Employee Grievances (a) Grievances on behalf of employees shall be handled as follows:
Group Grievance Where a number of employees have identical grievances and each employee would be entitled to grieve separately they may present a group grievance in writing signed by each employee who is grieving to the Administrator or her designate within ten (10) days after the circumstances giving rise to the grievance have occurred or ought reasonably to have come to the attention of the employee(s). The grievance shall then be treated as being initiated at Step No. 1 and the applicable provisions of this Article shall then apply with respect to the processing of such grievance.
Group Grievances No more than five (5) grievants will be permitted to attend grievance meetings.
Employee Grievance If an employee considers there has been a significant change to the job content of the position held, the employee may initiate a grievance by using Step 1 of the Grievance Procedure. If the issue is not resolved at this step, the Job Classification Review Procedure of Article 22.02(B) above shall be utilized.
Statement of Grievance The grievance shall contain a statement of:
(a) The specific situation, act or acts complained of as an agreement violation;
(b) The inequity or damage suffered by the employee; and
(c) The relief sought.
Class Grievance Class grievance involving one or more Members of the Bargaining Unit or one or more supervisors, and grievances involving an administrator above the building level may be initially filed by the Association.
Union Grievances 4/8/1 Union officers and grievance representatives who are members of the bargaining unit shall have the right to file and process a grievance when any provision of this Agreement has been violated or when the Employer interpretation of the terms and provisions of this Agreement lead to a controversy with the Union over application of the terms or provisions of this Agreement. Such grievances must be designated as Union grievances at the initial step and must comply with the time limits previously set forth in this Article.
Grievances SECTION 1 For the purposes of this Agreement, a grievance shall be defined as: Any complaint by a teacher covered by this Agreement that:
(1) the teacher has been subject to a violation, inequitable application, or misinterpretation of a specific provision of this Agreement, or
(2) the teacher has been subjected to an unfair or discriminatory act contrary to established policy and practice.
SECTION 2 The purpose of this procedure is to secure, at the lowest possible administrative level, equitable solutions to the problems which may from time to time arise affecting the welfare or working conditions of teachers. Both parties agree that these proceedings will be kept as informal and confidential as may be appropriate at any level of this procedure.
SECTION 3 Nothing herein contained will be construed as limiting the right of any teacher having a grievance to discuss the matter informally with an appropriate member of the administration and to have the grievance adjusted without intervention of the Association, provided the adjustment is not inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement and that the Association has been given the opportunity to be present at such adjustment above level one and to state its views. If the teacher so chooses, a representative of the Association may be present at level one. The grievant may not elect to have anyone other than the exclusive bargaining representative present or to represent him/her during the grievance/arbitration procedure without the express written consent of the Association. The Association must be notified of the outcome of any level one grievance at which an Association representative is not present.
SECTION 4 No written communication, other document, or record relating to any grievance shall be filed in the personnel file maintained by the School Department of the Town of Needham for any teacher involved in presenting such grievance.
SECTION 5 Since it is important that grievances be processed as rapidly as possible, the number of days indicated at each level should be considered as maximum, and every effort should be made to expedite the process. For grievances and arbitration time limits, "days" shall be defined as days within the work year for teachers when students are in scheduled classes, including part-days and exam days. The time limits specified may be extended only by mutual agreement. It is understood and agreed that no grievance, dispute, misunderstanding, or difference between the parties arising out of the acts which occurred prior to the execution to this Agreement shall be submitted to the Committee under the provisions of this Article. It is understood that any grievances pending at the conclusion of the contract will remain operative in the subsequent contract period unless settled in negotiations. A teacher may contact the Association at any time prior to or during the grievance procedure.
SECTION 6 If at the end of twenty (20) days next following either the occurrence of any grievance or the date when the teacher should reasonably have had first knowledge of its occurrence, whichever is later, the grievance shall not have been presented at Level One, as set forth below, the grievance shall be deemed to have been waived. The Superintendent or designee will respond in writing within ten (10) days of the Level Two meeting.
SECTION 7 If there is a grievance which directly affects a group or class of teachers or is of a general nature, the Association may submit such a grievance in writing directly to the level of administration having the appropriate authority to resolve said grievance.
SECTION 8 A grievance not initiated within the time specified shall be deemed waived. Failure of the teacher filing the grievance to appeal a decision within the time limit specified will mean that the grievance shall be considered settled on the basis of the decision last made and shall not be eligible for further appeal. Failure of the School Committee to answer an appeal within the time limit specified shall mean that the appeal may be taken to the next step immediately. The above limitations may be waived by mutual agreement of the parties.
SECTION 9 In the event a grievance is filed on or after June l which, if left unresolved until the beginning of the following school year could result in irreparable harm to a party in interest, the time limits set forth herein will be reduced so that the grievance procedure may be exhausted prior to the end of the school year or as soon thereafter as is practicable.
SECTION 10 The School Committee will, upon request, provide the Association with copies of any documents in its possession including approved minutes of the School Committee which may be necessary for the Association to process grievances under the Agreement.
Processing Grievances The grievant shall be granted reasonable time off with pay from regularly scheduled duty hours to process a grievance, provided that the time off will be devoted to the prompt and efficient investigation and handling of grievances, subject to the following: Neither a grievant nor a grievant's representative who is a Court employee shall suffer any lost pay for attending any regularly scheduled grievance hearing required by the procedure herein set forth.
A. A grievant and a grievant's representative shall notify their supervisor as soon as possible of scheduled grievance hearings and of any changes in the time or date of scheduled hearings in which they must participate.
B. In no event shall a grievant be represented by more than one Court employee at a grievance hearing.
Technical Objections to Grievances It is the intent of both Parties of this Agreement that no grievance shall be defeated merely because of a technical error, other than time limitations in processing the grievance through the grievance procedure. To this end, an arbitration board shall have the power to allow all necessary amendments to the grievance and the power to waive formal procedural irregularities in the processing of a grievance, in order to determine the real matter in dispute and to render a decision according to equitable principles and the justice of the case.
