Exam 9: Administration of the Collective Agreement

When conducting a posting for a job vacancy and selecting an employee to fill the vacancy employers must ensure that:

A very small percentage of grievances filed, approximately 2 to 3 percent, proceed to arbitration.

Describe the nature and potential advantages of grievance mediation.

Collective agreements can combine seniority with ability to determine promotions.Explain a combination of seniority and ability that would be preferred by the union and a combination that would be preferred by the employer.Include the reasons for each side's preference.

For which of the following may an employer be allowed to impose discipline upon an employee:

Arbitrators have the authority to order employers to reinstate employees and pay damages.

Whenever an employee has been convicted of a crime for conduct away from the job the employer is allowed to terminate the employee.

Waiver is a legal concept referring to the principle that discussions aimed at settling a grievance cannot be referred to at an arbitration hearing.

Arbitrability means that a party makes an alternative argument they wish the arbitrator to accept if their primary argument is rejected.

When conducting a posting for a job vacancy and selecting an employee to fill the vacancy employers must ensure that:

An employer has rules prohibiting employees from smoking on company property. Employee A was suspended for one week when caught violating the rule.The union filed a Grievance and the matter was settled when the employer agreed to reduce the suspension to two days.The settlement of the grievance provided that it was on a without precedent basis.If employee B is caught smoking two weeks later which of the following is correct:

When an arbitrator determines whether a suspension imposed by an employer for breaking a company rule should be upheld, one factor is the consistency of the enforcement of the rule by the employer.

A collective agreement between a union and an employer (a grocery store) contains a management rights article and an article relating to technological change.The agreement does not refer to parking.The employer has established rules requiring employees to register their cars with the employer and leave their cars in a specified area.In this situation, which of the following is correct:

A collective agreement does not contain any provisions relating to contracting out.The employer has contracted out work resulting in a layoff of four bargaining unit employees.If a grievance is filed which of the following is correct:

If the employer fails to impose discipline within the time provided for in the collective agreement, an arbitrator could order that the discipline be reversed.

An employee has been terminated and the union filed a grievance.The employee will determine whether the grievance is referred to arbitration.

The duty to accommodate does not require the union to agree to a variation from the seniority provisions in the collective agreement.

A collective agreement provides a mandatory ten-day time limit for the union to refer a grievance to Step two if it is denied at Step one.If the union does not refer the grievance to Step two until 25 days after it is denied at step one which of the following is correct:

You are going to act as the chairperson of a grievance arbitration board for the first time.The grievance relates to the dismissal of an employee.Explain the points about the arbitration process that you should keep in mind.Include, but do not limit your answer to the composition of the board, the hearing, and the award.

An arbitrator hearing a grievance relating to the discharge of an employee may reduce the penalty and reinstate the employee.Explain four factors that an arbitrator could consider when making this decision.Do not just name the factors, elaborate on the circumstances that would lead the arbitrator to uphold a discharge or reinstate the employee.