What is a Grievance?

What is grievance? Something thought reason enough to complain, a disagreement, in the workplace. The most effective steward is one who can spot a grievance quickly and act quickly. There are basically four different types of grievances.

Violations of the contract

Violations of any state or federal law;

Violation of a long-established practice;

Grievances stemming from company rules.

Let’s take these up in order.

Contract violations: Recently, a new dozer was put to work on a big Hawaiian sugar plantation. For reasons of his own, the construction superintendent promised it to an operator who was not at the top of the seniority list. This was a clear violation of the seniority provisions of the ILWU contract.;

Another operator, with top seniority and ability, told his steward what had happened, and the steward set the company straight about the contract, right on the spot.

Lots of strange new chemicals are coming across the docks. Longshoremen and warehousemen handle them. Recently, a company was loading a very powerful poison, when an alert steward saw the skull and crossbones and discovered that the packaging was not safe. He noticed that some of the stuff had spilled on the dock and the hatch.

This was a violation of the contract safety provisions. Immediately the gang was knocked off work (with pay for the whole day) and told to destroy their clothes and shoes. The poison was returned to the manufacturer and the company paid for new gear for the men.

A good steward knows his contract. He knows how to bypass the fancy legal language and get to the guts of the matter.
The ILWU and its locals sign many contracts.

To represent members well, the steward should know how the contract protects: Earnings. This may include hourly rates of pay; incentive systems and job classifications, if they exist; progression schedules; overtime and holiday rates.

Seniority. Many grievances occur because an employer fails to carry out contract provisions on promotions, transfers, layoffs, discharges and upgrading. Seniority provisions keep the bosses from discriminating, making workers compete against each other, or brown-nosing a superior for favors.