WIU/UPI Agreement 2007-2011

Article 6: Grievance Procedure
Units A & B

6.1. Purpose

The parties agree that, whenever possible, disputes should be resolved informally at the lowest administrative level. To that end, all employees and administrators are encouraged to communicate candidly and freely regarding differences or concerns. This shall be done without fear of retaliation.

While encouraging and providing for informal resolution, this Article applies primarily to those cases where a more formal grievance procedure is necessary. Its purpose is to promote a prompt and efficient procedure for the investigation and resolution of grievances. The procedures hereinafter set forth shall be the sole and exclusive method of formally resolving the grievances of employees.

6.2. Resort to Other Procedures

A grievance shall not be processed if the acts or omissions complained of are or become the subject of any other administrative or judicial proceeding, except in cases of discrimination.

6.3. The Board and the Union do not intend that this grievance procedure be a device for appellate review; therefore, a decision by the University or its representatives, in response to a recommendation of a hearing officer or other individual or group having appropriate jurisdiction in any other procedure shall not give rise to a grievance under this procedure.

6.4. Definition

A grievance is a complaint or allegation by an employee or employees, or by the Union, that there has been a violation, misinterpretation, or improper application of the provisions of this Agreement. All provisions of this Agreement are subject to this grievance procedure except for 29.6.g. or 43.7.h. or as otherwise provided in this Article.

6.5. Representation

The Union may, with the consent of the employee, represent an employee in a grievance filed under this Article. An employee may also represent herself or himself in a grievance at Step One filed under this Article. If an employee chooses to represent herself or himself, she or he shall so inform the Union and the University at the time of filing. The Union Representative shall be notified at least 24 hours in advance of any meeting related to such filing. The Union shall have the right to have an observer present at all such meetings. No resolution of any individually processed grievance shall be inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement.

6.6. Grievance Representatives

The Union Chapter shall periodically furnish the University Administration with the name(s) of all designated Union Representative(s).

6.7. Participation in Proceedings

If it is necessary for an employee to participate in a grievance or arbitration proceeding during working hours, the employee’s salary shall neither be reduced nor increased for time spent in such activities. Prior to participation in any such proceeding, the employee shall make arrangements acceptable to the appropriate vice president for the performance of the employee’s duties. Approval of such arrangements shall not be unreasonably withheld.

6.8. Grievance Forms

All grievances and requests for review must be submitted in writing on forms as attached to this Agreement as Appendices C, D, and E, and shall be signed by the grievant. Except for the initial filing of the grievance, if there is a difficulty in meeting any time limit, the Union Representative may sign such documents for the grievant, with the grievant’s authorization, and later file a copy signed by the grievant.

6.9. Stopping the Clock

The grievance clock shall stop between academic terms (fall semester, spring semester, and Summer Session) or upon mutual consent of the Union and the University.

6.10. Compliance with Procedure

All grievances must be filed in accordance with the procedures in this Article. The University shall be under no obligation to process or consider a grievance which is not filed in accordance with the procedures of this Article.

6.11. Procedure for Handling Grievances

  1. Informal
    1. At the time a grievance is initiated, the Union Representative and the University Grievance Officer will attempt to achieve an informal resolution.
    2. If the grievant, Union Representative, and University Grievance Officer decide it would be advantageous to do so, a meeting shall be scheduled that brings together all affected parties for the purpose of reaching an informal resolution. If the grievant accepts the outcome of the informal resolution, the grievant will agree to withdraw the grievance. If the grievant is not satisfied with the outcome, the grievant may proceed with a Step One hearing.
    3. During any postponement hereafter described, the Academic Vice President shall, upon request of either the grievant or the Union Representative, arrange an informal conference between the appropriate University representative(s) and the grievant and/or Union Representative.
  2. Step One
    1. A grievance shall be filed with the Academic Vice President within 40 days following the date of the act or omission giving rise thereto, or the date on which the employee knew or reasonably should have known of such act or omission if that date is later. For the purpose of seeking informal resolution of the grievance, the grievant may, in the written grievance, request a postponement of any action in processing the grievance formally for a period of up to 30 days. If such a request is made, it shall be granted. Upon the grievant’s written request, additional 30-day extensions will be granted unless to do so would impede the resolution of the grievance. During a postponement period, further attempts at informal resolution may be pursued. The grievant or Union Representative may terminate the postponement period at any time by giving written notice to the Academic Vice President that she or he wishes to proceed with the Step One hearing provided for below. If the postponement period expires without such written notice, the grievance shall be deemed informally resolved and need not be processed further.
    2. The Academic Vice President or her or his designee (except the University Grievance Officer) shall conduct a formal Step One hearing no later than 30 days following (1) receipt of the grievance if no postponement is requested or (2) receipt of written notice that the grievant wishes to proceed with the Step One hearing.

      In advance of the Step One hearing, the grievant and University shall have the right upon request to a copy of any existing identifiable documents relevant to the grievance and which the grievant or University is not prohibited by law from providing. The grievant and University will make every reasonable effort to provide the requested documents no less than one week prior to the Step One hearing. Prior to the Step One hearing, the Academic Vice President or designated hearing officer will receive a copy of the Agreement 2007-2011, the grievance form filed by the grievant/UPI, and all supporting documents submitted by the grievant/UPI.

      Individuals attending the Step One hearing will be the University Grievance Officer, the grievant(s), the Union Representative, and the Academic Vice President or designated hearing officer. Any other invited guests may attend the Step One hearing, if invited by the University Grievance Officer, the grievant(s), or the Union Representative. The Union Representative and University Grievance Officer will be responsible for notifying one another in advance of the name and purpose of any invited guest. At the Step One hearing, the grievant shall have the right to present any evidence in support of the grievance. The University Grievance Officer shall also be able to present evidence and information relevant to the grievance. The Step One hearing will be recorded and transcribed. The Academic Vice President or designated hearing officer will be allowed to ask questions of the grievant(s), the Union Representative, the University Grievance Officer, or any invited guest attending for the purpose of providing testimony. The Academic Vice President or designated hearing officer shall issue a written decision, stating the reasons therefore, within 30 days following the conclusion of the hearing. In the event the decision at Step One refers to documents not requested or presented, copies of such documents shall be attached to the decision. Only those acts or omissions and terms or provisions of the Agreement identified at Step One may be considered at subsequent steps.
    3. The Academic Vice President or designated hearing officer shall consider procedural and substantive issues, as applicable, in rendering a decision.
  3. Step Two
    1. If a grievance is not satisfactorily resolved at Step One, the Union Representative may, upon the request of the grievant, file a written request for review by a Step Two Hearing Panel within 30 days following receipt of the Step One decision.
    2. Grievances at Step Two will be reviewed by a three-person panel consisting of
      1. one Unit A or Unit B employee, as applicable, or former employee, selected by the Union Chapter;
      2. one University employee or former employee selected by the Administration; and
      3. The University President.
        The role of the two Hearing Panel members appointed by the Union Chapter and Administration shall be to make recommendations to the University President. The University President’s role will be to decide the outcome of the Step Two hearing.
    3. The representative of the grievant shall schedule a hearing no later than 30 days following the panel’s receipt of the request for review. Prior to the Step Two hearing, the Grievance Panel will receive the grievance form filed by the grievant/UPI, transcripts of the Step One hearing, and all supporting documents submitted by UPI and the Administration at the Step One hearing.
    4. The Step Two hearing will be recorded and transcribed. Individuals attending the Step Two hearing will be the University Grievance Officer, the grievant(s), the Union Representative, and the members of the Step Two Grievance Panel (Union Chapter appointee, Administrative appointee, and University President). Any other invited guests may attend the Step Two hearing if invited by the University Grievance Officer, the grievant(s), or the Union Representative. The Union Representative and University Grievance Officer will be responsible for notifying one another in advance of the name and purpose of any invited guest. The University Grievance Officer, Union Representative, and the grievant(s) shall be allowed to submit at the Step Two hearing any additional evidence relevant to the grievance if the additional evidence is new or was not available at the time of the Step One hearing. The University Grievance Officer and Union Representative will be responsible for sharing with one another in advance of the Step Two hearing any new evidence or information that is to be presented during the Step Two hearing. The members of the Grievance Panel will be allowed to ask questions of the grievant(s), the Union Representative, the University Grievance Officer, or any invited guest attending for the purpose of providing testimony.
    5. At the conclusion of the formal presentation of evidence, the two Grievance Panel members appointed by the Union Chapter and Administration shall meet privately with the University President and offer their recommendations for support or denial of the grievance, as well as reasons for those recommendations. The meeting will be recorded, and the recommendations and discussion will be transcribed along with all else said at the hearing. A complete transcript of the hearing and panel discussion will be provided to the grievant, the University Grievance Officer, Union Representative, Union Chapter President, and Academic Vice President, within 30 days after the conclusion of the hearing.
    6. The Grievance Panel shall consider procedural and substantive issues, as applicable.
    7. Within 30 days of the conclusion of the hearing, the University President shall render her or his decision, issuing a decision letter to the grievant (copied to the University Grievance Officer, Union Representative, Union Chapter President, and Academic Vice President) with reasons for that decision.
  4. Step Three
    If the grievance is not resolved at Step Two, the Union may, upon the request of the grievant, proceed to arbitration by filing a written notice of intent to do so. Notice of intent to proceed to arbitration must be filed with the Academic Vice President within 30 days after receipt of the Step Two decision and shall be signed by the grievant and the Union Chapter President. No later than 30 days after filing a written notice of intent to arbitrate, the Union and the University will select an arbitrator and date for the arbitration hearing. The arbitration hearing will take place no later than six months after the filing of the intent to arbitrate. All dates may be extended by mutual consent of the Union and the University.
  5. Withdrawal of Grievance
    A grievance may be withdrawn by the grievant or the Union at any point before or during a Step Two or Step Three proceeding.

6.12. Arbitration Procedure

  1. Selection of an Arbitrator
    Representatives of the University and the Union shall meet within 90 days after the execution of this Agreement for the purpose of selecting an Arbitration Pool of no more than 15 members. Selection of an arbitrator to hear a grievance shall be by mutual agreement or by alternately striking names from the Arbitration Pool list until one name remains. The right of the first choice to strike from the list shall be determined by the flip of a coin. If the parties are unable to agree to a pool of arbitrators, they shall follow the normal American Arbitration Association procedure for the selection of an arbitrator. The parties may mutually select as the arbitrator an individual who is not a member of the Arbitration Pool.
  2. Authority of the Arbitrator
    1. The arbitrator shall neither add to, subtract from, modify, or alter the terms or provisions of this Agreement. Arbitration shall be confined solely to the application and/or interpretation of this Agreement and the precise issue(s) submitted for arbitration. The arbitrator shall have no authority to determine any other issue(s). The arbitrator shall refrain from issuing any statements of opinion or conclusions not essential to the determination of the issue(s) submitted.
    2. Where an administrator has made an academic judgment—for example, a judgment concerning application of evaluation criteria in decisions on retention, promotion, or tenure, or a judgment concerning the academic acceptability of a sabbatical proposal—the arbitrator shall not substitute her or his judgment for that of the administrator. The arbitrator shall not review the academic decision except for the purpose of determining whether or not that decision has violated this Agreement. If the arbitrator determines that the Agreement has been violated, the arbitrator shall direct the University to take appropriate action. An arbitrator may award back salary where the arbitrator determines that the employee is not receiving the appropriate salary from the University, but the arbitrator may not award other monetary damages or penalties. If notice that further employment will not be offered is not given on time, the arbitrator may direct the University to renew the appointment only upon a finding that no other remedy is adequate and that the notice was given so late that (a) the employee was deprived of reasonable opportunity to seek other employment or (b) the employee actually rejected an offer of comparable employment which the employee otherwise would have accepted. An arbitrator’s decision awarding employment beyond the sixth year shall not entitle the employee to tenure. In such case, the employee shall serve one additional academic year without further right to notice that the employee will not be offered employment thereafter.
  3. Conduct of Hearing
    All arbitration hearings shall be held in Macomb, Illinois (or in Moline, Illinois, in a case arising at the Quad Cities campus), unless otherwise agreed to by the parties. The hearing shall commence within 21 days of the arbitrator’s acceptance of selection, or as soon thereafter as is practicable, and the arbitrator shall issue the decision within 30 days of the close of the hearing or the submission of briefs, whichever is later, unless additional time is agreed to by the parties. The decision shall be in writing and shall set forth findings of fact, reasoning, and conclusions on the issue(s) submitted. Except as modified by the provisions of this Agreement, arbitration proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with the rules and procedures of the American Arbitration Association.
  4. Effect of Decision
    The decision or award of the arbitrator shall be final and binding to the extent permitted by and in accordance with applicable law and this Agreement.
  5. Fees and Expenses
    All fees and expenses of the arbitrator shall be divided equally between the parties. Each party shall bear the cost of preparing and presenting its own case. Any party desiring a transcript of the proceedings shall bear the cost. The cost of any transcripts required by the arbitrator shall be divided equally between the parties.

6.13. Miscellaneous Provisions

  1. Settlement Implementation
    All formal grievance settlements shall specify a time by which the settlement shall be implemented. The time limit may be extended by mutual agreement between the University President and the Union Chapter President.
  2. Time Limits
    All time limits contained in this Article may be extended by mutual agreement of the parties, except that the time limits for the initial filing of a grievance may be extended only by agreement between the University President and the Union Chapter President. Upon failure of the University President to provide a decision within the time limits provided in this Article, the Union may appeal to the next step. Upon the failure of the Union to file an appeal within the time limits provided in this Article, the grievance shall be deemed to have been resolved by the decision at the prior step.
  3. Notification
    All grievances, requests for review, notices, and decisions shall be transmitted in person or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested. In the event of a question as to the timeliness of any grievance, request for review, notice, or decision, the date of receipt shall be determinative.
  4. Precedent
    No complaint informally resolved or grievance resolved at either Step One or Step Two shall constitute a precedent for any purpose unless agreed to in writing by the Academic Vice President and the Union Chapter President.
  5. Retroactivity
    An arbitrator’s award may be retroactive as the equities of a case may demand, but in no case shall an award, including an award of back salary, be retroactive to a date earlier than 30 days prior to the date the grievance was initially filed in accordance with this Article or the date on which the act or omission occurred, whichever is later.
  6. Processing
    The filing or pendency of any grievance, or of arbitration proceedings, under this Article shall not operate to impede, preclude, or delay the Board or Academic Vice President from taking the action complained of. Reasonable efforts, including the shortening of time limits when practical, shall be made to conclude the processing of a grievance prior to the expiration of the grievant’s employment. In no event shall any employee, as a result of a pending grievance, be entitled to compensation following cessation of employment.
  7. Reprisal
    No reprisal of any kind will be made by the Board or Union against any grievant, witness, or other participant in the grievance procedure by reason of such participation.
  8. Records
    All written materials pertinent to a grievance shall be filed separately from the personnel file of the grievant or witness, except decisions resulting from arbitration or settlement.