bility of the association to resolve it in accordance with the law. Additionally, no other organization has the right to process grievances. Once the association is recognized as the bargaining agent, it has the sole and exclusive authority to process grievances. NJSA 34:13A-1 et seq. states, “. . . a minority organization shall not present or process grievances.” It is clear that an employee organization may grieve on behalf of itself as well as individual members. The N.J. Supreme Court in Red Bank Reg. Ed. Assn. V. Red Bank Reg. HS. Bd. of Ed., 78 NJ 122 (1978), ruled that a majority representative has the right to process a grievance on behalf of an individual and that an employer may not insist that an employee pursue his grievance personally when the majority representative wished to present and process that grievance. In the case of Saginario v. Attorney General 87 NJ 480 (1981), the Court held that an individual employee who may be adversely affected by the outcome of a grievance is entitled to be heard at some point during the grievance processing. The individual employee may be represented by his/her association, or if the employee’s position is in conflict with the association’s, by a personal representative or pro se. Tips for ARs who process grievances 1. Investigate and handle every case as though it will eventually end in an arbitration hearing. 2. Your procedure needs a final step – arbitration. 3. Give the member a full hearing about his/her grievance and counsel the member as to the association position. 32 – AR Handbook 4. Make sure you are within the agreement time limits and that the grievance meets all other procedural requirements dictated by the agreement. 5. Examine the agreement and the agreement provision carefully. 6. Make a full record of both the member’s and the board’s positions, arguments, witnesses, evidence, and participants in all discussions. 7. Examine the correspondence records for similar or identical grievances that have been resolved in the past. It is best to know the results of grievances. 8. Carefully record all results of your investigation. 9. Present all records that are germane to the case. 10. Identify the specific agreement clauses allegedly violated. Determine whether the matter can properly be defined as a grievance. 11. Identify the relief being sought by the member and guide the member to a reasonable solution. 12. Advise the member of the collective action you and the association plan to take. 13. Fully inform your grievance committee and/or regional UniServ office of all discussions with grievant and of all decisions reached. 14. If the grievance was untimely raised or filed, argue the merits of the grievance first. 15. Make all settlements within the terms of the agreement. Discuss all matters with the grievance committee. 16. Don’t ask favors of the board or administrators. They won’t forget and they will someday expect a reciprocal concession. 17. Do not depend upon the board and the administrators to assume authority for solving your problems. Exercise authority and dispose of issues promptly. 18. Control your emotions. Control your remarks. Control your behavior. 19. Pass along to your negotiating team your experience with any troublesome agreement clauses. Duty of Fair Representation PERC has cited as its standard for the Duty of Fair Representation the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision of Vaca v. Sipes, 386 US 171 (1967). In this landmark case the Court said: “A breach of this statutory duty of fair representation occurs only when a union’s conduct toward a member of this collective bargaining unit is arbitrary, discriminatory, or in bad faith.” In subsequent cases, the federal courts and the National Labor Relations Board, to which PERC looks for guidance, have probed the vigor with which an association has investigated all aspects of a grievance, the communications between the union and affected members, the absence of procedures for handling grievances, and negligence in meeting time lines. PERC has left open the question of whether or not a majority representative may be forced to present every grievance. It has indicated that although an organization is not obligated to present every grievance, if combined with a failure to notify the grievant of the right individually to present the grievance, such a refusal could be construed as a violation of the duty of fair representation.
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