Mediation/Arbitration a. In the event of any dispute under this Agreement, the parties hereto desire to avoid litigation. Accordingly, the aggrieved party will give notice of the dispute to the other party and both parties will attempt to settle the dispute during the thirty (30) day period following such notice. If such dispute remains unsettled, the parties agree to then submit such dispute to mediation. If the parties cannot agree on a mediator, each will select a mediator and the two chosen mediators will select a third mediator who shall alone hear the dispute. Such mediation will, if possible, be conducted during the sixty (60) day period following expiration of the thirty (30) day period. If such mediation fails to resolve the dispute, the parties agree such dispute will be submitted to final and binding arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association. Unless otherwise directed by the arbitrator, such arbitration must be concluded within ninety (90) days of the expiration of the sixty (60) day period previously specified for mediation. If the parties cannot agree on a single arbitrator, each will select an arbitrator, and the two chosen arbitrators will select a third arbitrator who shall alone decide the dispute. Any mediation or arbitration conducted hereunder will be conducted in Knoxville, Tennessee. The parties hereto shall equally share the costs of mediation (including the mediator’s fees and expenses and costs directly related to the conduct of the mediation, but excluding each party’s direct costs for transportation, attorneys, etc., for which each will be responsible). If any party fails to participate in mediation or arbitration after receipt of notice thereof, then each party hereto agrees that the other party shall have the right to proceed immediately to arbitration and that such other party shall be entitled to select the arbitrator in its sole discretion. Each party further agrees that, in such event, such arbitrator shall have the right to decide the dispute as if the non- participating party were participating in the arbitration and that such decision shall be final and binding upon each party hereto.
Level Four - Arbitration a. Within ten (10) school days after such written notice of submission to arbitration, the Board and the Association shall attempt to agree upon a mutually acceptable Arbitrator and shall obtain a commitment from said Arbitrator to serve. If the parties are unable to agree upon a mutually acceptable Arbitrator, or obtain such a commitment within the specified period, a request for a list of Arbitrators may be made to the Public Employment Relations Commission by either party. The parties shall then be bound by the rules and procedures of the Public Employment Relations Commission in selection of an Arbitrator.
b. The Arbitrator so selected shall confer with the Committee of the Board and the Aggrieved Person and Association representative, and hold hearings promptly and shall issue his decision not later than twenty (20) days from the date of the close of the hearings, or if oral closings have been waived, then from the date the final statements and proofs on the issues are submitted to him. The Arbitrator's decision shall be in writing and shall set forth his findings of fact, reasoning and conclusions on the issues submitted. The Arbitrator shall be without power or authority to make any decision which requires the commission of an act prohibited by law, or which is violative of the terms of this Agreement. The decision of the Arbitrator shall be submitted to the Board and the Aggrieved Person and Association representative, and shall be final and binding on the parties. The Arbitrator shall be limited to the issues submitted and shall consider nothing else. The Arbitrator can add nothing to, nor subtract anything from the Agreement between the parties.
c. The costs for the services of the Arbitrator, including per diem expenses, if any, and actual and necessary travel, subsistence expenses, and the cost of the hearing room, shall be borne equally by the Board and the Association. Any other expenses incurred shall be paid by the party incurring same.
Step 4 - Arbitration a. If the Union is dissatisfied with the written decision at Step 2 or if the mediation is not successful, within twenty-five (25) days of the Step 2 meeting, the Union may advance the grievance to arbitration. Only the Union (not an individual Bargaining Unit Faculty member) may process a grievance to arbitration.
b. Within thirty (30) days of notice of proceeding to arbitration, the Union and the College shall select an impartial third party to be Arbitrator. In the event the parties cannot agree on the selection of an impartial third party, they shall request a list of Arbitrators from Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
c. Within five (5) days of receipt of the list, the parties shall alternately strike names from the list until one name remains. The person whose name remains shall be the Arbitrator.
d. Each party shall bear the expense of preparing and presenting its own case. The costs of the arbitration proceedings, including compensation, fees and expenses of the Arbitrator, and the cost of any hearing transcript, shall be borne equally by the College and the Union. Unless otherwise mutually agreed, each arbitration hearing shall deal with no more than one (1) grievance.
e. Subject to the availability of the Arbitrator selected, arbitration shall begin within thirty (30) days unless a delay is agreed upon by both parties.
f. The Arbitrator shall have no power to add to, subtract from, modify or disregard any of the provisions of this Agreement. The decision of the Arbitrator shall be final and binding on the parties, although each side retains whatever rights it has under state or federal law to challenge the decision and award. The Arbitrator shall have no jurisdiction or authority to issue any award changing, modifying or restricting any action taken by the College on matters committed to the College’s discretion under Article 23, Management Rights, which are not further abridged by other terms of this Agreement. Jurisdiction shall extend solely to claims of violation of specific written provisions of the Agreement and involve only the interpretation and application of the Agreement.
Step Four - Arbitration 1. With respect to all non-disciplinary grievances and disciplinary cases involving the discharge, suspension of three (3) days or more, or the reduction in rank, the OPBA may make a written request that the decision of the underlying grievance be submitted to binding arbitration pursuant to Step Four, hereunder. A written request for appellate arbitration must be submitted to the other party within fourteen (14) calendar days following such party’s receipt of the written decision at Step 3. In the event the decision at Step 3 is not referred to arbitration within the time limits prescribed, the decision of the Trustees or Designee shall be final and binding upon the OPBA, the member and the Township.
2. Upon receipt of a request for appellate arbitration, the Township and the OPBA shall, within fourteen (14) calendar days following the request for arbitration, jointly agree to an arbitrator or request a list of seven (7) impartial arbitrators from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). Upon receipt of the list of seven (7) arbitrators, the parties shall meet to select an arbitrator within fourteen (14) calendar days from the date the list is received. The parties shall use the alternate strike method from the list of seven (7) arbitrators submitted to the parties by the FMCS. The party requesting the arbitration shall be the first (1st) to strike a name and alternate in this manner until one (1) name remains on the list. The remaining name shall be designated as the arbitrator to hear the dispute in question. Either party shall have the right to elect to reject the list in its entirety and to request the submission of a new seven (7) member panel, which election may only be exercised once. All procedures relative to the hearing shall be in accordance with the rules and regulations of the FMCS. The arbitrator shall hold the appellate arbitration promptly and issue a decision within a reasonable time thereafter.
3. The arbitrator shall determine the grievance in accordance with the terms of the Agreement in effect on the date of the incident giving rise to the grievance.
4. The arbitrator shall not have the authority to add to, subtract from, modify, change or alter any provision of this Agreement. The arbitrator shall be confined solely to the issues submitted for arbitration. The arbitrator shall not establish any new or different wage rates not negotiated as part of this Agreement. In cases of discharge, suspension or reduction in rank, the arbitrator shall have the authority to order modification of said discipline for the offense charged. In the event of a monetary award, the arbitrator shall limit any retroactive settlement to no earlier time than forty-five (45) calendar days prior to the date the grievance was presented to the Township in Step One of the Grievance Procedure.
5. The question of arbitrability of a grievance may be raised by either party before the arbitration hearing of the grievance, on the grounds that the matter is non- arbitrable or beyond the arbitrator’s jurisdiction. The first question to be placed before the arbitrator will be whether or not the alleged grievance is arbitrable. If the arbitrator determines the grievance is not arbitrable, the arbitrator shall render no decision on the merits.
6. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding upon the OPBA, the member and the Township. Any cost involved in obtaining the list of arbitrators shall be equally divided between the Township and the OPBA. All costs directly related to the services of the arbitrator shall be paid by the losing party. Expenses, if any, of the witnesses shall be borne by the party calling the witness except that member witnesses on duty time shall not lose any wages due from the Township. The fees of the court reporter shall be paid by the party asking for one. The fees of the court reporter shall be split equally if both parties desire a court reporter’s recording, or request a copy of any transcript. The Township shall not incur any overtime expense as a result of this Step.
Expedited Arbitration Procedure The expedited procedure shall be used for either grievances involving Articles exclusively applying to temporary workers or, with the mutual agreement of the Employer and Union, for other grievances. For grievances that do not involve Articles exclusively applying to temporary workers, either the Employer or Union may request in writing that the expedited arbitration procedure be used at the time the Parties are scheduling dates with the arbitrator.
(a) The Employer and Union will develop a stipulation of facts and use affidavits and other time-saving methods whenever possible and when mutually agreed upon.
(b) Case presentation will be limited to preliminary opening statements, brief recitation of facts, witness presentation and closing oral argument. No post hearing briefs shall be filed or transcripts made. The hearing will be completed within one (1) business day unless otherwise agreed upon by the Parties.
(c) The hearing shall be conducted by the arbitrator in whatever manner will most expeditiously permit full presentation of the evidence and arguments of the Parties.
(d) The arbitrator may issue, at their discretion, a bench decision at the conclusion of the hearing or may issue a written award no later than seven (7) calendar days from the close of the hearing excluding weekends and holidays.
(e) All decisions shall be final and binding on the Employer and Union. An arbitration award will be non-precedential if mutually agreed upon by the Parties before the hearing starts. The arbitrator’s award shall be based on the record and shall include a brief explanation of the basis for the award.
Dispute Resolution; Arbitration This Agreement evidences a transaction involving interstate commerce. Any disputes arising from this Agreement shall be decided by binding arbitration which shall be conducted, at the request of any party, in New York, New York, before one arbitrator designated by the American Arbitration Association (the "AAA"), in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the AAA, and to the maximum extent applicable, the United States Arbitration Act (Title 9 of the United States Code). Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, any party may proceed to a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain equitable relief at any time. An arbitrator shall have no authority to award punitive damages or other damages not measured by the prevailing party's actual damages. To the maximum extent practicable, an arbitration proceeding under this Agreement shall be concluded within 180 days of the filing of the dispute with the AAA. This arbitration clause shall survive any termination, amendment, or expiration of the Agreement and if any provision of this arbitration clause is found to be unenforceable, the remaining parts of the arbitration clause shall not be affected and shall remain fully enforceable.
Expedited Arbitration (a) The Parties may by mutual agreement refer to expedited arbitration any outstanding grievances considered suitable for this process, and shall set dates and locations for hearings of groups of grievances considered suitable for expedited arbitration.
(b) All grievances shall be considered suitable for and resolvable by expedited arbitration except grievances in the nature of:
(1) dismissals;
(2) rejection on probation;
(3) suspensions in excess of twenty (20) workdays;
(4) policy grievances;
(5) grievances requiring substantial interpretation of a provision of the Collective Agreement;
(6) grievances requiring presentation of extrinsic evidence;
(7) grievances where a Party intends to raise a preliminary objection; and
Mediation and Arbitration If the Executive and the Employer have any dispute whatsoever relating to the interpretation, validity or performance of this Agreement, or any other dispute arising out of this Agreement, every reasonable attempt will be made to resolve any differences or dispute within thirty (30) days of an issuance of written notice by either party to the other party. If a successful resolution of any differences or dispute has not been achieved to the satisfaction of both parties at the end of the thirty (30) day period, the following steps will be used: Except as otherwise expressly provided hereunder, the parties agree that any and all disputes arising out of the Executive’s employment or cessation of employment, including but not limited to any dispute, controversy, or claim arising under any federal, state, or local statute, law, ordinance or regulation or under this Agreement, shall be resolved exclusively by Alternative Dispute Resolution described in this Agreement ("ADR"). The initiation of ADR shall first require mediation, and the parties agree to first try to settle any dispute through mediation. Mediation shall be initiated by either party by the serving of a written notice of intent to mediate (a "Mediation Notice") by one party upon the other. If no resolution has been mutually agreed through mediation within ninety (90) days of service of a Mediation Notice, then and only then may the dispute be submitted to arbitration. Arbitration shall be initiated by the serving of a written notice of intent to arbitrate (an "Arbitration Notice") by one party upon the other. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to preclude the Employer from seeking temporary or permanent injunctive relief and/or damages from a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to Section 8 of this Agreement with respect to any breach of Section 7 of this Agreement.
(a) In the event that a party wishes to initiate ADR, a Mediation Notice must be served on the other party within six months from the date on which the claim arose. If the parties cannot mutually agree on a mediator, then a mediator shall be selected in accordance with the Employment Mediation Rules of the American Arbitration Association.
(b) In the event that mediation is unsuccessful and arbitration is initiated, it shall be conducted under the National Rules of the Resolution of Employment Disputes of the American Arbitration Association. There shall be a single arbitrator to be agreed upon by the parties, provided that, if the parties are unable to agree upon a single arbitrator, each party shall name an arbitrator and the two so named shall name a third arbitrator. The arbitration proceedings shall be heard by the arbitrator(s) and the decision of the arbitrator, or the majority of the panel if one has been selected, shall be final and binding on the parties. Judgment upon the arbitration award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction. An Arbitration Notice must be served on the other party within one year from the date on which the claim arose, and failure to bring such a claim within such one-year period shall constitute a waiver of such claim and an absolute bar to any further proceedings in any forum with respect to it. All mediation and arbitration proceedings shall be conducted in Bangor, Maine, unless the parties otherwise agree in writing.
(c) The cost of any mediation proceeding under this Section 9 shall be paid entirely by the Employer. The cost of any arbitration proceeding will be shared equally by the parties to the dispute; provided, however, that, if the dispute is resolved in favor of the Executive, such cost shall be paid in full by the Employer. Each party shall be responsible for its own cost of representation and counsel.
GRIEVANCE AND ARBITRATION PROCEDURE 8.01 The parties to this agreement believe it is important to adjust complaints and grievances as quickly as possible as provided for herein. The employee or Union shall first discuss any individual complaint informally with the Director of Care or designate at the first opportunity.
8.02 In all steps of this grievance procedure an aggrieved employee, if she so desires may be accompanied by or represented by her Union Representative. At Step 1 of the grievance procedure a representative of the Ontario Nurses' Association may be present at the request of either party.
8.03 Should any dispute arise between the Employer and an employee, or between the Employer and the Union, as to the interpretation, application, administration or alleged violation of any of the provisions of this Agreement, the employee or Union Representative will bring it to the attention of the immediate supervisor to settle such differences within ten (10) days of the occurrence. If further action is to be taken, then within ten (10) days of the discussion, the employee, who may request the assistance of her Union Representative and/or Labour Relations Officer, shall submit the written grievance to the Administrator or designate. A meeting will be held between the parties within ten (10) days. The Administrator shall give a written decision within ten (10) days of the meeting to the Bargaining Unit President or her designate with a copy to the Labour Relations Officer. Should the Administrator fail to render his decision or failing settlement of any grievance under the foregoing procedure, including any questions as to whether a matter is arbitrable, the grievance may be referred to arbitration by either party. If no written notice of intent to submit the matter for arbitration is received within ten (10) days after the decision under Step No. 1 is received, the grievance shall be deemed to have been settled or abandoned.
8.04 A written grievance will indicate the nature of the grievance and the remedy sought by the grievor. Union grievances shall be set out on the union grievance form. Alternately, the parties may agree to an electronic version of this form and a process for signing.
8.05 Time limits fixed in the grievance and arbitration procedures may be extended only by written, mutual consent of the parties. Should the Employer not respond within the time limit(s) fixed, such failure to respond shall be deemed to be a denial of the grievance. Should a grievance not be submitted within the various time limits specified in this Agreement, unless mutually extended, it shall be considered to have been settled or abandoned.
GRIEVANCE ARBITRATION PROCEDURE 8.01 For purposes of this Agreement, a grievance is defined as a difference arising between the parties relating to the interpretation, application, administration or alleged violation of the Agreement, including any question as to whether a matter is arbitrable.
8.02 In all steps of this Grievance Procedure, the aggrieved nurse, if desired, may be accompanied by or represented by a nurse representative.
8.03 It is the mutual desire of the parties hereto that complaints of the nurses shall be adjusted as quickly as possible, and it is understood that a nurse has no grievance until she has first given the Unit Manager the opportunity of adjusting her complaint. Such complaint shall be discussed with the Unit Manager within ten (10) days after the circumstances giving rise to it have occurred or ought reasonably to have come to the attention of the nurse and failing settlement within five (5) days, it shall then be taken up as a grievance within ten (10) days following the Unit Manager's decision in the following manner and sequence: The nurse may submit a written grievance on the form set out in Appendix "A", signed by her, to the Unit Manager. The grievance shall identify the nature of the grievance and the remedy sought and should identify the provisions of the Agreement which are alleged to be violated. The Unit Manager will deliver her decision in writing within five (5) days of the submission of the grievance. Failing settlement, then: Within five (5) days following the decision in Step No. 1, the nurse may submit the written grievance to the Director of Resident Care who will deliver her decision, in writing, within five (5) days from the date on which the written grievance was presented to her. The parties may, if they so desire, meet to discuss the grievance at a time and place suitable to both parties. Failing settlement, then: Within ten (10) days of receiving the decision under Step 2, the grievance, in writing, may be referred to the Chief Executive Officer who shall call a meeting of the Grievance Committee within five (5) days of receipt of same. Within five (5) days following the meeting, the Chief Executive Officer shall reply, in writing, to the nurse and the Chairperson of the Grievance Committee. If the decision is unsatisfactory to the nurse, it may be referred to arbitration within fifteen (15) days and the Chief Executive Officer so notified, in writing.
