One yes is enough to look at a grievance. This is a UnionOps teaching aid, not a legal test. With none, the drafts cover other routes.
No test is met yet, so this is not a grievance as it stands. Fill in what happened and use the drafts for another route.
Grievance tests met: 0 / 5
Read the time limit in your collective agreement and enter the date yourself. Agreements count days in different ways.
Not a grievance yet
Pick the routes you will try. With none picked, the drafts cover all four.
Your drafts
Anything in [square brackets] still needs filling in. Check the drafts against your collective agreement before you use them. They are a starting point, not legal advice.
Grievance tests met: 0 / 5
11. Collective agreement violation
22. Employer misinterpretation
33. Statutory law violation
44. Past practice
55. Member rights violation
Labour-management committee: agenda request
Subject line: Agenda item for the next labour-management meeting
Hello [local president or union co-chair],
I would like to add an item to the agenda of the next labour-management meeting.
The concern: [what happened]
I do not think this is a grievance at this point, but it needs an answer from the employer. Could you confirm that it is on the agenda and tell me the meeting date?
Thank you,
[your name]
Health and safety committee: referral
Subject line: Health and safety concern to review
Hello [worker health and safety representative],
I am referring a health and safety concern raised by a member.
The concern: [what happened]
Please inspect it or raise it at the next committee meeting, record what is found, and let me know what corrective action is recommended and by when.
If anyone is in immediate danger, the supervisor needs to be told now. In that case this should not wait for the committee.
Thank you,
[your name]
Supervisor: request to talk
Subject line: A concern from [member's name]
Hello [supervisor's name],
[member's name] has raised a concern with me, and I would like to sort it out with you informally.
In brief: [what happened]
Do you have fifteen minutes this week?
Thank you,
[your name]
Union steward
In the conversation:
- State the concern factually, without blame.
- Ask how the supervisor understands the rule or practice.
- Propose one fix the member can live with.
- Agree on a follow-up date, and confirm it in writing afterwards.
- Note what was said and when.
Organizing around the issue: plan
- Find out who else is affected. Ask in person, one to one.
- Write the problem in one sentence that members would say themselves.
- Agree with the other stewards on one ask to the employer.
- Pick a first step many members can take together, such as a petition or a request for a group meeting.
- Set a date to review. If a pattern is clear by then, bring it back as a group grievance or a committee item.
- Keep notes on who you spoke with and what they said. Store them away from employer systems.
Note for the member
Subject line: Your concern: what I can do
Hi [member's name],
Thank you for bringing this to me. I have looked at it carefully.
A grievance needs a breach of the collective agreement, of a law, or of an established practice. I have not found one here so far, so I do not think this can go forward as a grievance right now. That does not mean nothing can be done.
Here is what I will do instead:
- Ask for it to be put on the agenda of the next labour-management meeting.
- Refer it to the health and safety committee.
- Raise it informally with your supervisor.
- Find out whether other members are affected, so that we can raise it together.
If you have more information, especially anything in writing, please send it to me. It could change this assessment.
If you disagree with this, you can ask the chief steward or the local executive to look at it again.
[your name]
About this tool
This worksheet helps a steward decide how to take a member's problem forward. Answer five tests, and it drafts either grievance wording or a message for another route, such as a joint committee or a conversation with the supervisor.
Common questions
How do I know if a problem is a grievance?
The worksheet asks whether it breaks a specific article, a clause the employer reads differently, a law, an accepted past practice, or a member's rights. One yes is enough to treat it as a grievance.
Does it work out my filing deadline?
No. Agreements count days in different ways, so you read the time limit in your collective agreement and enter the last day yourself. The worksheet then shows how many days are left.
Is this legal advice?
No. The drafts are a starting point. Check them against your collective agreement before you use them.