ..............................................................................................................................................36 5. When considering your decision, ask yourself:......................................................................................36 6. Give Your Answer .................................................................................................................................36 7. Follow Up ..............................................................................................................................................37 G. Important Follow-Up Steps After the Grievance Meeting ............................................................................37 H. The Written Response to the Grievant ..........................................................................................................37 I. The Appeal and Arbitration Process..............................................................................................................38 1. Checklist and Pointers for Handling Grievance Appeals .......................................................................38 J. Preparing for the Arbitration/Appeals Hearing .............................................................................................40 1. Arbitration Preparation Procedures and Techniques ..............................................................................40 2. The Arbitration Hearing.........................................................................................................................41 3. Arbitration and Specific Grievances ......................................................................................................42 4. How to Present a Case in Arbitration.....................................................................................................43 S ECTION 7 Criteria Used by Arbitrators in Interpreting Agreement Language .............................................................................46 A. The Criteria ...................................................................................................................................................47 1. Intent of the Parties ................................................................................................................................47 2. Clarity of the Language..........................................................................................................................47 3. Specific Versus General Language ........................................................................................................47 4. Agreement to Be Construed as a Whole ................................................................................................47 5. Bargaining History of the Language ......................................................................................................48 6. Practice Prior to Negotiations ................................................................................................................48 7. Practice Since Negotiations....................................................................................................................48 8. Higher Regulations and Law..................................................................................................................48 9. Avoiding Harsh, Absurd or Nonsensical Result ....................................................................................48 10. Reasonableness ......................................................................................................................................49 B. Standards of Proof and Evidence ..................................................................................................................49 C. Effect of Binding Arbitration ........................................................................................................................49 S ECTION 8 Issues and Challenges ..................................................................................................................................................50 A. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................50 B. Grievance Issues............................................................................................................................................50 1. Disciplinary Actions ..............................................................................................................................51 2. Union Rights ..........................................................................................................................................53 3. Dress and Grooming ..............................................................................................................................54 4. Retaliation ..............................................................................................................................................54 5. Employee Performance Evaluations ......................................................................................................54 6. Tenure Decisions....................................................................................................................................54 7. Past Practice ...........................................................................................................................................55

A PPENDIX A Sample Community College District Grievance Procedure .................................................................................57

Labor Relations Fundamentals for Community College Districts © 2019 (c) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore v