UPI/WIU GRIEVANCE GUIDE

One of most important rights guaranteed in the UPI/WIU Agreement is the right to grieve alleged violations of this contract. This booklet contains the answers to the most commonly asked questions about the grievance process and discusses the basic facts that you will need to know about grievances. When in doubt about a situation, it is safest to discuss it with your Chapter Union Grievance Officer or Chapter President. This booklet is designed as an easy-to-read guide to the grievance process, but no information contained here supersedes the UPI/WIU Agreement. The reader is urged to closely read Article 6 of the UPI/WIU Agreement in addition to this guide.

What is a grievance?

A grievance is any alleged violation of any provision of the UPI/WIU contract (Agreement) that we have at Western Illinois University. It may also be any dispute concerning the interpretation of the UPI/WIU Agreement.

What are the most common grievances?

The most common grievance categories include:

Personnel: You are entitled to fair and professional evaluations when you are evaluated for retention, tenure, promotion, sabbatical leave, Professional Achievement Award (PAA), and so on. However, at any point in the process, please call the Chapter Union Grievance Officer for guidance. Note: You cannot grieve the DPC's, the chair's, the dean's, or the UPC's evaluation of you. (However, you can often ask for reconsideration of these evaluations.) A negative decision is not grievable until (and unless) the President, or in the case of tenure, the Board of Trustees, turns you down. The best defense against this is to submit as strong a portfolio as possible. Associate Faculty are only evaluated by the chair and the dean, and in the case of a negative decision have the right to an appeals committee.

Work load: You are entitled to a fair and reasonable work load, as specified in the UPI/WIU Agreement. (On the other hand, the administration can often claim "program need" in making an apparently unfair assignment.) The assignment of ACE's [Academic Credit Equivalents] and Additional Workload Equivalents must also be fair and reasonable and realistically reflect your time and effort, in accordance with past practices and a published set of ACE guidelines. You have the contractual right to give input and to be consulted about your workload. Additionally, faculty cannot be required to teach in the distance education format without their consent.

Summer Employment: Every department has an established summer rotation policy. If you desire summer work, it must be in accordance with your department's policy. If you desire to teach in summer, you must notify your chair in writing early in the fall term, according to the published timetable. (Note: As with workloads, a dean or chair may claim "program need" in making assignments; that is, they can determine what courses to offer, but not which of qualified faculty should teach them -- that is governed by the summer rotation. Furthermore, the union is always insistent that the program need be valid.)

Re-employment of Associate Faculty: Associate Faculty on the Seniority List (based on evaluations and seniorities) get preference for temporary employment over those not on the roster and those below them on the roster. (Reminder: Associate Faculty must inform their chair by February 15^th if they wish re-employment for the next academic year.)

Academic Support Professionals (ASP's): Every ASP must be given an annual job description, which describes his/her duties and responsibilities as well as the materials and methods used for his/her evaluation. Further, any changes in the assigned duties must be noted in a written modification of the annual job description. Every ASP is entitled to a fair and professional evaluation of his/her performance based on the procedures described in the annual job description. You have the contractual right to give input and be consulted about your work load.

Personnel file: You should check your personnel file at least once a year. You have a right to attach a rejoinder (or rebuttal) to any material in the file. There can be only one personnel file; secret files of any kind are not allowed.

Other: There are other possible areas of violation: sick leave, salary, sanctions, facilities, and so on. Also, many problems that arise are technically not grievances, but may be resolved by other informal means. Check with your Union Chapter Grievance Officer for his/her interpretation of the situation.

Are there things that we cannot grieve or ask for in a grievance?

We cannot grieve the actions of other bargaining unit members (for instance, negative DPC or UPC recommendations or actions of nasty colleagues); we can grieve only the actions of the administration. We cannot seek an apology as a remedy. We cannot seek punitive damages as remedies. We cannot file grievances on behalf of the students or non-bargaining unit members. We will not take a grievance that does not have a remedy. (For example, suppose a faculty is not retained, finds a new job, but still wants to grieve just "for revenge"; UPI would not take this case, since the grievant does not want his/her job back, which is the only remedy). In addition, we cannot ask as a remedy that other bargaining unit members be sanctioned or penalized. As mentioned above, always check with your Union Chapter Grievance Officer.

Who can file a grievance?

Any member of the bargaining units represented by UPI:

Unit A: Tenured and tenure-track faculty;

Unit B: Academic Support Professionals and Associate Faculty.

Must I be a member of the union to file a grievance?

No. All bargaining unit members (with or without union membership) are protected by the UPI/WIU Agreement and are entitled to grieve any violations.

What are the steps involved in the grievance process?

If you feel you have been subjected to unfair treatment (in violation of the contract), you should consider filing a grievance. This grievance will consist of some or all of the following steps:

Preliminary Step: Your first step should be to contact your Union Chapter Grievance Representative as soon as possible. There is a 40 calendar day limit; if you delay over 40 calendar days in filing the grievance, you lose your right to grieve, no matter how meritorious your case is. Beware: Administrators often claim they will help solve your problem and will discourage you from filing a grievance. Please note that the 40 calendar day grievance clock is still ticking, and their promise of help will not extend the time limit.

Often during this 40-day period, you and/or the Chapter Union Grievance Officer can resolve the problem informally. Sometimes it may turn out that your situation represents a problem that is not covered in the contract, and hence is not grievable. [For instance, we cannot make your colleagues or chair be nice to you; we cannot make departments rehire Associate Faculty where no need exists; we cannot make your chair give you a 10:00 class instead of an 11:00 class; and so on.] In these cases, the Union Chapter Grievance Officer will discourage the filing of the grievance. Please accept his/her judgment as a realistic reading of the situation and not insensitivity to your problem. Often another approach [such as mediation] can rectify the situation.

Every grievance begins with a complaint. But not every complaint rises to the level of a grievance.If the problem does represent a true violation of the contract and cannot be resolved quickly, a grievance should be filed. And even after the grievance is filed, informal resolution is still possible.

Step 1: If your problem appears to represent a genuine violation that cannot be resolved informally, you or the Union Chapter Grievance Officer will file your grievance with the Academic Vice President or his/her designee. [A member of the bargaining unit may file an independent grievance and choose not to be represented by the union at Step 1.] At the time that the grievance is initiated the Union Chapter Grievance Officer and the University Grievance Officer will attempt to achieve an informal resolution.

The grievant will be contacted and a meeting will be scheduled with the Union Chapter Grievance Officer, the grievant and the University Grievance Officer no later than 30 days following the receipt of the grievance. Also, during this time, the Union or the grievant if representing him/herself may request an extension of an additional 30 days to seek an informal resolution of the problem. If such a request is made, a 30 day postponement shall be granted. This postponement may be terminated at any time and the grievance process will resume.

The University Grievance Officer must issue a written decision on the grievance no later than 30 calendar days following the conclusion of the meeting.

Step 2: If there is no acceptable resolution at the Step 1 level [and often there is not], the Union Chapter Grievance Officer, upon request of the grievant, may file a written request for a review by a Step 2 Hearing Panel within 30 calendar days following the receipt of the Step 1 decision.

Grievances at Step 2 will be reviewed by a three person panel consisting of: one Unit A or B employee selected by the Union President; one University employee selected by the Administration; and one former or current University employee mutually acceptable to both the Union and Administration. This person shall serve as chair.

The panel shall be named and meet no later than 15 working days after the receipt of the Step 2 Hearing request. This panel and the Union Chapter Grievance Representative shall schedule a hearing with the grievant no later than 30 days following the panel’s request for review and the Panel Chair shall issue its recommendation no later than 30 calendar days following the conclusion of the hearing.

Step 3: If your problem is still not resolved at Step 2, the Union may take the case to Step 3 [binding arbitration] by filing a notice of intent with the University President within 30 calendar days of the receipt of the Step 2 decision. Arbitration requires arduous preparation and is often a one or two day legal hearing before a neutral arbitrator. Not all grievances are strong enough to stand up to this legal scrutiny, in terms of arguments, documents, and witnesses. Therefore, sometimes even cases with some merit may not be taken to arbitration. [This decision may also be appealed.] We do not win all our arbitrations, but we have had some remarkable successes in winning favorable awards at this step. It is important to plead critical cases to keep the administration aware of our vigilance.

Like any legal proceeding, arbitrations contain an element of uncertainty. No case [yours included, unfortunately] is a sure winner, no matter what anyone may tell you [particularly people without complete knowledge of all of the facts of the case and a thorough knowledge of the UPI/WIU Agreement]. An arbitration tends to be a “winner take all” proposition; as such, it is often better for both sides to attempt to reach a mutually agreed upon settlement. Furthermore, arbitrations tend to focus on very technical points of the Agreement; as such, they should not be viewed as a forum for “exposing administrative incompetence” or “getting revenge” as grievants sometimes expect. [Note: the authority of the arbitrator is limited by the contract. The arbitrator cannot substitute his/her judgment for the academic judgment of an administrator.]

If I don’t want UPI to represent me, can I represent myself in the grievance process?

Yes and No. A bargaining unit member may file a grievance and represent him/herself at a Step 1 hearing. UPI, however, is entitled to have an observer at this hearing. If there is no satisfactory resolution at Step 1, the grievant may file for a Step 2 hearing. However, at this point in law, UPI now “owns” the grievance and will decide how far to pursue it. However, the grievant preserves the right to withdraw the grievance at any time.

When must the grievance be filed?

A grievance clock starts ticking as soon as you know, or reasonably should have known, that there is a problem [e.g., receiving a letter from the President denying you retention, tenure, promotion, or PAA; receiving a memo from your Chair informing you of an unreasonable schedule; receiving a paycheck with an incorrect amount; and so on]. Once the clock starts, you have 40 calendar days in which to file the grievance; after this time, the grievance is barred. The clock keeps ticking even if an administrator is trying to help you. If in doubt, file first and continue to try for a settlement.

How can I help the Union Chapter Grievance Officer in my case?

Probably the most important thing you can do is to have [or obtain] all the documents that the Union Chapter Grievance Officer needs to build his/her case: the non-retention letter from the President, your workload assignment, a summer school rotation list and policy, your Departmental Criteria, a threatening memo from your chair, and so on.

May I consult a lawyer while my grievance is pending?

Yes, you may talk to a lawyer of your choosing, but at your own expense. However, it is often the case that grievants get bad advice from their lawyers who may be very well versed in real estate law, patent law, personal injury law, etc., but not in labor law. Generally, you are better served letting the Union Chapter Grievance Officer and Local Grievance Officers give you the appropriate advice. UPI has its own labor lawyers, and the Union Grievance Officers consult with them whenever necessary at no cost to the grievant.

Can I file suit in court regarding the problem?

You can always file a suit in civil court; however, you may lose your right to grieve through the union. According to the UPI/WIU Agreement, if you pursue the issue in any other forum, the administration need not deal with the grievance any further. However, if you feel that you have been the victim of some form of discrimination [age, race, gender, religion, handicap, etc.], you may choose to file a concurrent complaint with the EEOC and/or the Illinois Human Rights Commission [their “clock” is 180 days]. Filing a suit with the EEOC does not cancel the grievance and the two suits can proceed simultaneously. In general, you should consult your Union Chapter Grievance Officer first.

Can the University punish me for filing a grievance?

No. There is a “no reprisal” clause in the UPI/WIU Agreement. In fact, once a grievance is filed the administration should make a special effort to show that their treatment of the employee is not any harsher than any previous treatment. The administration’s retaliating against an employee for any legitimate union activity would be an unfair labor practice. The union would file a charge based on retaliation with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board. The Board has the right to order that WIU stop the unfair practice.

Will UPI ever drop a grievance once it has been filed?

Yes. Sometimes, UPI feels that the administration has sufficiently remedied the problem. In this case, UPI will withdraw the grievance. Sometimes the administration has offered a reasonable resolution to the problem. In this case UPI will recommend that the grievant accept the offer or we will withdraw the grievance. Sometimes, UPI will feel that a grievance has very little chance of prevailing. In this case, UPI will also withdraw the grievance. In any of these cases, the grievant will be notified of UPI’s decision and the decision may be appealed.

Withdrawing a grievance is often a very difficult situation. Filing the grievance itself is usually the result of some problem, and the grievant feels him/herself hurt by administrative caprice and/or vindictiveness. At the same time, the Union Grievance Officers tend to have a more objective view of the situation.

Can a grievant protest UPI’s decision to withdraw a grievance?

Yes. If the grievance is still at the Step 1 stage, the grievant can pursue the grievance him/herself. If the grievance is at the Step 2 or 3 stage, the grievant may notify the UPI 4100 President [at 11 E Adams, Suite 1106, Chicago, IL 60603] of a desire to appeal the decision. An appeals committee will be appointed to hear the appeal. The burden will be on the grievant to show in a clear and convincing manner that the decision of the Union Grievance Officers was wrong and that the case would win at Step 2 or Step 3.