In a unionized workplace, effective day-to-day management of employees is critical to maintaining efficiency. Resolution of problems and issues is a daily task for managers and supervisors, and their ability to handle them effectively can have important consequences for the employer. The collective bargaining agreement is a valuable tool for doing so, and helps keep employees and the union accountable to their bargained commitments. But it’s sometimes underutilized because managers and supervisors lack a practical framework to interpret and apply its terms.
Learning objectives:
• Interpretation. An introductory understanding of the core legal concepts governing the interpretation of collective bargaining agreements, including: identifying the terms that comprise a collective bargaining agreement; common sources of disputes over the meaning of its terms; fundamental interpretive principles; and additional interpretive tools and aids.
• Management Rights. What management rights are; their typical scope; how to limit union encroachment on management rights; and the parameters of an employer’s unilateral rule-making authority.
• The Grievance Process. The definition of a “grievance”; the steps of a typical grievance process and how to maximize each to resolve disputes; the role of arbitration and the question of arbitrability; and grievance process technicalities.
Upcoming session: TBA
Facilitator: McInnes Cooper