Grievance Procedure

From PEA's 2003 contract with the City:

ARTICLE 19 - GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

19.1  The Employer shall recognize stewards selected in accordance with the Association rules and regulations as the grievance representative of the bargaining unit. The Association shall notify the Employer, in writing, of the names of the stewards and of their successors, when so named.

19.2   It is recognized and accepted by the Employer and the Association that the processing of grievances, as hereinafter provided, is limited by the job duties and responsibilities of the employees and shall therefore be accomplished during working hours, only when consistent with such employee duties and responsibilities. The steward involved and a grieving employee shall suffer no loss in pay when a grievance is processed during working hours, provided the steward and the employee have notified and received the approval of their supervisor to be absent to process a grievance and that such absence would not be detrimental to the work programs of the Employer.

19.3   For the purposes of this Article, a grievance is defined as an alleged violation of the terms and conditions of this Agreement. The procedure established by this Article shall be the sole and exclusive procedure for the processing of grievances arising from this Agreement or arising from terms and conditions of employment in the City of Saint Paul Civil Service Rules and Salary Plan and Rates of Compensation.

19.4   A grievance shall be resolved in conformance with the following procedures:

Step 1.   Upon the occurrence of an alleged violation of this Agreement, the employee involved shall attempt, with or without the steward, to resolve the matter on an informal basis with the employee's supervisor. If the matter is not resolved to the employee's satisfaction by the informal discussion, the Association may refer the grievance to Step 2 by sending a written grievance to the Employer designated representative and a copy to the Office of Labor Relations. The written grievance shall set forth the nature of the grievance, the facts on which it is based, the specific sections of the Agreement alleged to be violated and the relief requested.

The Association shall refer the grievance to Step 2 within fourteen (14) work days of an alleged violation giving rise to such grievance, or the grievance shall be considered waived.

Step 2.  The Employer designated representative shall, within seven (7) work days following receipt of the grievance, meet with the Association steward and attempt to resolve the grievance. The Association may refer the grievance to the Office of Labor Relations for Step 3 under the following conditions:

a) Seven (7) work days have passed since the Employer received the written grievance and no meeting has occurred; or

b) Seven (7) work days have passed since the meeting and the Employer has not responded; or

c) the Employer has responded and the issue remains unresolved.

Any grievance not referred to Step 3 within fourteen (14) work days of the existence of any of the above three conditions shall be considered waived.

Step 3.   A representative from the Office of Labor Relations shall, within seven (7) work days following receipt of a Step 3 grievance, meet with the Association's representative and the grievant and shall attempt to resolve the issue. The Association may request arbitration of the grievance to Step 4 if any of the above conditions (a, b or c) exist following the referral of the grievance to Step 3. If within fourteen (14) work days of the occurrence of the above listed conditions (a, b or c), the Association has failed to give written notice to the Office of Labor Relations of the Association's intent to refer the grievance to Step 4, the grievance shall be considered waived.

Optional Mediation Step

1.  If the grievance has not been satisfactorily resolved at Step 3, either the Union or the Employer may, within ten (10) calendar days, request mediation. If the parties agree that the grievance is suitable for mediation, the parties shall submit a joint request to the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services for the assignment of a mediator. Grievance mediation shall be completed within thirty (30) days of the assignment unless the parties mutually agree to lengthen the time limit.

2.  Grievance mediation is an optional and voluntary part of the grievance resolution process. It is a supplement to, not a substitute for, grievance arbitration. When grievance mediation is invoked, the contractual time limit for moving the grievance to arbitration shall be delayed for the period of mediation.

3.  The grievance mediation process shall be informal. Rules of evidence shall not apply and no record shall be made of the proceeding. Both sides shall be provided ample opportunity to present the evidence and argument to support their case. The mediator may meet with the parties in joint session or in separate caucuses.

4.  At the request of both parties, the mediator may issue an oral recommendation for settlement. Either party may request that the mediator assess how an arbitrator might rule in this case.

5.  The grievant shall be present at the grievance mediation proceeding. If the grievance is resolved, the grievant shall sign a statement agreeing to accept the outcome. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the outcome shall not be precedential.

6.  If the grievance is not resolved and is subsequently moved to arbitration, such proceeding shall be de novo. Nothing said or done by the parties or the mediator during grievance mediation, with respect to their positions concerning resolution or offers of settlement, may be used or referred to during arbitration.

Step 4.  If the grievance remains unresolved at Step 3, the parties may arbitrate the grievance. The arbitration proceedings shall be conducted by an arbitrator who will be selected from a permanent panel of five (5) arbitrators within twenty (20) work days after notice has been given. This permanent panel of arbitrators shall be mutually agreed to by the Employer and the Association no later than the date this Agreement is signed by the Employer and the Association. In the event the Employer and the Association cannot mutually agree to five (5) arbitrators for the permanent panel, the parties will petition the Bureau of Mediation Services for a list of ten (10) arbitrators for each
panel member for which the parties did not mutually agree. The parties shall alternately strike names from such list(s), the Employer striking first, until one (1) name remains. Vacancies occurring on the permanent panel during the life of this Agreement shall be filled by mutual agreement of the parties. If the parties cannot mutually agree, the vacancy shall be filled by the process noted in the preceding paragraph.

This arbitrator selection process shall be effective only for the duration of this Agreement unless both parties mutually agree to extend such provisions. At any time prior to the opening of an arbitration hearing, the parties may mutually agree to utilize the assistance of the Bureau of Mediation Services to attempt to mediate a resolution of the dispute.

19.5  The time limits established in each step of the procedure may be extended by mutual agreement of the Employer and the Association.

19.6  The arbitrator shall have no right to amend, modify, nullify, ignore, add to or subtract from the provisions of this Agreement. The arbitrator shall consider and decide only the specific issue submitted in writing by the Employer and the Association and shall have no authority to make a decision on any other issue not so submitted. The arbitrator shall be without power to make decisions contrary to or inconsistent with or modifying or varying in any way the application of laws, rules or regulations having the force and effect of law.

The arbitrator's decision shall be submitted in writing within thirty (30) days following close of the hearing or the submission of briefs by the parties, whichever is later, unless the parties agree to an extension. The decision shall be based solely on the arbitrator's interpretation or application of the express terms of this Agreement and to the facts of the grievance presented. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on the Employer, the Association and the employees.

19.7  The fees and expenses for the arbitrator's services and proceedings shall be borne equally by the Employer and the Association, provided that each party shall be responsible for compensating its own representatives and witnesses. If either party desires a verbatim record of the proceedings, it may cause such a record to be made, providing it pays for the record.