What's a Grievance Anyway?

It seems that a lot of people, in both unions and management, define a grievance as being a specific violation of the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) between them. That makes a certain sense for those with a mature and well developed CBA, but does it mean that union members without a comprehensive CBA can't use the grievance process? Does it mean that non-union employees can't have "grievances?"

Of course it's a matter of opinion, and possibly semantics. For union members and management who deal with unions, the term grievance may be a specific reference to the CBA, since that's the document that not only defines many worker rights, but also the process for grieving violations.

But then the next question is: Does the CBA confer all worker rights? If it's not in the CBA that a supervisor can't throw ice water on his employees, does that mean it's okay to dump the bucket on them?

I don't think so. And I don't think grievance procedures are or should be limited to unionized workers. The ability to pursue a grievance with an employer is an important tool for conflict resolution, and that makes it an important friction reducing and problem solving mechanism for any organization that depends on team work.

What are your thoughts on this? Comments welcome.

StepOneGrievance.com