The purpose of this grievance procedure is to secure, at the
lowest possible administrative level, equitable resolutions to disputes
which may arise and are subject to review under this procedure. There
shall be no other grievance or appeal procedure on any matter for
the members of the bargaining unit other than that contained in this
chapter.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
Days.
Shall mean Monday through Friday, not including holidays
observed by the town council. In counting days, the day of the act
does not count. The day following the day of the act is the first
day. If any notice by management is served by mail to the grievant’s
last known address, three (3) days will be added to the applicable
deadline. Generally, the mailing of notices will only occur where
the employee has been terminated under a disciplinary action.
Grievance.
Is defined as a dispute that alleges a violation of this
collective bargaining agreement or state and federal laws providing
rights or benefits to bargaining unit employees. Grievances shall
be signed by the grievant, in writing, and state specifically the
action being grieved, including at a minimum the date of occurrence,
the names of persons involved in the occurrence, a detailed narrative
of the occurrence, the specific section(s) of the collective bargaining
agreement (CBA) and/or town personnel policy that have been violated
and the reason(s) why, and the requested remedy sought by the grievant.
Grievant.
May be any bargaining unit employee, group of bargaining
unit employees, or the union. A probationary employee whose position
is within the bargaining unit may not be a grievant. Neither the union
nor any group of employees may grieve an action that involves a probationary
employee.
Settlement.
Means the agreed-upon resolution of the grievance, set out
in writing and signed and dated by the parties.
Town manager.
Shall mean the town manager or someone designated by the
town manager to act on his behalf.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
A. Grievance
proceedings will be informal at all steps of this procedure.
B. A grievance
must be initiated using an official grievance form (see appendix D
on file in the town). The following information must be included on
the official grievance form:
1. The
employee’s name, job title and worksite;
2. The
name, address and telephone number of the union representative, if
any;
3. The
article(s) of the collective bargaining agreement alleged to have
been violated and/or the section of the town personnel policy alleged
to have been violated, and why;
4. A
specific description of the alleged act(s) or omission(s) in violation
of the agreement and the approximate date and time of occurrence;
5. The
adjustment required or remedy sought;
6. Identify
the grievance step;
7. The
grievant and/or union representative shall sign and date the form.
C. The
number of days indicated at each level of this procedure will be considered
a maximum and every effort shall be made to expedite the process.
D. If
the grievant fails to comply with the grievance time limits as set
forth under any of the procedural steps, the grievance shall be considered
null and void and shall not be processed any further.
E. The
time limits set forth herein may be extended only by written mutual
agreement and only before any time limit has passed. Human resources
will advise the grievant in writing of the failure to meet a deadline,
which will be hand delivered to the grievant or mailed by first class
mail to the grievant’s last known mailing address.
F. A grievance
shall not be considered timely unless the grievant serves the grievance
on their immediate supervisor and the human resources department no
later than ten (10) days after the action which precipitated or forms
the basis of the grievance. If the grievance is against the immediate
supervisor, the grievant shall serve the grievance on the next level
supervisor and the human resources department within the ten (10)
days. Failure to serve the grievance as required within the ten (10)
days will time bar the grievance and it shall not be processed any
further.
G. Employees
have the right, at all times during the grievance procedure, to be
accompanied by a union staff representative or union officer who is
also an employee of the town.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
Employees will attempt to resolve with their immediate supervisor
and/or department director any employment related issues covered by
this agreement before filing a formal grievance under the procedures
established in this chapter. If the parties are unable to reach a
satisfactory resolution, step 1 of the formal grievance process may
be initiated. Informal resolution of the grievances prior to step
1 shall not be binding upon the parties as past practice.
Step 1. The grievant shall serve a written
grievance with the grievant’s immediate supervisor and/or department
director and the human resources department unless the grievance is
against the immediate supervisor in which case the employee shall
serve the written grievance at the next supervisory level and the
human resources department. If, within ten (10) days, the supervisor
does not adopt the remedy proposed by the grievant, or an alternative
remedy to which both agree in a face-to-face meeting, the grievance
shall be deemed denied.
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Step 2. If the grievance is not resolved
within ten (10) days at step 1, the grievant may serve a copy of the
written grievance with the department director. This written grievance
must be served within ten (10) days from the date of the immediate
supervisor’s response or the date that a response was due, whichever
is earlier, or the grievance is forever barred.
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Step 3. If the grievance is not resolved
within ten (10) days at step 2, the grievant may serve a copy of the
written grievance with the town manager. This written grievance must
be served within ten (10) days from the date of the department director’s
response or the date that a response was due, whichever is earlier,
or the grievance is forever barred.
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A. Timing
of meeting.
Management will hold a meeting on the grievance
within ten (10) days of receiving the written grievance at this step.
B. Evidence/testimony.
Management and the grievant will be permitted to submit documents
and call witnesses at the meeting. Although the formal rules of evidence
do not apply, the town manager may limit the calling of witnesses
whose testimony the town manager deems irrelevant or repetitive.
C. Witnesses.
Witnesses who are employees of the town will generally appear
during work hours and will not lose pay for their attendance. Witnesses
who are employees of the town and who are required to appear outside
their normal work hours will be paid at their appropriate rate of
pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
D. Representation.
The grievant may be accompanied by a union representative or
by an attorney. If represented by an attorney, such representation
shall be solely at the employee’s expense. The presentation
of evidence by the grievant, including the examination and cross-examination
of witnesses, shall be done directly by the grievant and not by any
other person including but not limited to the grievant’s named
representative. Generally, management’s case will be presented
by the director of the employee’s department.
E. Town
manager decision.
The town manager will issue his decision
within ten (10) days of the meeting unless otherwise agreed in writing
between the town manager and the grievant.
1. Arbitration.
If the town manager fails to render a decision within ten (10)
days of the meeting, or if the grievant is dissatisfied with the town
manager’s decision, the union may request in writing to the
human resources director that the grievance be submitted to arbitration.
The union’s written request for arbitration shall be submitted
to the human resources director within ten (10) days of the town manager’s
decision or within twenty (20) days of the meeting, whichever is earlier.
Failure to meet these deadlines renders the grievance null and void,
ending the grievance. No grievant, other than the union, may request
arbitration under this process. If the union does not request arbitration,
the decision by the town manager is final.
2. Arbitration
process.
If the union makes a timely and appropriate
request for arbitration, the following procedures will apply:
a. The arbitrator will be selected from a list of seven (7) arbitrators
requested by the human resources department from the Federal Mediation
and Conciliation Service. The parties will meet at the human resources
department within ten (10) days of receiving the list. The parties
will alternate in the striking of names on the list until there is
one name remaining who shall be the arbitrator. Union and management
will flip a coin to determine who strikes the first name.
b. The arbitration will occur within six (6) months of the selection
of the arbitrator.
c. The arbitrator’s decision will be in writing and will include
the decision, the rationale, and the granted relief. The arbitrator
shall not have the authority to expand the rights that employees or
the union have under the terms of this collective bargaining agreement.
d. The arbitrator’s decision shall be final and binding on the
parties subject to appeal only within the provisions of the New Mexico
Uniform Arbitration Act (NMUAA).
e. The arbitrator’s fees and costs and any fees or costs related
to obtaining the list of arbitrators or selecting the arbitrator shall
be shared equally by the parties. All other expenses shall be assumed
by the party incurring the costs, including the cost of witnesses.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)
A. No
reprisal or retaliation shall be taken by anyone against any employee
who participates in the grievance process.
B. A bargaining
unit employee, acting individually, may present a grievance without
permission of the union. In such a situation, the union may attend
any meetings under this procedure and may present its position.
C. Management
will take reasonable steps to ensure the attendance of witnesses who
are employees and whose attendance is requested timely in writing
by the grievant or the grievant’s representative.
D. Management,
the grievant, and the union will produce within three (3) working
days of a written request any relevant documents requested by any
party to the grievance proceeding. If the written request is served
less than three (3) days before any scheduled meeting, the party from
whom the document is requested will make reasonable effort to produce
the requested documents before the meeting. If any of the parties
are unable to comply with the time limits for production of documents,
they will advise all parties and produce the documents as soon as
practicable.
E. Grievances
shall be maintained in a separate grievance file and shall not be
included in the personnel file of any individual grievant.
F. If
an employee retains outside representation in the grievance or arbitration
process, the employee shall immediately notify the union and the human
resources department. If the employee retains outside representation,
he or she does so exclusively at his or her own cost.
G. An
individual employee may not invoke arbitration under these articles.
H. The
time restrictions within which to address each of the steps in the
grievance process may be extended by mutual written agreement of the
parties to the grievance.
(Ordinance 18-01 adopted 2018)