last updated: Thursday, July 1, 2004
Even in the best work environments, events may occur that negatively impact on the relationship between a SUNY campus, its managers and supervisors, and its employees. In order to provide for the prompt and efficient resolution of such issues, employees have both contract and non-contract grievance procedures available to them.
Contract Grievance
Contract grievance procedures generally refer to procedures for settling disputes concerning the interpretation, application or claimed violation of a specific term or provision of the collective bargaining agreement that covers a specific employee or employee group. If the grievant's bargaining unit is known, the appropriate negotiated grievance procedure can be found by looking for "Grievance and Arbitration" in the correct column for the bargaining unit in the "Collective Negotiating Articles - Bargaining Unit Matrix" link in the references at the end of this section.Non-Contract Grievance
Non-contract grievance procedures are provided for the resolution of disputes concerning matters not covered in collective bargaining agreements or for use by employees appointed to titles that are not represented for the purpose of collective bargaining (M/C).
Important: Both contract and non-contract grievances must be filed within a certain number of days following the act or omission that gave rise to the grievance. Employees should consult their union representative, their campus Human Resources Department, or their unit's collective bargaining agreement to ensure that they do not miss a filing deadline while trying to resolve the issue informally with their supervisor or department head, as examples. Grievances may be denied based solely upon the issue of the timeliness of filing!
SUNY's policy with regard to grievances, and the one supported by the NYS Governor's Office of Employee Relations, SUNY management, and the unions that represent our employees, is to attempt to resolve grievances quickly and informally at the lowest possible level. However, when these efforts fail, employees should feel comfortable in initiating formal grievance procedures and managers/supervisors should not be threatened by such action. The object of the grievance process is to provide a non-threatening tool to resolve issues so that the energies of our employees and managers are not overly distracted from SUNY's mission. See the link for "M/C Handbook" in the references at the end of this section for the grievance procedures for non-contract grievances.
Employees with contract or non-contract grievances should first bring them to the attention of their supervisors. If grievances are not resolved informally at that level, employees may choose to go to the next administrative level, or to file formal grievances. But, all parties need to act in good faith to ensure that filing deadlines are not missed in the event that the issue(s) cannot be resolved informally. Similarly, where possible supervisors should be careful in their interpretation of the rules and their treatment of subordinates and use their good senses to identify potential problems before they become disruptive of the workplace. But, it must be recognized that even in the best work environments there can be legitimate differences in interpretation of the rules and happenings in the work place and these grievance procedures are excellent tools for solving problems and resolving issues when necessary.
There are two additional grievance procedures available for SUNY employees that are related to either a claim of discrimination, or the receipt of a notice of discipline. More information about these grievance procedures can be located in this manual under Orientation-Equal Opportunity Employment and Discipline, respectively.
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Reference(s):
Contract
and Non-Contract Grievance Procedures (represented employees) (See Grievance
Procedures in appropriate collective negotiating agreement)
http://www.goer.state.ny.us/CNA/bumatrix.html
Disciplinary
Grievance Procedures (See Discipline in appropriate collective negotiating
agreement)
Discrimination Grievance Procedures (Orientation-Affirmative Action)
Non-Contract Grievance Procedures (unrepresented employees)
http://www.goer.state.ny.us/MC/handbook/appdxj.html
Form(s):
CSEA Grievance Form (check appropriate box for contract or non-contract grievance)
PEF Grievance Form
UUP Contract Grievance Form
UUP Non-Contract Grievance Form
Etc……
Forms for formally filing both contract and non-contract grievances are also available from either an employee's union representative, if applicable, and/or from the campus Human Resources Office.