Section A Union Representation

The number of representation districts in the unit shall be the agreed upon number. Unit wide, as used in this Agreement, shall mean the total bargaining unit. The Employer and the Union may redistrict the unit from time to time by agreement. Districts, as used in this Agreement, shall mean an agreed upon area of the Employer for the purposes of establishing Steward representation districts.

It is mutually recognized that the principle of proportional representation which reflects the increase and decrease in the work force is a sound and sensible basis for implementing this section of the Agreement.

Current representation districts are: District 1, Quad 1 and Quad 2; District 2, University Center Quad and University Apartments; District 3, Facilities and Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreational Sports Departments - First Shift; District 4, Facilities and Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreational Sports Departments - Second Shift; District 5, Facilities and Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreational Sports Departments - Third Shift; District 6, Facilities Department - Grounds, Trades, Power Plant; and District 7, Public Safety and Police Services.

Section B Stewards

1. In each district, employees in the district shall be represented by one (1) Steward who shall be a regular employee and working in the district.

2. The Stewards, during their working hours, without loss of time or pay, may in their own district, in accordance with the terms of this section investigate and present grievances to the Employer, upon having received permission from the Steward's supervisor to do so. The supervisor will grant permission and provide sufficient time to the Stewards to leave their work for these purposes subject to necessary emergency exceptions. The privilege of Stewards leaving their work during working hours without loss of time or pay is subject to the understanding that the time will be devoted to the proper handling of grievances and will not be abused; and Stewards will perform their regularly assigned work at all times, except when necessary to leave their work to handle grievances as provided herein. Any alleged abuse by either party will be a proper subject for a Special Conference and/or disciplinary action.

3. A Chief Steward may be designated to investigate and discuss grievances with district supervisors and/or district Stewards prior to reducing the grievance to writing. In the absence of the Chief Steward, the Local President may act as the Chief Steward. The Chief Steward or the Local President in the Chief Steward's absence may leave work during working hours without loss of pay based on the understanding that his/her supervisor has granted him/her permission to leave work, that the time will be devoted to the prompt handling of legitimate grievances and that he/she will perform his/her regularly assigned work at all times except when necessary to leave his/her work to handle grievances as provided herein. Any alleged abuse by either party will be a proper subject for a Special Conference and/or disciplinary action.

4. The Union will furnish the administrative head of the unit with the names of its authorized representatives and members of its Grievance Committees, and such changes as may occur from time to time in such personnel, so that the Employer may at all times be advised as to the authority of the individual representatives of the Union with which it may be dealing. The Employer will, in return, through its administrative heads of the units keep the Union advised as to its representatives.

Section C Employee Grievance

A grievance is defined as a disagreement, arising under and during the term of this Agreement, between the Employer and any employee concerning (1) his employment and (2) the interpretation and application of the provisions of this Agreement. Such a grievance may be submitted only by the aggrieved employee in accordance with the procedure set forth in Section F; except that the Union President or the Union President's designated representative may submit a grievance on behalf of an aggrieved employee, beginning at Step 1 of the grievance procedure, provided the grievance is submitted within ten (10) working days following the day on which the aggrieved employee had knowledge of the facts giving rise to the employee's grievance and the aggrieved employee refuses to process his/her grievance. Such a grievance by the Union President must set forth the reasons the Union President is processing the grievance. In proper cases exceptions may be made if mutually agreed upon by the Union President and the Director of Human Resources or their designees.

Section D Group Grievance

A group grievance shall be defined as one in which the fact questions and the provisions of the Agreement alleged to be violated are the same as they relate to each and every employee in the group. In the event that employees have a group grievance, it shall be sufficient if one (1) employee or their Steward or Chief Steward submits the grievance on behalf of all named and similarly affected employees. Such group grievances shall begin at that step of the grievance procedure where all affected employees have a common Employer representative.

Section E Union Grievance

A Union grievance is defined as a disagreement, other than one which can be processed under Section C or D above, arising under and during the term of this Agreement, between the University and the Union concerning the interpretation and application of the provisions of this Agreement on a question which is not an employee grievance.

In the event that the Union has a grievance, it shall begin at Step 3 of the grievance procedure, provided the grievance is submitted within ten (10) working days following the day on which the Union had knowledge of the facts giving rise to the grievance. Such a grievance shall be submitted by the Union President or the Union President's designated representative.

Section F Presenting a Grievance

Any employee or groups of employees having a grievance in connection with his/her or their employment shall present it to the Employer as follows and provided that no grievance shall be considered unless it is presented to the first step of the grievance procedure by the employee or Steward, within ten (10) working days of the time the employee or the Union has obtained knowledge of its occurrence. In no event shall monetary adjustments of a grievance cover a period prior to one hundred and twenty (120) calendar days before the filing of a written grievance.

Grievances which by their nature are not capable of being settled at a preliminary step of the Grievance Procedure may, by mutual agreement between the Director of Human Resources or the Director's designee and the Union President or the Union President's designee, be filed at the appropriate advanced step where the action giving rise to the grievance was initiated or where the requested relief could be granted.

STEP 1

If an employee believes he/she has a grievance, the employee should first discuss the matter with the employee's immediate supervisor. In the event the employee is not satisfied with the supervisor's disposition of the matter, the employee may refer the grievance to the Steward of the employee's district. If the Steward believes that the employee has a legitimate grievance, the Steward may begin the formal process by presenting the written grievance to the supervisor.

The supervisor will meet with the Steward within a reasonable period of time and will give his/her written answer within five (5) working days of the meeting.

STEP 2

If the grievance is not thereby resolved, the employee and the Steward may confer with the Chief Steward, and then present the written grievance to the administrative head of the unit or division within five (5) working days of the Step 1 written answer.

The administrative head of the unit or division will give his answer in writing within five (5) working days of receiving the written grievance.

Section G Arbitration

STEP 3

1. Pre-Arbitration Conference

If the representatives of the Employer and the Union representatives do not dispose of the matter at Step 2 of the Grievance Procedure and the Union believes that the matter should be carried further, it shall then refer the matter to Council No. 25.  The representatives of the Council as well as the Local President and/or Chief Steward shall meet with the Director of Human Resources and Employer representatives for the purpose of attempting to resolve the dispute(s), provided that such meeting will be requested in writing within fifteen (15) working day from the date of the Step 2 answer.  The Employer will respond in writing to the Union within fifteen (15) working days of the pre‑arbitration conference.

2. If, as a result of the pre-arbitration conference the dispute(s) remains unsettled, and the Council wishes to carry the matter further, Council No. 25 will, within thirty (30) working days from the date of the Employer’s Step 3 response, assign a Council log number to the grievance, name and notify the appropriate arbitrator from the panel, and notify the Director of Human Resources, or the Director’s designee, by certified mail that the grievance is going to arbitration.  The date of notice will be the date of the postmark.  The notification to the arbitrator will be by a mutually agreeable form letter and will include both the Employer and the Council grievance numbers and the subject of the grievance.

The arbitrator shall operate under the Voluntary Labor Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association to the extent they are applicable given these procedures.

3. Every grievance submitted to an arbitrator for decision shall be subject to the following terms and conditions:

a. The arbitrator shall not have any authority to add to, subtract from, or otherwise modify any of the terms of this Agreement.

b. No grievance claiming back wages shall exceed the amount of wages the employee otherwise would have earned at his regular rate less any payment the employee may have received from unemployment compensation during the period of suspension or discharge from employment with the University.

c. The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding upon the University, the Union and the employee or employees involved. The Union will discourage any attempts of its members in any appeal to any court or labor board from a decision of any arbitrator.

d. The expense for the arbitrator shall be shared equally between the Employer and the Union.

e. Each party shall be responsible for compensating its own representatives and witnesses in an arbitration hearing. If either party desires a verbatim record of the proceedings, it may cause such a record to be made, providing it pay for the record and make copies available without charge to the other party.

f. After a case has been referred to the arbitrator, the case may not be withdrawn except by the mutual consent of both parties.

4. Arbitrator Panel

Contingent upon acceptance of the appointments by the arbitrators, the following panel of arbitrators will be utilized: 

            John Lyons
            Mark Glazer
            Paul Glendon
            William Daniel
            Mario Chiesa

5. Arbitrator Selection Process

The Employer and the Union shall select an arbitrator from the panel of arbitrators on a rotating basis.  The arbitrators shall be placed on the panel in the order identified above.  The first arbitrator selected shall be the arbitrator whose name is at the top of the list.  After an arbitrator has been assigned a grievance, his/her name shall be placed at the bottom of the list.  The arbitrator whose name is then at the top of the list shall hear the next grievance, and so on.  If a selected arbitrator is not able to hear a grievance, his/her name shall remain in the same place on the list and the next arbitrator on the list shall be selected.  This procedure shall continue until an arbitrator is selected.  When an arbitrator is selected, the parties shall jointly ask the arbitrator to provide a hearing date (or dates).  If the arbitrator is unable to offer a hearing date within twelve (12) months of selection, the parties may, by mutual agreement, select the next arbitrator on the list if that arbitrator is available to hear the grievance sooner.

If none of the arbitrators is available to hear the grievance within twelve (12) months after selection, the parties shall jointly submit the grievance to the American Arbitration Association and thereafter it shall be handled in accordance with the Voluntary Labor Arbitration Rules.

The parties may mutually agree to remove an arbitrator from the panel and select a new arbitrator.  If this occurs, joint written notice shall be sent to the arbitrators.

Section H General Conditions

1. The Union representatives may meet at a place designated by the Employer on the Employer's property for at least one-half (1/2) hour immediately preceding a meeting with the representatives of the Employer for which a request has been made.

2. The Local President or his/her representative shall be allowed time off his/her job without loss of time or pay to investigate a grievance he/she is to discuss or has discussed with the Employer, upon having received permission from his/her supervisor to do so. The supervisor will grant permission and provide sufficient time to the Local President or his/her representative to leave work for these purposes subject to necessary emergency exceptions. The privilege of the Local President or his/her representative leaving work during working hours without loss of time or pay is subject to the understanding that the time will be devoted to the proper handling of grievances and will not be abused; and the Local President or his/her representative will perform his/her regularly assigned work at all times, except when necessary to leave his/her work to handle grievances as provided herein. Any alleged abuse by either party will be a proper subject for a Special Conference.

3. A grievance that is not appealed from one step to another within the time limits allotted shall be considered settled on the basis of the Employer's last answer and not subject to further review.

4. A grievance not answered within the specified time limits by the Employer may be submitted to the next higher step of the grievance procedure.

5. A grievance may be withdrawn without prejudice, and, if so withdrawn, all financial liabilities shall be cancelled. If the grievance is reinstated, the financial liability shall date only from the date of reinstatement. If the grievance is not reinstated within three (3) months from the date of withdrawal, the grievance shall not be reinstated. Where one (1) or more grievances involve a similar issue, those grievances may be withdrawn without prejudice pending the disposition of the appeal of a representative case. In such event, the withdrawal without prejudice will not affect financial liability.

6. Time limits on answers may be extended with the mutual consent of both the Union and the Employer, provided that such a mutual extension shall be verified in writing by both parties within  five (5) working days.

7. For purposes of this Article, working days shall mean Monday through Friday excluding Saturday, Sunday and holidays as recognized by the Agreement.

Special Conferences for important matters will be arranged between the Local President and/or Chief Steward and the Employer or its designated representative upon request of either party. Such meetings shall be between at least two (2) representatives of the Employer and at least two (2) representatives of the Union. Requests for such Special Conferences shall be made in writing and an agenda of the matter to be taken up at the meeting shall be presented at the time the Conference is requested. Matters taken up in Special Conferences shall be confined to those included in the agenda. The members of the Union shall not lose time or pay for time spent in such Special Conferences. This Conference will be scheduled at a mutually convenient time. However, such a Conference will be scheduled within ten (10) calendar days excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, from the date of receipt of the written request for such Conference. This meeting may be attended by a representative of the Council or a representative of the International Union.

Section A Working Supervisors

1. It is the policy of the University that supervisory employees shall not perform work in any job classification of the bargaining unit; however, it is understood that occasionally management personnel are required to perform manual tasks and, in those situations, the Union agrees that there is no violation of the policy herein stated.

2. Additionally, it is understood that, in emergency situations when regular employees are not available, supervisory employees may be required to perform work within specific job classifications. The same thing is true when operational difficulties are encountered or in the testing of material or equipment, or when regular unit employees do not have the ability to do the work. Likewise, instruction or training of employees may well include demonstrating proper methods of accomplishing the tasks assigned.

Section B Subcontracting

If the Employer wishes to subcontract work presently performed by bargaining unit employees, the Employer shall notify in writing the Union President or in the Union President's absence the Chief Steward of the proposed course of action and, if requested, provide the union with relevant information thereon. In the event that subcontracting may result in the layoff of a bargaining unit member, the Employer will provide the union with thirty (30) days' notice and will supply the union with relevant information.

Section C Parking Fees

The Employer will allow employees who complete the necessary forms to receive one (1) parking decal at no cost and have the cost of additional parking decal fees deducted from their payroll check on a pre-tax basis.

Section D Uniform Allowance

All employees in the bargaining unit will receive $100 per year as a uniform allotment, payable the last payday in September. With the exception of Dining and Police Services, all employees will be required to wear University-supplied shirts and employee-supplied pants. University-supplied clothing will be cleaned by the University and all other clothing will be maintained by the employee. The University reserves the right to require that the pants worn by the employee present an appropriate appearance.

New employees will be given a uniform allotment of $100 at the end of the probationary period. No employee will receive more than a $100 allotment in a one (1)-year period. First year employees will receive a prorated uniform allotment on the last payday of September after hire equal to $8.33 per month for the months since the date they ended their probationary period. For example, an employee hired in March completes his/her probationary period in June. The employee would then receive a $100 allotment. The following September the employee would receive a $24.99 allotment.

The only exception to the preceding paragraphs is Dining Services' and Public Safety and Police Services' employees who will continue to have their uniforms furnished and maintained by the Employer at the discretion of the Department Head.

Section E Use of Student Employees

Northern Michigan University and Local 1094, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, recognize and agree that the employment of students is a part of the total employment program and recognize the necessity of employing students during the vacation periods including summer vacation.

Northern Michigan University recognizes its obligation to its full-time regular employees. Therefore, it will be the policy of Northern Michigan University to limit the offer of employment opportunities to student labor when all regular full-time employees who desire to work are working and they will not be hired to replace regular employees who can do the job under consideration.

It is further understood that student labor normally will be limited to students of Northern Michigan University and who shall be placed in positions traditionally held by students. Applicants will be referred to departments for approved openings in the

same nondiscriminatory manner as is used for regular employees.

This section does not in any way hinder the University from hiring other temporary employees as defined in Article 1, Section B.

Section F Use of Retired Employees

The University may use up to a maximum of fifty (50) retired employees to work Dining Services' positions which are ordinarily filled by student employees. Such employment will be on a part-time basis (up to a maximum of twenty (20) hours per week) and shall be at the student pay rate. AFSCME retirees would be given first priority for these positions, then NMU retirees, then other retirees. No retiree would be able to work if any AFSCME employee who wanted to work such a position was on layoff status.

Section G Use of Qualified Individuals with Disabilities

In the event the University receives a grant from any outside funding agency to employ qualified individuals with disabilities, the University may place up to a maximum of five (5) such employees in newly created grant positions. The rate of pay would be negotiated with the funding agency but will not exceed AFSCME pay rates.

Section H Inclement Weather

AFSCME employees are considered essential personnel and a vital part of Northern Michigan University. Therefore, on those days when the University officially closes, AFSCME employees, if scheduled, are to report to work. Any employee who finds it impossible to report to work due to inclement weather must notify the employee's supervisor or Public Safety and Police Services prior to the start of his regularly scheduled shift and may use a personal leave day to cover such absence without prior notification, or may use accrued annual leave or floating seasonal bonus day, if applicable. In cases where the police have closed roads making it impossible to travel to the University, employees so affected will suffer no loss of pay.  Those employees who do report to work/campus will be given equivalent time off with pay to be arranged with their supervisor.

Section I Master Agreement

The Employer shall post an electronic copy of this Agreement on the Human Resources web site after ratification by the Union membership and approval of the Board of Trustees. 

Section J Union Meetings

For the purpose of attending the regular monthly Union meeting, employees working during the time the meeting is scheduled may ask their supervisor for one (1) hour off to attend the meeting. The supervisor may deny the request for reasons such as operational needs or emergency requirements. If the request is granted, an employee must make up the time at either the beginning or end of the shift on the day of the meeting.