Grievance 101
For employees considering filing a grievance, I suggest you read the following:
If you don’t grieve, who will? Far too often I hear from employees who have obvious, long-standing difficulties with their management and they have been (and even continue to be) afraid to grieve. Worse are whole organizations with long-standing issues who are afraid to take action against their abusive manager. If you are miserable in your job because your relationship with your management is causing you stress, if you are being asked to do work far beneath your grade, if you are harassed or docked for being 10 minutes late to work, a grievance may be a way to get management off your back. If you let management get away with abusive, inappropriate, or otherwise incorrect behavior, not only are they seeing signs that their efforts to get rid of you are working but also that you are unwilling to fight back.
But…Grievances take a long time. Expect the case, if it is particularly contentious, to take six months to a year (or more!) to go through the process, to get to an arbitrator, and to get a decision. The process is free except for arbitration. Arbitrators charge lawyer rates, but the Union executive board may elect to fund the costs of arbitration depending on the likelihood of winning the case, the significance of the case, and other factors.
Grievances are about serious personal issues and have personal (and often Union) remedies. If you have been reprimanded, received a poor evaluation, been verbally abused, or otherwise harmed, a grievance may be your best plan of action. A grievance is not going to get you funding, is not going to get management to apologize (quite the contrary, see below), and is not going to get management to paint your office a nice shade of blue.
Grievances make management angry. This is not to say that you shouldn’t pursue the matter, but if you have tried being nice and haven’t gotten anywhere, grieve. Grievances take management time (time doing what a lot of managers don’t do, manage) and take what are local issues up the chain of command, a possibly embarassing situation for a first-line manager. You’re not likely to have a good relationship with your manager after a grievance (although I’d love to eat those words) but at least everyone knows where they stand. And managers cannot retaliate (an Unfair Labor Practice).
What are my options? FLRA (grievances), EEO, MSPB, which to choose? There may be multiple routes to address your concern, the Union is happy to help direct your problem to the proper route for the most expedient remedy with the agency that is most likely able to provide that remedy. Also there are informal options, the Ombuds office, “alternate dispute resolution” (although I still don’t know what that is), and you can always come to a Union meeting to raise your concerns and we can relay them and give suggestions.
Who’s my Union steward, and what do they provide? Well, you can pursue your case on your own (but you can’t take it to arbitration, the Union contract is the only avenue for arbitration). You can ask for Union representation at any point, and if you really disagree with the steward you can request another steward or cease having the Union represent you. The Union chooses your steward for you (although we’ll try to find one best suited for you and your case) and they’ll help with formalities, represent you (and the Union) at meetings, provide research, help formulate your arguments, lead the writing of the formal complaint, and otherwise help keep your case on track and moving forward. Your steward is not a lawyer but does have access to the Union’s law firm through the Chief Steward. The steward represents both your interests and those of the Union so the steward may disagree with you on some issues or give you advice that you might not agree with. The steward will generally be from another organization and will have no vested interests in your case beyond trying to make you “whole” again.
What to do? File a complaint (either with a Union rep or on your own) within 30 days of an event (ongoing issues do not have a 30-day requirement). Take notes. Keep a journal. Confirm what management tells you by writing it in an e-mail (”Just to confirm what was discussed at today’s meeting, you said…”). Understand your Weingarten rights to have a Union rep. Get your co-workers to join the grievance if this affects others.
What not to do? Never never never refuse an order by your manager (unless it violates the law.) Step away from the situation and don’t escalate, act out, or even respond beyond acknowledgement of the decision. Don’t miss out on the 30-day timeline, you don’t want to have the case thrown out on procedural issues. Don’t be afraid to file, but don’t file until you’ve tried to work it out on your own.