UNION UNFAIR PRACTICES; DUTY OF FAIR REPRESENTATION – Grievance Handling/Contract Administration

Single Topic for Decision 2225M

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Charge failed to state prima facie violation of duty of fair representation for failure to file a grievance, where it was not clear whether charge alleged failure to file grievance under an applicable collective bargaining agreement or a complaint in another forum. Duty of fair representation attaches only when the union possesses the exclusive means by which an aggrieved employee can obtain a particular remedy. Union does not have a duty to represent an employee with respect to extra-contractual proceedings that are not within the scope of a collective bargaining agreement. In the absence of evidence that the exclusive representative’s negligence foreclosed any remedy for the grievant, “a breach of the duty of fair representation is not stated merely because an exclusive representative declines to proceed or negligently forgets to file a timely appeal of a grievance.”