Deck 11: The Grievance Arbitration Process

Question 1

What information would not usually be included in a written grievance at step two?

A) The time of the alleged violation
B) The dates of availability for the hearing
C) The requested remedy
D) Names of witnesses

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Who generally pays the fees of a grievance arbitrator?

A) The party that initiated the grievance
B) Each party pays ½ of the arbitrator's fees
C) The party that selected the arbitrator
D) The employer

Answer 2

B

Question 3

What is the term used to describe a grievance filed by the union on behalf of all employees?

A) Group grievance
B) Union grievance
C) Policy grievance
D) Comprehensive grievance

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which is the only step in the grievance procedure where the individual grievor has control of the disposition of the grievance?

A) The third step
B) The second step
C) The first step
D) The grievor does not control the disposition of the grievance

Question 5

Which of the following would typically be classified as an individual grievance?

A) A dispute over the seniority provisions of the agreement
B) A dispute over a disciplinary sanction given to an employee
C) A dispute over the contracting-out provisions of the agreement
D) A dispute over the union security clause
E)

Question 6

When a labour board determines that a union has failed in its duty of fair representation in regards to a grievance, which of the following is a possible remedy?

A) Award the grievor the remedy sought in the original grievance
B) Order a resubmission of the grievance
C) Order that the grievance be submitted to arbitration
D) All of the above

Question 7

Which of the following is not one of the advantages of expedited arbitration?

A) It is faster
B) It is less expensive
C) It makes effective use of precedents
D) Awards are less legalistic

Question 8

Who usually handles the third step of the grievance procedure for each party?

A) The union business agent and intermediate members of management
B) The union business agent and senior management representatives
C) The union steward and intermediate members of management
D) The union steward and senior management representatives

Question 9

Bearing in mind a union's duty of fair representation, which of the following is an option in the disposition of a grievance?

A) Settle the grievance
B) Withdraw the grievance
C) Proceed to arbitration
D) All of the above

Question 10

What is a grievance?

A) A disagreement about the interpretation, application or administration of the collective agreement
B) Any violation during the negotiation process of the collective agreement that is not resolved
C) A direct complaint arising from the employee and employment relationship in the workplace
D) All of the above

Question 11

Since the grievance mediation process has many positive characteristics. Why is it not used more often?

A) It is too costly
B) The parties may not be happy with the choice of mediator
C) The parties do not, as a rule, encourage third-party involvement in the pre- arbitration phase of the grievance procedure
D) Parties must work towards a mutual solution with little regard for winning or losing

Question 12

Once the preliminary issues are concluded, what happens next in a hearing?

A) Each party has a right to make an opening statement
B) The cross-examining party has the right to re-examine witnesses
C) The arbitrator is not permitted to ask questions of the witnesses
D) Parties can identify certain witnesses that will not be eligible for cross- examination

Question 13

Which party bears the procedural onus in arbitrations dealing with discipline or discharge of an employee?

A) The union
B) The employer
C) The party that received the grievance
D) The party that initiated the grievance

Question 14

What level of the union hierarchy sometimes assists employees in presenting and preparing their grievances during the first step?

A) The union president
B) The national representative
C) The shop steward
D) The union delegate

Question 15

If the grievor alleging a violation of the agreement does not file the grievance according to the timelines in the collective agreement, what may happen?

A) The grievance moves immediately to the last step in the process
B) The shop steward loses his/ her position in the union
C) The union executive gets to determine if the grievance proceeds
D) The employer may dismiss the grievance on the basis of past practice

Question 16

Which of the following is not

A) It can lead to a more timely settlement
B) It encourages a non-adversarial approach
C) It encourages the use of lawyers
D) It is an informal process

Question 17

Which party is responsible for the initial selection of single arbitrator?

A) It is a mutual agreement of union and management
B) Management
C) The union
D) The labour board

Question 18

Which party generally bears the responsibility of proof or procedural onus in arbitration hearings?

A) Management
B) The union
C) The party that initiated the grievance
D) The party that received the grievance

Question 19

Which of the following would generally be included in a party's closing argument in an arbitration hearing?

A) A statement of the issues
B) A summary of the evidence of its witnesses and how the evidence supports its case
C) Reference to other arbitration decisions which support their case
D) All of the above

Question 20

Which of the following is not a factor that contributes to delays in the arbitration process?

A) The difficulty of scheduling meeting rooms
B) The fact that there is a limited number of well-known arbitrators and they are quite busy
C) The difficulty of finding dates convenient for all participants
D) The time required to write the arbitration award

Question 21

When a labour relations board accepts a complaint that the union has failed to meet its duty of fair representation, it undertakes an investigation of the workplace grievance.

Question 22

Expedited arbitration is mandated by legislation in all Canadian provinces.

Question 23

What is one of the least principled reasons to proceed through the arbitration process?

A) Because the union does not like the employer
B) Using grievances to inflict damage on the other party
C) Because one party simply has access to more money than the other party
D) To resolve problems arising from the collective agreement

Question 24

In response to a grievance filed by the Hospital Employees' Union against the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority what was the arbitrator Vince Ready's ruling

A) That any programs put in place to deal with short-term absenteeism cannot violate the collective agreement or the law
B) That the employer has the right to ensure sick nurses remain at home and limit exposure to others
C) That the nurses were acting in good faith
D) That the employers practice for absenteeism is well intentioned and should continue

Question 25

The arbitrator does what at the beginning of the hearing?

A) swears in all of the parties
B) confirms he/she has jurisdiction to hear the matter
C) asks for any preliminary issues
D) determines where the parties sit at the table

Question 26

Arbitrators in Canada have the legal right to issue subpoenas requiring witnesses to attend and give evidence at the arbitration hearing.

Question 27

Successful appeals of arbitration awards are very common.

Question 28

In Canada the arbitrator is empowered to rule on whether and interpretation is correct and can change the collective agreement if it is found to be lacking..

Question 29

What are the general exceptions to the "grieve, then work" principle?

A) If the collective agreement violation puts the grievor's physical safety in jeopardy
B) When money is at issue
C) If the grievor feels particularly strongly about the issue
D) If the issue concerns a Charter violation

Question 30

The following is not one of the reasons that a party can appeal an arbitration award.

A) The arbitrator was biased against the opposing party
B) The proper procedures were not followed
C) The arbitrator exceeded his/her jurisdiction
D) The party(ies) did not like the decision

Question 31

Canadian labour legislation requires specific processes for handling grievances between the union and the employer.

Question 32

In most expedited arbitration situations, the entire process usually takes how long to complete?

A) Less than 45 days
B) Less than 10 days
C) Less than 30 days
D) Less than 20 days

Question 33

What would not be considered as part of the costs of the arbitration process?

A) The winner having to cover legal fees for the loser
B) Legal fees
C) Lost production
D) Lost labour

Question 34

If a union fails to file a grievance when it knew or ought to have known that an action contravened the collective agreement, the employer may dismiss the grievance out of hand.

Question 35

Why does Danny Cavanagh, CUPE NS, say that the goal is to avoid the arbitration if at all possible?

A) It is costly and litigious
B) It takes place before and arbitration and with lawyers
C) The grievance system is meant to be a reasonable way to resolve disputes
D) All of the above

Question 36

What is one factor that has greatly contributed to the formality, legality, and costly nature of grievances?

A) The expertise required of arbitrators
B) The complicated nature of cases
C) The involvement of legal counsel
D) The tight timelines for filing grievances

Question 37

Most employer grievances filed against the union are as a result of work stoppages during the term of the collective agreement.

Question 38

What is the purpose of a subpoena?

A) To compel a witness to appear
B) To compel the witness to bring other people
C) To request a witness to appear
D) To request production of documents

Question 39

From a union's perspective, a grievance occurs when the employer takes or fails to take an action that violates the collective agreement.

Question 40

Individuals named as arbitrators in collective agreements must have a background in industrial relations or law and are experienced third-party decision makers with union exerience.

Question 41

How did the grievance arbitration process become transformed from an informal process to one that is formal and legalistic?

Question 42

It has been argued that the arbitration process has become too costly. What are the main components of these costs?

Question 43

Discuss the various aspects of the hearing and what is significant about each. (Pages 317 - 322)

Question 44

What is the distinction between an individual grievance and a policy grievance?

Question 45

What is the standard of proof required in arbitration hearings?

Question 46

Discuss three alternatives to the traditional arbitration process. (Pages 324, 327, 330)

Question 47

Define the term "grievance."

Question 48

What is the purpose of the opening statement in an arbitration hearing?

Question 49

What are some of the complaints about the standard arbitration process that have caused practitioners to seek out new forms of adjudication? (Page 324)

Question 50

Describe the process usually used for the selection of grievance arbitrators.

Question 51

Who presides over a grievance arbitration, how does that person(s) get involved in the process, and what does that person(s) do? (Page 316)

Question 52

Assuming a three-step grievance procedure, what typically happens at step two of the process?

Question 53

What is a union's duty of fair representation in the grievance process?

Question 54

In assessing the timeliness of a grievance, when does the grievance begin?

Question 55

Describe a typical grievance procedure, starting with the event that gives rise to the complaint through to the arbitration stage. (Page 309 and Pages 309-314)