Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement: “ The Union and Employer agree that it is in
the best interest of all parties to resolve disputes at the earliest
opportunity and at the lowest level. The Union and Employer encourage problem
resolution between employees and management and are committed to assisting in
resolution of disputes as soon as possible.” There are both informal and formal
means available to Union members to resolve disputes. Resolution can come through discussions between the employee and employer where the employee has
been coached by the Shop Steward; through mediated discussions that directly involve
the Shop Steward, employee and employer; and through the Grievance Procedure
outlined in the CBA. Regardless of the method, timeliness is in everyone’s best
interest.
The twenty-one (21) day rule applies when there is a
situation that the Union Member on their own has not been able to resolve and
they decide to involve the Union to help resolve the dispute. A non-disciplinary grievance or a grievance
related to an oral or written reprimand must be filed with the Union within
twenty-one (21) days of the situation occurring or the date the grievant knew
or could reasonably have known of the occurrence. Disciplinary grievances, disability
separation grievances or grievances related to layoff must be filed with the
Union within twenty-one (21) days of the effective date of the discipline,
disability separation or layoff.
Therefore it is very important that you either let your Shop Steward or
Union Representative know right away when a situation is not resolved to your
satisfaction or favor.
When you contact your Shop Steward or Union Representative
they will need time to collect information to help them determine if the case
is grievable and also in appropriate situations try to help resolve the
situation before going through the more formal Grievance Procedure as outlined
in the CBA. The time it takes them to do these activities is part of the
twenty-one (21) day period afforded to the grievance process. If you wait too long to involve the Shop
Steward or Union Representative you may exhaust the twenty-one (21) day period
allotted to begin the process. Twenty-one (21) days is not the amount of time
allowed to complete a grievance it is just the amount of time allowed to lapse
between the time of the occurrence and the start of the grievance process.
As of 8/10/12 your Commerce Shop Stewards are Bill
Mandeville 360-725-3051 Bill.Mandevill@commerce.wa.gov
and Tanya Mercier 360-951-6010 Tanya.Mercier@commerce.wa.gov
To reach a Union Representative, contact WFSE Local 443
360-236-0443
