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ARTICLE 36 - GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE
36.1 Definitions:
36.1.1 A "grievance" shall
mean a dispute about the interpretation or an alleged
violation of any of the provisions of this
contract Agreement or properly
executed Memoranda of Agreements.
36.1.2 The "aggrieved" is the person
or persons making the complaint. The Association may be
an "aggrieved person" in instances where an alleged
contract violation affects the Association or a clearly
defined group of employees rather than an individual
employee.
36.1.3 The term "days," when used in
this Article, shall, except where otherwise indicated,
mean working days; thus weekends, holidays, or vacation
days are excluded.
36.2 Grievance Procedure. The
purpose of this procedure is to provide an orderly method
for resolving grievances. A determined effort shall be made
to settle any such differences at the lowest possible level
in the grievance procedure and, to the greatest extent
possible, meetings or discussions involving grievances and
grievance procedures shall be scheduled at such a time so as
not to interfere with employee duties.
36.3 Grievance Time Limits.
Extension of timelines (for valid reasons such as
availability of parties involved, for investigation, etc.)
as specified in this Article, shall be by mutual agreement
between the College and the Association. All mutual
agreements shall specify a deadline date for the resumption
of the grievance procedure. Otherwise, grievances will
be processed in the following manner and within the stated
time limits:
36.3.1 Informal:
The aggrieved party shall, within twenty (20) working
days of the occurrence or of the aggrieved party' s
first knowledge of the facts of the occurrence,
attempt to resolve the grievance informally by
discussing it with his/her immediate supervisor. The
supervisor shall be advised that the matter is a
grievance, and shall be given the facts upon which it is
based.
36.3.2 Level 1:
36.3.2.1 If the
grievance is not resolved within ten (10) working days
of its presentation at the informal step of the
grievance process it shall, within five (5) working
days, be reduced to writing by the aggrieved party and
submitted to the appropriate Vice President with a
copy to the college labor relations
representative.
36.3.2.2 The written grievance
shall give a clear and concise statement of the
alleged grievance including, the facts upon which the
grievance is based, the issues involved, the agreement
provisions involved, and the relief sought.
36.3.2.3 When presenting the
written grievance, the aggrieved may be accompanied by
or represented by a representative of the
Association.
36.3.2.3 The vice president
shall reply in writing to the employee with a copy to
the Association within ten (10) working days following
receipt of the written grievance.
36.3.3 Level 2: Grievances
not settled at Level I of the grievance procedure may be
appealed to arbitration provided that:
36.3.3.1 Written
notice of a request for arbitration is made to the
vice president within ten (10) days of receipt of
his/her answer in Level 1; and
36.3.3.2 The issue involves the
interpretation or meaning of a specific provision(s)
of the agreement.
36.4 Selection of Arbitrator.
When a timely request has been made for arbitration, the
parties or their designated representatives shall attempt to
select an impartial arbitrator. Failing to do so, they shall
within ten (10) days of the appeal, jointly request the
Oregon Employment Relations Board to submit a list of five
(5) arbitrators who are also American Arbitration
Association-qualified arbitrators. As soon as the list has
been received, the parties or their designated
representatives shall determine by lot the order of
elimination; and thereafter each shall, in that order,
alternately strike a name from the list and the fifth and
remaining name shall act as the arbitrator.
36.5 Hearing. The arbitrator shall
schedule a hearing on the grievance and, after hearing such
evidence as the parties desire to present, shall render a
written decision.
36.6 Authority of Arbitrator. The
arbitrator shall have no power to advise on salary
adjustment except as to the improper application thereof;
nor to add to, subtract from, modify, or amend any terms of
this Agreement or of the policies of the College.
36.7 Binding Decisions. A decision
of the arbitrator shall, within the scope of his/her
authority, be binding upon the parties.
36.8 Costs of Arbitration. The
College and the Association will share equally any joint
costs of the arbitration procedure, such as the fee and
expense of the arbitrator and the cost of the hearing
room.
36.9 General Provisions:
36.9.1 An aggrieved
person(s) has the right to be accompanied by or
represented by an Association representative at all
levels, including the informal level of the grievance
procedure. The Association shall have the right to be
present and to state its view at all levels of the
grievance procedure. The primary role of the Association
representative at the informal level is to facilitate
productive discussion.
36.9 .2 No reprisals of any
kind will be taken by the College against any participant in
the grievance procedure by reason of such participation.
36.9 .3 Failure at any step of
this procedure to communicate the decision in writing on a
grievance within the specified time limits shall permit the
grievant to proceed to the next step. Failure at any step of
this procedure to appeal a grievance to the next step within
the specified time limit shall be deemed to be acceptance of
the decision rendered at that step.
36.9 .4 All documents,
communications, and records dealing with the processing of a
grievance shall be filed separately from the personnel files
of the participants.
36.9.5 Except for mediation and
where prohibited by law, tThe parties
expressly recognize the principle of election of remedies
and agree that the filing of a disputed matter in one (1)
forum (i.e., Court, ERB, arbitration) constitutes waiver of
any and all rights the party may otherwise have to contest
the disputed matter in any other forum.
36.9.6 Upon the mutual request of
the grievant and the immediate supervisor, mediation of a
grievance shall be made available provided:
(1) The Association and College have reached
written agreement on the scope and timelines of the
mediation;
(2) The written agreement specifies what, if any, of the
record of the mediation may be introduced into subsequent
grievance processes involving the issues to be
mediated;
(3) All grievance timelines shall be held in abeyance and
the grievant shall have the right to continue through the
grievance process if resolution is not reached within the
established timelines; and
(4) A written report of the results of the mediation will
be provided to the College and Association within ten
(10) working days of the resolution, or ending timelines,
if there is no resolution.
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