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.
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.
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.
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)