4.1 For purposes of this Agreement, all employees in the bargaining unit on May 13, 1982, shall be given bargaining unit seniority as of their last date of hire by the University. Employees hired into the bargaining unit after May 13, 1982, shall be given bargaining unit seniority as of their last date of hire into the bargaining unit. Bargaining unit seniority is subject to any adjustments provided for in this Agreement.

4.2 New University employees hired into the bargaining unit shall be considered probationary employees for the first six (6) months of their regular employment except those employees covered under the 2006 Memorandum of Understanding #3. The probationary period, at the discretion of the Employer, may be extended up to an additional three- (3) month period. University employees who transfer into the bargaining unit shall be considered probationary employees for the first three (3) months of their regular employment. The probationary period, at the discretion of the Employer, may be extended up to an additional three- (3) month period. When an employee completes the probationary period, the employee shall be entered on the seniority list, with a seniority date retroactive to date of hire or date of transfer into the bargaining unit. The discharge of a probationary employee (except for Union activity) shall be nongrievable.

A former bargaining unit member who is rehired will complete a three- (3) month probationary period. A bargaining unit member recalled to his last position held, within the time limits specified below, shall not be required to serve a new probationary period. A bargaining unit member who is promoted or assigned to a new bargaining unit position other than his last position within two (2) years or a time equal to his length of service, whichever is less, will complete a three- (3) month training period. This is not a probationary period. An employee who is reassigned to his original position (position last held before promotion, assignment, layoff) prior to the completion of the job training period will have no recourse through the Grievance Procedure.

4.3 Seniority shall be defined as an employee's length of regular employment in the bargaining unit or date of transfer into the bargaining unit. "Date of last hire" shall mean the date on which the employee actually begins work, irrespective of when such employee was advised that he had been hired.

4.4 Employees who transfer to a position excluded from the bargaining unit at their own request, or through some action of the Employer, shall retain all accrued seniority earned prior to the transfer from the bargaining unit for a period of two (2) years. When an employee is returned to the bargaining unit, such employee shall be permitted to apply the seniority earned prior to the employee's transfer out of the bargaining unit, if applicable, for the purpose of determining the employee's proper placement in the bargaining unit, pursuant to Article 7 of this Agreement, and establishing entitlement to other rights and benefits provided herein.

4.5 Employees shall lose their seniority and their seniority shall be terminated if they:

(a) resign or quit;

(b) are discharged or terminated (unless reversed through the grievance or arbitration procedure);

(c) are laid off for a continuous period equal to the time employed, or for two (2) years, whichever is shorter;

(d) retire or receive a pension under one of the pension plans covering bargaining unit employees; or

(e) do not return to work within the time limits of a leave of absence or an extended leave of absence.

4.6 The Employer shall, within thirty (30) days after the signing of this Agreement, furnish the Union with a master list of all employees in the bargaining unit showing the seniority date of each employee. Such list shall contain the name, date of employment, and classification of each employee in the bargaining unit. The Union shall, within ten (10) working days of the University's provision of said list to the Union, post the list on the Union bulletin boards. Revised master lists shall be furnished to the Union by the University every month and posted by the Union three (3) times a year within ten (10) working days of the University's provision of said lists. The first time an employee's initial or adjusted seniority date is posted, an employee who believes his seniority date to be incorrect must file a grievance within thirty (30) calendar days of the date on which the Union posts the list. Thereafter, except for seniority dates changed as a result of a grievance filed in accord with this provision, such lists shall be binding on all employees in the bargaining unit.

4.7 For purposes of layoff and recall determination, members of the bargaining committee, while actively engaged in contract negotiations, shall have top seniority unit-wide, provided they have the ability to perform satisfactorily the work available. Union stewards shall have top seniority in the district that elected them provided they can perform any of the work available in the district. The Union President and Vice President shall have top seniority unit-wide. Upon the expiration of their terms of office, the above Union officials shall revert to their respective original positions on the seniority list.

4.8 All bargaining unit employees whose jobs are discontinued or laid off for an indefinite period will be paid all unused annual leave at the time of the layoff. An employee on layoff, except as limited in Section 4.5(c), shall retain and continue to accrue seniority.

4.9 Seniority for bargaining unit employees who are employed less than full time shall be applicable only with respect to layoff, recall, promotion, and transfer.

4.10 Employees hired on "interim" appointments who have had no break in service and are subsequently hired into the position they have been employed in on an "interim" basis will be granted seniority as of the date they began their "interim" assignment.

4.11 Whenever two (2) or more bargaining unit members have the same seniority date, the last four (4) digits of the affected bargaining unit member's social security numbers shall be examined and the person with the lower number shall be deemed to have greater seniority.

5.1 Grievance Procedure. The Union will be represented in the Grievance Procedure as follows:

There may be one (1) steward and one (1) alternate steward for each steward district. Each steward and alternate steward shall be nonprobationary employees. The alternate steward shall only function as a steward when the steward is absent.

The stewards, during their working hours, without loss of time or pay, may in their own or in the grievant's district, in accordance with the terms of this Section and the terms of the Grievance Procedure, investigate and present employee grievances to the Employer, upon having received permission from their supervisor to do so. The supervisor will grant permission within a reasonable period of time and provide reasonable 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. The President of the Union shall be given release time with pay for participation in the meeting between the Employer and the Union as specified in the Grievance Procedure.

5.2 Bargaining Committee. There will be a bargaining committee of five (5) members who shall be nonprobationary employees. The committee shall be selected in a manner determined by the Union provided that no two (2) employees will be from the same department. The Employer shall also recognize alternate members of the committee who shall function only when the committee person is absent.

If negotiations are scheduled during regular working hours, members of the bargaining committee shall be given release time with pay for attendance at such scheduled negotiation sessions once negotiations to modify this Agreement as specified in Article 22 have begun. However, no overtime will be paid for attendance at negotiations.

5.3 List of Representatives. The Union shall furnish the Employer with a list by Steward District of the stewards, Chief Steward, and alternate stewards and members and alternate members of the bargaining committee. Any change in the list shall be reported promptly in writing by the Union to the Employer. The Employer shall not recognize any employee as a steward or alternate steward or member or alternate member of the bargaining committee without such notice.

5.4 Union Affairs. Designated officials of the Union shall be allowed release time with pay for official business of the International Union, provided that the employee has given the employee's supervisor and the Director of Human Resources or the Director's designee written notice of not less than five (5) working days, and further provided that the employee's absence from the job will cause no undue hardship on the operation of the employee's department. Such release time shall not exceed a combined total of twenty (20) days per contract year for all Union officials and shall be granted to not more than three (3) employees at any one time. Additional unpaid release time may be granted for official Union business provided that written notice of not less than five (5) working days is given to the supervisor and the Director of Human Resources or the Director's designee and further provided that such absence will cause no undue hardship on the operation of the department or the University.

5.5 Representation Districts. The number of representation districts in the unit shall be agreed upon by the Employer and the Union. 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. One steward shall represent one district.

5.5.1 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. Any additions or deletions to the Representation Districts will be made by mutual agreement.

6.1 A unit member (or group of unit members) who claims that the contract provisions have allegedly been violated shall initially seek to resolve the problem by informal means and/or through administrative channels, with, however, the right of reply to his inquiries within three (3) working days. Requests for information under this Subsection shall not be construed as starting the Grievance Procedure.

6.2 A grievance procedure is intended to be a positive, amicable process to resolve differences between management and bargaining unit members.  A grievance is a complaint by the Union, on behalf of one (1) or more unit members or in its own behalf, concerning an alleged violation of a specific provision(s) of this Agreement. All grievances shall be adjusted through the Grievance Procedure provided in this Article.  The initiation of a grievance by a bargaining unit member will not be utilized in a bargaining unit member's evaluation as a negative factor in evaluating a bargaining unit member's performance.  

6.3 In computing any time limits herein specified, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays will be excluded. Unless extended by mutual written agreement, the time limits specified herein shall be the maximum time allowed. Failure by the Union or by an employee to file a grievance within the time limits specified shall bar the grievance. Failure to comply with time limits on the part of the University's administrative agent shall permit the grievance to proceed to the next step.

6.4 Failing resolution of a problem by informal means, the Union or an employee shall initiate the Grievance Procedure by serving a written grievance on the employee's immediate supervisor or other designated administrative official on the form set forth as Appendix B of this Agreement. The grievance shall be signed by the appropriate Union representative and the unit member(s) involved, shall concisely state the facts upon which the grievance is based and the contract provisions which have allegedly been violated, and shall specify the relief or remedy sought. The grievance shall be filed within ten (10) working days after the Union or the unit member(s) on whose behalf the grievance is filed became aware, or reasonably should have become aware, of the action complained of. (This time period is in addition to that specified in Section 6.3.) In no event shall monetary adjustments of a grievance cover a period prior to ninety (90) days before the filing of a written grievance.

Grievances involving a department or division may be initiated at Step 2 of the Grievance Procedure, and grievances which affect employees throughout the bargaining unit may be initiated at Step 2 of the Grievance Procedure; provided, however, that such grievances must still be filed within the ten- (10) working day time limit set forth in this paragraph or be barred.

The Union President may refer the Union's investigation of a civil rights grievance to the Union Civil Rights Committee.

6.5 STEP 1: SUPERVISOR/DEPARTMENT HEAD. Upon receipt of the written grievance, the supervisor or designated administrative agent shall arrange a meeting to discuss the grievance with the grievant(s) and with the appropriate representative of the Union. This discussion shall be completed within seven (7) working days after the grievance is filed. If the grievance is adjusted to the satisfaction of the Employer and Union, the adjustment will be reduced to writing and signed by the supervisor or designated administrative agent and the representative of the Union. If there is no mutually agreeable adjustment, the supervisor or designated administrative agent shall provide the Union representative with the written answer stating the reason(s) for denial of the grievance. Such answer shall be provided within five (5) working days of the meeting with the Union.

6.6 STEP 2: DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES. If the grievance is not satisfactorily adjusted in Step 1, the Union may within five (5) working days of the Step 1 written answer request in writing that the grievance be presented to the Director of Human Resources setting forth its objection to the Step 1 answer. Upon receipt of the written appeal, the Director of Human Resources or other designated administrative agent shall arrange a meeting to discuss the grievance, answer, and appeal with the Union President, or designated representative, the grievant(s), and/or Union Steward, and the Union's International Representative. This discussion shall be completed within ten (10) working days after the filing of the request to have the grievance considered in Step 2. If the grievance is satisfactorily adjusted at this step, the adjustment will be reduced to writing and signed by the Director of Human Resources or other designated administrative agent and the Union representative. If there is no mutually agreeable adjustment, the Director of Human Resources or other administrative agent shall provide the Union representative with a written answer stating the reason(s) for denial of the grievance. Such answer shall be provided within ten (10) working days of the meeting with the Union.

6.7 STEP 3: BINDING ARBITRATION. If the grievance is not satisfactorily adjusted in Step 2, the Union may submit the grievance to binding arbitration by written submission to the American Arbitration Association (Southfield, Michigan office), with simultaneous written notice to the University, within thirty (30) days after the Union's receipt of the written answer at Step 2. The arbitrator will be selected and the arbitration will be conducted under the then current Labor Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association.

The arbitrator's decision of the grievance shall be binding upon the Employer, the Union, and any unit member(s) involved. His decision shall be based solely upon the express and specific provisions of this Agreement, without addition, subtraction, or modification. The Employer and the Union will bear their own expenses individually and will share equally the fees and expenses of the arbitrator and the American Arbitration Association.

6.8 Any adjustment of a grievance agreed upon by the University and the Union at any stage of the Grievance Procedure will conclusively dispose of the grievance and shall be binding upon the Board, the Union, and any unit member or members involved.

6.9 Failure by the Union to appeal a grievance from one step to the next shall result in the grievance being settled on the basis of the Employer's last answer. If mutually agreed to in writing by the Union and the Employer's Director of Human Resources, a grievance may be initiated at a step other than Step 1 of the Grievance Procedure. However, this does not relax any of the time limitations.

6.10 Special conferences for matters of importance may be arranged on a reasonable basis between the Union President and the Director of Human Resources or their designated representatives upon the request of either party.

6.11 Time limits in this Article may be waived by mutual agreement of the parties in writing.

6.12 A grievance alleging a violation of federal or state law may be initiated at Step 2 of the Grievance Procedure.

6.13 An employee who believes that he is being subjected to abusive behavior by his supervisor may schedule a meeting with the Director of Human Resources for discussion of the perceived abuse. A Union representative may accompany the employee to this meeting.