Q: What is a grievance?
A: The short answer; a suspected violation of an article in the Contract. Generally, when no article in the contract has been violated, you have no grievance.
Q: When can I file a grievance? What are the deadlines?
A: As an Education Support Professional (ESP) you need to file a grievance within 15 working days (20 for teachers)
counting from when you knew (or could have known) about the complaint.
Q: Where do I start when I believe I have a grievance?
A: Contact the UniServ Director at the WCEA office to discuss your complaint; 443-859-7073 or
[email protected]
[email protected].
Q: Do I have to write the grievance myself?
A: You do not have to write the grievance yourself. Your UniServ Director can do this for you.
Q: Can I file a grievance against a co-worker?
A: You cannot file a grievance against a co-worker. A grievance is about a suspected violation of the Contract. The Contract is an agreement between the employees in the bargaining unit and the Board, not with your co-workers.
Q: Who sees my grievance? What is the procedure?
A: for ESPs there are four steps:
An informal conversation with your supervisor.
A written complaint to your supervisor.
A written complaint to HR.
A written complaint to the Superintendent. The Superintendent makes the final decision.
A: for teachers there are five steps:
An informal conversation with your supervisor (or an email).
A written complaint to your supervisor.
A written complaint to the Superintendent.
A written complaint to the president of the school board.
Arbitration. During the arbitration hearing a neutral third party will make the final decision.
Q: Why is the grievance procedure for ESPs and teachers different?
A: Good question! There is no reason why they should be different. By not having arbitration for ESPs, these employees have less rights than teachers. At the bargaining table WCEA has proposed for years that ESPs should also have access to arbitration. As of today, the BOE has not been willing to agree to give this right to ESPs as well. Why not? You figure it out.
Q: Is a grievance the solution to my problem?
A: Depending on the problem, the first thing you might want to do is to talk to your administrator. If that does not help a conversation with HR might do the trick. If there is still no solution, then a grievance might be the only option.
Q; Can more than one person sign off on a grievance?
A: Yes! The more people sign off on a grievance the stronger the message. Power in numbers! It also demonstrates that members stand together in defending the Contract and stops administrators from targeting individuals. Go “ALL IN!”
