AboutTimmy Chou Expertise I am a experienced Mediator and a partner in a management consulting firm. As a mediator I work as a third-party neutral and specialize in partnership/shareholder disputes, management/labor issues, company culture difficulties, and family-owned business problems. I can help describe why alternative dispute resolution may be a good choice for you. As an experienced management consultant I may be able to offer creative ideas to help resolve your organizational and business problems and disputes. "If you say conflict, I say opportunity".
I feel as though i was wrongfully terminated from my job. Let me state my case. My shift goes from 9:00am-5:30pm. We are guaranteed 8hrs, anything after that is considered overtime. This is a union job.All employees are required to work In the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) it clearly states that, "All employees are required to work overtime as needed. Management will notify employees if overtime is needed on a daily basis." On this particular day managment failed to notify the employees includng myself that there would be overtime. I clocked out of work at 5:50pm. The next day Management called me into the office and terminated me for job abandedment because i left work before all of the work was completed. Now I filed a grievance with the union on the basis of the company didn't notify me that there would be overtime. Therefore, my obligation to the company is done after my 8rs is up. My business agent agreed with me and asked the compant for my job back and back pay. The company wouldn't budge. The next step was for me to state my case before the executive board of the union. Once i state my case then they would decide if they would take my case to arbitration. Needless to say they sent me a letter stating that they wasn't gonna pursue the case further because the company didn;t break the rules. I feel as though the union didn't wanna pursue my case so that they could keep a good relationship with the company. My question is do i have a case and how can I pursue this case further? Thanks
Answer Thank you for your patience!
Mediators act as neutral third parties to disputes and never "get involved" in judging the merits of conflict, but merely use special techniques to help the parties decide how to negotiate their own settlement.
The case you describe here is far too typical and can be considered a "classic" workplace dispute presentation. I am not a lawyer and cannot mediate this with you alone but I can respond to your question from my business consulting experience.
Note that this issue may have legal ramifications and you may wish to consult a labor attorney.
It may be useful for you to consider that right and wrong are not always the most useful places to begin in dealing with these sorts of problems. Usually parties to labor disputes seek a result that is in their own interests, and if there is collateral damage that is "wrong" as a result, so be it. As you have experienced, you may be sacrificed on the alter of expediency. Remember that your person-hood and your work are not even remotely related and that the issues are here are not likely to be personal, even though it feels like it.
Each Union will have the rules governing your options and appeal or other rights spelled out in the CBA or other agreement. You likely signed something agreeing to the terms and conditions of these rules. Get a copy and see what options you have.
What you must do is figure out--as best you can--how strong your leverage is and what your options are. You may have no options that will not cost you allot of money and may or may not allow you to prevail.
You can, however, if you do not think you have any legal options, see if you can get the press to cover your story and write an article on it, or cover it on TV. You may also have some options with the US Dept of Labor. Call them
Be sure the company and the Union are clear that absent a
fair settlement you will tell your story far and wide. This may add to your overall leverage.
As you can see this could become a real cat fight, take a
long time and cost allot of money. You may be in the right, but you should count the cost to yourself in seeking justice. It will be a tough road.
If the company and/or the is convinced that: 1) you are not going away; 2) you are going to raise hell and tell everyone; and 3) it will likely cost more money to deal with you than it would to settle with you; than they will make a business decision and take care of you or hire you back.
These are some ideas. Feel free to follow up with additional questions.
For your information, the pros and cons of the types of dispute resolution methods follows.
GOOD LUCK!
Arbitration, Mediation, and Litigation
Arbitration: the referral of a dispute to one or more impartial persons for final and binding determination outside of the judicial system
Benefits of Arbitration:
Confidential, no public record
Limited exchange of documentation, information
Quick, don't have to wait for a court date
Arbitrators have expertise in the subject matter and are trained in conflict resolution
Cheaper than litigation
Preserves business relationships
Negatives of Arbitration
It's a compromise, no 0 winner
Complex arbitration can be costly
If not satisfied, may litigate the arbitration procedure
Poor results with an unskilled arbitrator
Both parties must agree to cooperate in the process
Mediation: the process by which parties submit their dispute to a neutral third party (the mediator) who works with the parties to reach a settlement of their dispute.
Benefits of Mediation:
Neutral mediator can objectively suggest alternatives not considered before
Parties are directly engaged in negotiating the settlement
Can be quicker than litigation
Less costly than litigation
Preserves business relationships
85 of American Arbitration Association cases mediated find successful solutions
Negatives of Mediation
may not reach a binding decision
unskilled mediator
Litigation: using the judicial system to resolve disputes
Benefits of litigation:
a clear winner and loser
uses a prescribed set of procedures
more predictable outcomes
is final
Negatives of Litigation:
waiting for court dates can do more harm
usually more expensive than mediation and arbitration
part of the public record
