7765 Grievance Policy

CWA 7765 Grievance Policy

On this page, we use “grievance” to refer to an issue that comes up at work. 

Context for Utah Public Sector Grievances

The deck is stacked against us as Utah public sector workers; we don’t have strong legal rights at work, which is why we’re building our union: to change the conditions of our work and give us more power at work.

Approach to grievances

Our ability to enforce our legal rights is directly correlated to how much power we have. This is why our response to issues that come up at work is always grounded in what will build worker power at our workplaces. We will always seek to respond to grievances with organizing, even if our response to a situation also has a legal component.

Our goals for grievances:

• Grow our union’s capacity and strength, support the organizing we’re doing at our workplace
• Train & empower our coworkers to build a political understanding of their workplace
• Build our coworkers’ organizing skills and give them tools to resolve their own workplace issues
• Protect 7765 members from (further) retaliation by discouraging individual protest and prioritizing collective action
• Strategically use member resources (e.g. time, dues), prioritizing the collective interest of our union

Grievance process for union members*

1. Read the resources listed on this site before filling out an intake form. 
2. If none of the listed resources addresses your issue or if you have remaining questions, fill out the intake form. Provide as much detail and evidence as you can. We will not share this information with your employer. 
3. Request your personnel file from HR.
4. A 7765 staff member will reach out to set up an intake meeting with you. If there are other union members in your department/team, one or more of them may be invited to participate. Be prepared to discuss:
   1. What steps have you already taken to resolve the issue?
   2. Are there other coworkers who are facing the same issue?
   3. What solution do you want for this situation?
   4. Are there steps within your institution that can be taken? What policies at your institution are relevant to this situation? 
5. You may be asked to bring 2-3 more coworkers to a follow-up meeting to plan a collective response. 

*Disclaimers

• We do not have the resources or legal standing to respond to individual grievances from non-union members. 
• Effectively resolving workplace issues requires you to put in time and effort. This may include talking to your coworkers, having meetings, mapping out your department, circulating petitions, etc. This is a process you and your coworkers will go through together. CWA 7765 staff can support that process but cannot give you a resolution. 
• Use your existing HR processes as a starting point for appealing discipline.
• As public sector workers, we do not have Weingarten rights yet. Still, if you feel comfortable, you can ask if a trusted coworker can sit in any meetings that may lead to disciplinary action. If permitted, that coworker should act as a witness/notetaker. Your employer is not legally required to permit this.