Filing Grievances, Protecting Your Rights
One of the most valuable ways in which your union dues are the best investment you can make is that they protect you from management abuses, mistreatment, unlawful conduct and contract violations.
Anytime you feel you have been wronged—whether your boss changes your hours in violation of your contract, disciplines you without providing justification, fires you without cause, or takes any other unfair action—you have the right to file a grievance.
When you do, your Local 400 representative will gather the facts. Then, he or she will sit down with management and try to work things out.
While this is no guarantee that you will win the dispute, you can be assured that Local 400 will provide the aggressive, experienced representation you deserve. You will have the right to make your case and you will be heard. By contrast, workers without union representation have fewer legal protections and no recourse short of filing a lawsuit, which is often a lengthy, costly, cumbersome process.
“The grievance process enforces the contract; it’s what ensures that the words on the printed page become actions in real life,” said Local 400 president Jim Lowthers. “It also helps protect you from bosses who are unfair, arbitrary and abusive. It’s one of the most powerful tools you gain as a union member and it’s why it pays to belong.”
Local 400 Works for You - By the Numbers in 2007 - Filed 4,291 grievances on behalf of members
- Resolved 2,488 grievances, with 1,803 still open at the end of the year
- Conducted 20,163 worksite visits
- Won 117 reinstatements
- Won $407,623 in total settlement dollars for members
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This article was also found in the UFCW Local 400 Union Leader newsletter. Are you missing your newsletter? Click here (links to internal form) to confirm that Local 400 has your correct address.
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