Grievance Process Case Study

1. Why might both management and a union agree to a last chance agreement?

A last chance agreement (LCA) is an agreement between the union, the employer and the employee that allows an employee who was terminated for misconduct to return to work with specific requirements that must be met or it can lead to termination and without any rights to appeal. The agreement specifies the requirements, describes the conduct that led to the potential termination and the policies that were violated.

2. Explain the typical grievance process.

The employee will discuss the grievance with shop steward or supervisor. The steward will need to investigate if the grievance has merit or not in order to decide if they move forward to placing it in writing. They

Their goal is to create good employee relations and productive workplace environment. They want to resolve the matter by coming to a mutual agreement.

4. Explain the steps of a grievance procedure.

1. Employee, Steward, Supervisor: Initial step in grievance procedure for the employee to discuss grievance with shop steward or go directly to the supervisor. The steward must be experienced in handling grievance matters and be familiar with the terms of the contract. In addition, must be able to decipher if the grievance contains merit or not. The supervisor is responsible for for notifying the union of the grievance. (p410)

2. Written Grievance: If steward and employee agree that the grievance has some merit and should be pursued then it is placed in writing and moved to formal stage. The writing process forces the grievant to set forth facts, contract provisions and contingencies early on in the process. (p410) Then the steward and the employer can meet with the supervisor to discuss grievance with intent to resolve the matter quickly.

3. Shop Steward, Department Head: If the shop steward and supervisor are unable to resolve the grievance it may appeal to the next higher level of management and union