A Dozen Points on Grievance Presentation

For grievance presentation, the key is preparation and good communication. Here are 12 points that should help any grievance representative put their best foot forward.

1. Prepare the case beforehand.

•Get your facts down in writing.
•Have notes organized to guide your presentation.
•Understand your notes and facts - be confident.
•Anticipate the company’s argument and have answers ready. 
•Make an effort to talk to the worker alone before you meet the supervisor.
•Talk the case over, if necessary, with other representatives, your committee  people, or others who might help you.

2. Avoid arguments among union people in the presence of the company.

If you have a difference of opinion during a meeting, take a recess and iron the problem out in private; present a united front to the company.

3. Stick to the point, avoid getting led off on side issues by the company.

Insist on discussing the issue raised by the grievance only, nothing else.

4. Get the main point of the company’s argument.

•Try to narrow the area of difference between union and company.
•Listen intently for solutions to the problem that the company may feel it  can only reveal by subtle implications, hints, or indirect suggestions.

5. Disagree with dignity.

Avoid getting excited, angry or hostile. On rare occasions, after you have  reasoned that there would be an advantage to the union, such behavior  may be advisable. The union representative is cautioned to keep him/herself under complete control less he/she lose the advantage.

6. Avoid unnecessary delays. Justice delayed is justice denied 

•If the company asks for more time, try to determine whether it is an  attempt to stall or it is based on a sincere desire for more facts needed to  settle the case.
•Remember, the more time that passes, the “cooler” the grievance becomes, and the less support you will get from the worker or workers involved.
•The longer the complaint or grievance is tied up by the company, the more difficult it will be for the union to gather and remember the facts and merits  of the case.
•The more grievances that are piled up in the procedure, the more likely that the company will try to “horsetrade” settlement of a few grievances for dropping of others.
•If the grievances are made a part of contract negotiations, the company may attempt to trade off other contract demands for settlement of grievances that should have been taken care of long before.

7. Settle the grievances at the lowest possible step of the grievance machinery, but make sure they are properly settled.

•It helps to build better relationships in the department.
•The union representative will feel like the vital part of the union that  he/she is.
•The union representative also wins respect from the members of his/her department.
•Don’t pass the buck. If you can settle the grievance at the first step, do so.

8. The burden of proof is on the supervisor.

Let the supervisor try to justify and prove that the action he/she has taken is correct. Don’t try to show him/her where he/she is wrong. Let him/her first carry the burden of proof in telling you how he/she is right.

9. Avoid bluffing

It is only a matter of time until your bluff is called; it is in the long run  wiser to develop a reputation for honesty.

10. Maintain your position on a grievance until proven wrong.

Avoid hasty conclusions that you were wrong. Take time to give the matter considerable thought.

11. Be prompt...Follow the grievance through.

•Refer the grievance to the next step when not settled. Give the representative above you all the facts; also the arguments used in your discussion with the supervisor. Don’t allow the grievance to lay around.
•Delayed grievances mean delayed justice. Keep a constant check on the  progress of the grievance and at what step it is. Report back to the  aggrieved.

12. Enforce the contract!

•If the union has not complained about similar violations of the  contract or past practices before, why should the company give in now?
•The best contract in the world has no value if the worker and the union representative do not require the company to live up to its terms.

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