This course is designed for union members, stewards, officers and staff who want to learn more about the grievance arbitration process. In virtually all collective bargaining agreements the grievance procedure ends with an arbitration step. Understanding the arbitration process generally and the arbitration provision in your contract is critical for any union official from steward to staff representative. The course begins with a review of the grievance process, considerations for when to go to arbitration and the differences in handling contract language disputes versus discipline cases. The remainder of the course consists of classroom exercises and discussions that focus on various aspects of the arbitration process. Participants will work in teams to prepare and present a mock arbitration case to an actual arbitrator.
Topics covered include the scope of arbitration, authority of arbitrators and how to select them, preparing and presenting a case in arbitration including developing a "theory" of the case, gathering relevant facts and researching prior arbitration decisions, and proving the case using witnesses and exhibits. We will discuss standards that arbitrators use to decide cases, rules of evidence rules, and the law of arbitration including arbitrability, remedies and the limited bases for reversing arbitration decisions.