Armada ToolWorks Grievance Procedure Must Be Followed Correctly

The grievances regarding the production assistants have been resolved without going to arbitration but the fight is not over. It has been agreed upon by both the union and management that any current line leaders and or production assistants will remain in their current positions. The company argued that it was always past practice to not post leadership positions. The committee argued that it was wrong for the company to be allowed to do this in the first place. On November 23^rd an estoppel letter was served to management stating that 3 months from the date of this letter the union will be exercising our contractual rights under article 12 of our collective agreement and all future line leader and or production assistant positions will be posted and the job posting procedure to be followed.
Recently 2 of our shop stewards received a threatening letter from their supervisor regarding doing union business on the shop floor during company time. The letter for those of you who didn't see it went on to say that if we were caught doing any union business or talking union on the shop floor that we were to be put on notice for discipline and that the committee had already been spoken to about this and that it was unacceptable and will not be tolerated. In the very first meeting with the new committee and management we were told that management wanted to have a fresh start and attempt to have good relations with the union. This letter is a contradiction to that first meeting. I have been told by management that the letter was a mistake and was not meant for our eyes. It was only meant for the supervisors to read and not for distribution to the shop stewards. In the end we agreed to put our differences behind us and continue working together and not against one another in the best interest of all employees at Armada ToolWorks.

The first step in any grievance should be to talk to your supervisor first. If you need the assistance of a rep request it from your supervisor. Your supervisor must then set up a meeting during company time. This is step 1 of our grievance procedure as per article 7.03 of the collective agreement. If we follow the collective agreement correctly there should be no reason for management to send out such a threatening letter ever again whether it is for our eyes or not.

In Solidarity

Tom Worsley