Grievance Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Grievance Process - Essay Example Conciliation Service under the Department of Labor in 1918. In 1935, the National Labor Relations Act created the National Labor Relations Board or NLRB (FMCS, 2008). This Board, in its decisions on the Collyer Insulated Wire, 192 NLRB 837 (1971); and Dubo Manufacturing Corp., 142 NLRB 431 (1963) cases expressed the national labor policy to require parties to honor their contractual obligations and resolve their disputes through their collectively bargained grievance-arbitration mechanisms (NLRB, 2008). Since then, the grievance procedure as articulated in what is now known as the Collyer doctrine, a doctrine in labor law under which the National Labor Relations Board will defer an issue brought before it for arbitration if the issue can be resolved under the collectively bargained grievance procedure, has consistently been referred to in labor mediation decisions (Dictionary.com, n.d.). And thus, the concept of a grievance procedure was instituted. The goals of a grievance procedure are to channel conflict into an institutionalized mechanism for peaceful resolution; facilitate communication between labor and management regarding problems that arise in a collective bargaining relationship; enable employees to complain with dignity knowing that there is a system of appeals leading to an impartial decision-maker; and enforce compliance with the terms and conditions negotiated by the parties (SPFPA, 2008). It also provides a first step alternative in conflict resolution rather than going through expensive, time-consuming and negatively publicized lawsuits for both employees and employers. A lot of grievances are caused by a simple misunderstanding which may be quickly resolved through a simple negotiation. A grievance procedure for such incidences saves time, money, and the relationship between the parties especially if issues are handled by those