( Grievance Forms below on this page)
This page was created for the purpose of educating ourselves on the Grievance Process. There are many times that we feel the Company may have violated our contract and many of us are not sure what to do about it and how to proceed. How many times have you seen violations of the contract take place and "meant" to file a grievance or call your base representative "as soon" as you got off the plane or returned to base? How many times then after returning home finishing the trip did you decide to wait and do it later only to just forget about it? The time off we have as Flight Attendants heals all (or most) wounds (contract violations). We have been told for years "Just fly it now and grieve it later." Only later never comes for most of us.
Think about it for a moment... if every violation of the contract were to be grieved what would happen? Many of these violations are repeated over and over numerous times daily. The grievance process is a costly one for both the union and the Company. Eventually the company would see the expense and stop the repeated violations. They would realize that the Flight Attendants are not going to put up with the violations without some sort of compensation.
Below on this page I have placed thumbnails of the Local 2000 Grievance Worksheets and Form. If everyone were to carry copies of the forms in their bag and fill them in "at the time" you felt there were a contract violation you would not "miss the opportunity" for compensation as well as being a part of stopping the continued violations. These forms would probably be turned in as much as the ground time forms.
Last fall I attended a TDU convention in Cleveland and spoke on "Organizing Using the Internet". There were many workshops including "Advanced Steward and Activist Training", "Building Rank and File Unity and Power", "Fighting for a Good Contract When Your Officers Won't", and "Grievances: How to Write, File and Win". These workshops and many similar ones are offered by the IBT as well. If you go to the IBT web site you will find an abundance of resources. We just need to use them and educate ourselves.
At the "Advanced Steward and Activist Training" workshop I mentioned that we did not have a Steward program like the other Teamster Locals. Most of those fellow Teamsters in attendance could not believe it. We are one of the largest Teamster Locals and 16 base representatives take care of 11,000 of us. (This Local set up was done by our own people so we cannot not blame the IBT). Some of the other Locals have one steward for every ten or twenty members. The stewards are compensated to "know the contract" and begin the grievance procedure. If you have a contract "problem" you call or talk to your steward and proceed from there. We need a program like this. Especially now that the contract is out there and no one seems to carry it much less know what or when items will be implemented. Hopefully, the executive board will begin a steward program soon and make us a stronger Local with education and unity.
Another item I found interesting was that when a grievance was won at other Locals they post it on the board for all to see along with the compensation. I think this is a great idea. If you saw that Flight Attendant X won $$ for his/her contract violation you may decide that it would be worth it to file the next time it happened to you. If you win a grievance please ask your representative to post it on the Union board at your base or on the Local 2000 web site. We could all use some positive reinforcement that it pays to stop the violations. This could only strengthen us in the future.
We are now in a transition stage with some new base reps and this is a "learning" period for the new representatives. Please be patient but make them work for you. We can make this a stronger Local by educating ourselves and becoming a real union like our sister locals out there.
There are some great resources out there on the Internet or from organizations such as the IBT, TDU, and the TRF (Teamster Rank and File Education and Legal Defense Foundation).
I have placed some of the information from the Handbook "Grievances- Using the Grievance Procedure to Defend Our Rights and Build Power on the Job" on this page below. It is published by the TRF and can be purchased for $8.00. It is just a little larger than our PA book but has a lot of useful information. You can send away for it to TRF, Box 10303, Detroit, Michigan 48210. Or call them at 313-842-2615
As always, education will be the key to our strength in the future. We now have less than four years to prepare for a new contract and improve our workplace in the meantime.
In Unity,
Kevin M. Griffin
(Just click on the thumbnail to enlarge and print.)
Follow up your grievances with an email to your base representative. Hopefully in the future the Base Representatives will be able to place these forms on the Internet so we can complete them online via email. For now you can download (click on thumbnails) from this page, print and fill out and turn into or mail to your base representatives. Remember a signature is required. Email links are here below to follow up with later after turning in the forms:
Boston Chicago Detroit Honolulu
Los Angeles Memphis Minneapolis
New York Seattle San Francisco
"In general a grievance is defined as a complaint or concern. In a union workplace a grievance is a complaint or concern that is submitted to management and the union for resolution. We will talk about the procedure for submitting grievances later in the booklet.
Before doing that let's look at what makes something a grievance that is worth fighting to resolve.
TDU stands for a broad definition of grievances. The contract should be seen as the minimum that we are entitled to. In other words, we should be as aggressive in trying to expand our rights as management is in trying to reduce them.
We also need to be on our guard against officers or business agents who take a narrow view of what makes a grievance. Their motivation may be to reduce their own workload. They may also try to limit grievances out of fear of angering management. This can lead to an erosion of our rights or working conditions.
Definition of a Grievance
With this in mind a grievance is:
Any unjust act, practice or condition which management has the power to correct.
Checklist on filing grievances
Have you read the entire contract and reviewed the section of your contract on the grievance procedure? The grievance procedure section will spell out the time limits for filing grievances and the steps involved. If you make a procedural mistake management is unlikely to overlook it, so make a point of knowing the contract.
Have you met the deadline for filing the grievance? If in doubt and the time limit is short, grieve it. Many grievances are lost before they are even started- because someone hesitated to get it filed. You can always withdraw a grievance later if you feel it lacks merit. Better to make the deadline and not lose out on a procedural issue.
Have you documented your case? You may do this yourself or involve the steward, other members or the business agent, depending on the grievance.
Have you gotten the facts using the five "W's" (who, what, where, when and why)?
Have you made a list of evidence, including witnesses?
Have you gotten statements from witnesses?
Have you written a concise grievance that addresses the issue? It should cover: what happened, what article (s) were violated, and what remedy you want.
Have you or the union made an official information request? Under the National Labor Relations Act the employer has a duty to bargain fairly- including over grievances. Providing information is one requirement of bargaining in good faith.
Have you gotten management's side of the story? What is management's position? What arguments are they putting forward? Make a note of this to determine later on if they are changing their story.
Are you prepared for a meeting or hearing? The first step of the procedure will likely be informal, between stewards and lower level management. Even here is is important to be prepared. What questions will you ask? What do you want to find out from management? What are you arguments? What is your evidence? Often the first step is a fact finding mission. Be ready to get some facts."