(a) A grievance is hereby defined to be any controversy, complaint, misunderstanding or dispute arising from the interpretation, application or observance of any of the provisions herein or any supplement hereto.
(b) The recognized levels of management under the grievance procedure are as follows: the Operational Unit, the Division and the Department of Human Resources.
(c) All grievances which arise above the operational levels shall be filed, in writing, and submitted within five (5) work days after the date the Union has gained knowledge that a grievance exists to the level of management where the grievance occurred.
(d) A grievance may be advanced to any step of the Grievance Procedure -- up to and including arbitration -- by mutual consent of the parties.
(e) For the purpose of this Section, the term "days" is defined as Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.