Enforcing Labor Agreements

Rather than require lawsuits every time an employee’s rights have been violated, labor agreements usually provide grievance procedures, ending in arbitration if necessary. Employees who believe that their contractual rights have been violated can file grievances (or unions will do so on their behalf). The grievances will be considered by successively higher levels of management and union personnel. The representative role of the union must be respected in the contract administration process, just as during negotiations.
Although individual employees can choose to file and pursue their own grievances, unions must be notified and given the opportunity to have representatives present at any meetings about grievances. Most importantly, individual employees and employers cannot agree to resolve grievances in ways that would alter or conflict with labor agreements. The availability of a grievance procedure also means that employees cannot take contract enforcement into their own hands, such as by refusing to follow orders that they believe are contrary to the labor agreement.
Instead, they are required to follow the orders and file a grievance. If the grievance is upheld, the employee will receive a remedy for the violation. Grievances that cannot be resolved by conferences between representatives of labor and management are sometimes submitted to arbitration. Ultimately, the union decides whether to take a case to arbitration. In grievance arbitration, the arbitrator decides disputes regarding the interpretation and enforcement of an existing labor agreement.