Filing A Grievance

What is a Union Steward?

Our team of stewards are Metro State, MinnState System Office, and Office of Higher Education employees just like you. Stewards are volunteers who want to see all our employees treated fairly and according to our contract. It is a steward's job to advise and help you act on contractual and managerial issues; to represent you in meetings that may turn, or are, disciplinary; and to represent the interests of the local membership. 

Your Union Stewards are your peers.  The position is voluntary. They are on your side.  
They did not create the situation, but they're there to assist you. 

Union Stewards are supported by the local only. Non-members that receive services from the local are subsidized fully by the members of their local. If you are a non-member, please consider changing your status to a member. If you have any questions about your membership status or joining the union, please reach out to one of our stewards or officers.

Grievance Preparation

Grievances are filed when the employer violates the contract. This can take a lot of forms; from inappropriate communication of schedule changes, violations of work out of class (asking employees to take on other work without fair compensation), missing pay step increases, and more. If you think the contract has been violated, please reach out to one of our Co-Chief Stewards.

Documentation will make or break a grievance!

• Consider archiving your work email to a personal location. You will often need to compile a timeline of events or provide sources to back up your defense. This information is often located on your work email. If you are subject to termination your work email will no longer be available to you. It is important that this documentation is backed up elsewhere before this happens!
• Keep a personal log. Include dates, descriptions of what happened, who was involved, and how you felt (harassed, bullied, threatened, etc.).