Blowing the Whistle

Shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001 on the World Trade Center in New York City, Colleen Rowley of the Twin Cities office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation told of evidence that she had uncovered prior to the attacks that had gone unheeded. She was a whistleblower.

Each day in our workplaces, situations can occur that take advantage of our rights, and go against the rules of our collective bargaining agreement. It is each member’s right and responsibility to know if filing a grievance is the correct course of action.

If possible, any disagreement should be worked out in a dialog or discussion between you and your employer. If a mutually amicable resolution cannot be reached, a member must take the next step and file a grievance.

The grievance procedure is a complex but important issue in our workplace. Each member should learn the rules that must be followed to protect yourself as well as protecting our rights that benefit us as union members.

The first step that each member should take is to refer to your contract. It will contain a definition of what is and what isn’t covered by the grievance procedure. If you have any questions about the infraction in question, you may also ask a steward or call the member resource center to find out specifically if the problem you are having should go through the grievance procedure.

Any member of the union can file a grievance. It takes a certain amount of bravery to file a grievance. After all, you will be telling your employer that you are unhappy with something that they have implemented in the workplace. Consider if no one takes the initiative to report the discrepancy, it could continue and possibly become a “past practice”. When this happens, the employer can claim that because it has been allowed to occur for a certain length of time without protest, it can now be consider a tolerable situation. With this in mind, each member should take the responsibility to be vigilant of our rights, and make certain that all of us protect them. Ignore your rights and they will go away.

It is also very important to remember the phrase “work then grieve”. Keep this in mind if you are ever asked to do something that you know is against the union contract. You should proceed and do the requested act as instructed by your supervisor before risking a serious infraction of insubordination. This does not mean to just do the work. It means do the work and contact your steward and/or the union to file a grievance on the infraction. Of course, there are exceptions. If it is a situation such as a dangerous or unsafe condition, you should refuse in an appropriate and professional manner.

Each member should also invest in a small notebook. With it, you can record dates and times of discrepancies that have occurred. By building a case of evidence, you will strengthen your case regarding the grievance.

So what is the members’ role in a grievance? First is to report to the union the discrepancy. Make sure you can accurately recount the facts of the disagreement. This is the members’ responsibility in building a winning case. Usually any workplace disagreement can be resolved even before a grievance is filed, but sometimes even a grievance cannot resolve the issue.

If the union and the employer cannot come to a mutually agreeable resolution, the grievance goes to arbitration. Arbitration is an actual court hearing where witnesses are sworn in, and an outside party is chosen to rule on the dispute. This issue will be discussed a future column.

The grievance is one of the most important weapons we have as an organized labor group. However, if it is used incorrectly or not at all, it is not worth the paper that it is printed on. We as union members need to become more vigilant and inform all of our co-workers to be aware of their rights as well.

Did you know…? If you are involved in a discipline action, under Weingarten rights you have the right to have a union steward present with you. The steward that is present with you is your choice, not your supervisors or employers. You are the union member, not the employer.

Stay strong brothers and sisters. Pass the word to your co-workers and friends about this column. Knowledge is power. Let us use this knowledge to drive us forward and make our union a strong and respected force!

As always…

Solidarity Today! Solidarity Tomorrow! And Solidarity Always!..

In All Ways!


Mark Freeman
Methodist Hospital

Next week’s column…Pragmatism vs. Principles