OPINION:
Unions represent their members in an effort to ensure fair labor practices. When an employee experiences something he considers unfair, the union usually files a grievance against management in an attempt to rectify the injustice. However, this process can only be effective if there is independence in the adjudication of the grievance. When management is the judge and jury, and then chooses as its representative the official who first ruled against the employee, it is quite unlikely that any type of independence will be possible.
A grievance process that yields management such control is inherently flawed. I experienced just such a problem with respect to a grievance my union filed on my behalf against my employer, a federal agency. Not surprising, the original injustice was readily upheld by management’s representative, the official who first ruled against me. My issues were not even addressed, as the representative chose to circumvent them in a poorly veiled strategy to deny my grievance and uphold management’s biased position.
For unions to be effective, independence must be preserved in the grievance process. All the good intentions of a union will be for naught if the grievance process itself contains such an inherent flaw.
RAY GALLUCCI
Frederick
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