The definition of a grievance shall be any dispute or difference that arises between the City and the Association as to the interpretation or application of any provisions of this agreement. Such dispute or difference (hereinafter referred to as "grievance") shall be settled in accordance with the grievance procedure set forth.
It is the mutual desire of the City and Association to provide for prompt adjustment of grievances in a fair and reasonable manner, with a minimum amount of interruption of the work schedules. Every reasonable effort shall be made by both the City and Association to effect the resolution of grievances at the earliest step possible. In the furtherance of this objective, the following procedure shall be followed:
(a) FIRST STEP: When an employee has a grievance, the employee shall contact the Association steward and they shall verbally discuss the matter with his Section Commander or his designee and attempt to resolve the problem. The grievance must be brought to the attention of the Section Commander or his designee within ten (10) work days of the employee having, through the exercise of reasonable diligence, gained knowledge that a grievance exists. If the grievance cannot be resolved through verbal discussion, then it shall be reduced to writing and presented to the Bureau Commander or Section Commander by the Association. The specific contract section(s) at issue must be cited in the grievance. The Bureau Commander or Section Commander shall indicate, in writing, his response to the grievance by the end of the shift, on the tenth (10th) work day following the day on which the written grievance was presented.
If the answer of the Bureau Commander or Section Commander is not satisfactory, then the Association shall have ten (10) work days to appeal the grievance to the Second Step of this grievance procedure.
"Work days" for purposes of all provisions of this collective bargaining agreement shall be Monday through Friday, excluding major holidays. Any reference to days herein, unless specified as calendar days, shall be considered as "work days".
(b) SECOND STEP: Grievances not settled in the First Step shall be delivered to the Chief of the Department of Police. The Chief of the Department of Police and/or his designee shall attempt to settle or have settled the grievance within ten (10) work days after the submission to his office. If the answer of the Chief is not satisfactory, then the Association shall have ten (10) work days to appeal the grievance to the Third Step of this grievance procedure.
(c) THIRD STEP: If the dispute is not settled to the satisfaction of all concerned parties, then the grievance shall be submitted to the Director of Public Safety and/or her/his designees who shall jointly attempt to settle the dispute. The Directors shall provide a written answer to the grievance within ten (10) work days after the matter has been submitted. If the answer of the Directors is not satisfactory, the Association shall have fifteen (15) work days to appeal the grievance to the Fourth Step of this grievance procedure.
(d) FOURTH STEP: If the decision of the City as given in the Third Step of the Grievance Procedure is not satisfactory, then the Association shall notify the City in writing within fifteen (15) work days after the answer of the Director, that the grievance is to be submitted to arbitration. The parties may mutually agree to a mediator to discuss any grievance. The mediator may give an advisory opinion as to the merits of the grievances before him/her. Said opinion shall not be used in any subsequent arbitration; nor shall it prejudice the positions of either party. The cost of said mediation shall be borne equally by the parties. Within fifteen (15) work days after notification when a grievance is submitted to arbitration the parties will decide if the Expedited Advisory Labor Arbitration process is to be used as set forth in this contract, or, if not, then the following process for binding arbitration is to be followed. At the request of either party, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service or the American Arbitration Association will submit a list of seven (7) names of available arbitrators. In the event that the parties cannot agree on the medium for presentation of these issues, the Federal Mediation Conciliation Service shall be used. Upon receipt of the list within fourteen (14) work days, the City and the Association representative shall alternately strike one (1) name from the list. The side to strike the first name shall be chosen by lot. The person whose name has been chosen shall become the arbitrator. The arbitration shall be heard at the arbitrator's earliest available date. The fees and expenses of the arbitrator shall be paid by the party against whom the arbitrator renders an adverse decision.
In the event more than one grievance is referred to the same hearing, the costs of the arbitration shall be divided proportionately, the loser bearing the proportionate share of the costs for the cases lost. All other expenses for witnesses or otherwise shall be borne by the party incurring the cost. However, any City employee called as a witness by either side, will continue to receive his regular rate of pay while attending such a hearing, not to exceed the normal eight (8) hours.
Arbitration shall be limited to matters concerning the interpretation or application of provisions as listed herein. However, by mutual agreement of the City and the Association, the grievance procedure set forth above may be used in other matters.
All written responses at steps 2 and above are to be sent to the Vice-President responsible for grievances and the President of the Association. All grievances and appeals filed at steps 3 and above are to be sent to the Director of Public Safety, the Director of Human Resources, and the Chief of Police. Grievances, appeals and responses sent by U.S. mail shall be deemed received as of the date of posting.
Any grievance that originates from a level above the First Step of the grievance procedure shall be submitted directly to the step or level from which it originates.
Grievance awards that specify the individual(s) to be paid and the amount shall be issued by the next full pay period after the award date.