Quick Guide to Grievances

What’s a Grievance?

Grievances are formal complaints about contract violations.  Some grievances are more common than you might think. If you find yourself concerned about any of these scenarios, please fill out this Grievance Report and a CGE steward or officer will communicate with you. You can also skip the report and reach out directly to your department Stewards and/or the VP for Grievances at vp_grievances@cge6069.org. Help protect and enforce your rights!

Not Sure If It’s A Grievance?

Contact the CGE VP for Grievances or your department Steward(s) to discuss ANY potential problem. Sometimes you just want someone to hear you out, and that’s OK. We’re here for that too. Sometimes the issue isn’t purely employment-related, and that’s OK. We’re here to help you navigate the academic grievance process too. Sometimes the issue doesn’t constitute a formal contract violation, and that’s OK. We’re here to help you figure out remedies outside of the grievance procedure as well!

Common Grievances

  • Workload. Your appointment is for a certain number of hours per week and meant to cover a 13 week employment period. It’s a good practice to keep track of your work hours. Use our workload tracker as a guide.
  • Work Space. Graduate employees are guaranteed work space and equipment to perform their duties. You may share offices and desks, but you need to have enough space and proper equipment to do your job.
  • Improper Charges. As a graduate employee, you should not pay tuition, a matriculation or international student orientation fee, or $430 of fees each term (though you will still have a small remaining fee bill). Graduate employees are improperly charged all the time, so be sure to look at your bill!
  • Improper Discipline. The contract spells out a formal discipline procedure; informal discipline and threats are a violation of the CGE collective bargaining agreement.
  • Bullying. While this may not constitute a specific contract violation, no graduate employee should be abused by their advisor or supervisor. If you feel you are, reach out to your department Stewards and/or the VP for Grievances and we’ll help you find a solution—through the grievance procedure or other means.

How the Grievance Procedure Works

Filing a grievance simply involves contacting administrators to discuss and resolve workplace issues. CGE officers and staff will hear you out, help you decide whether and how to proceed with your grievance, and will attend and help represent you at meetings at each stage of the process. Grievances typically progress through the following steps:

  • Step 0 Prior to filing a grievance under this Article, Graduate Employees are encouraged to address issues informally with their supervisor or other University representative with authority to resolve the specific issue.
  • Step 1 Should a grievance not be resolved informally, or should a grievant decide not to use an informal process, a formal grievance shall be filed with the direct supervisor.
  • Step 2 Should a grievance not be resolved at Step 1, the Graduate Employee or Union may file the grievance with the appropriate head of the administrative unit in which the Graduate Employee works (Chair, School Head, Center Director, Dean).
  • Step 3 Should the grievance not be resolved at Step 2; the Graduate Employee or Union may file the grievance with the Provost or their designee.
  • Arbitration.  The grievance may be advanced to binding, third party arbitration by the Union if there is no response or an unsatisfactory response to the Step 3 grievance.