Article 28: Adjustment of Grievances

Section 28.1: Preamble

Should any dispute arise between the Company and the Union or the employees represented by the Union during the term of this Agreement, there shall be no interruption of work at any time but the matter shall be settled in accordance with the following provisions.

The Company and Union representatives at the various steps of the grievance procedure will have full authority to enter grievance settlements.

Section 28.2: Procedure

Upon occurrence of any alleged grievance, relief shall be available through the following steps:

• Step I:

Within seven (7) calendar days after either the occurrence of the alleged grievance or the grievance should have become known to the employee or to the Union, the employee, with or without a Union representative, shall present and discuss the problem with the foreman of the department involved. No written grievance at Step II will be recognized by the Company until such presentation has been made. If the grievance is not settled within seventy-two (72) hours in Step I, it may be appealed to Step II. Grievances settled in Step I shall establish no precedence and are settled without prejudice to either party's position. Any grievance involving the interpretation of the contract must include a Shop Steward, grievance committee member, or the Local Union President or his designee.

The Company shall incur no liability arising out of occurrences that took place prior to seven (7) calendar days after the occurrence of the alleged grievance, or the date upon which the occurrence should have been known to the employee or to the Union.

• Step II

If no settlement is reached in Step I, the matter shall be submitted in writing to the department superintendent or his representative within ten (10) calendar days after the Step I answer. The grievance shall be dated and signed by the employee, setting forth the specific facts allegedly giving rise to the grievance, specific sections of the Agreement alleged to be violated, and the remedy sought. The departmental superintendent or his representative shall issue a written answer to the Grievance Chairman within three (3) calendar days. Any grievance not resolved in Step II can be appealed in writing to Step III within seven (7) calendar days from the date of the answer in Step II. Should no appeal be made within this time, the grievance shall be considered settled on the basis of the Company’s answer made in Step II.

• Step III

When a grievance is appealed to Step III, a meeting between the Human Resources Manager, or their designated representative, and the Union President and Grievance Committee Chairman and appropriate witnesses shall be held within seven (7) calendar days after the date of the appeal. The Human Resources Manager, or their designated representative, shall issue a written answer to the Grievance Chairman and the International Union Representative within seven (7) calendar days after the Step III meeting.

• Step IV

Any grievance not resolved after the Step III meeting may be appealed at the next regularly-scheduled Step IV grievance committee meeting. The Union shall be responsible for providing the Company with an agenda that shall include all such appealed grievances. Should the matter not appear on the Step IV agenda, or no appeal be made in writing to the Human Resources Manager requesting a time extension within seven (7) days of the Human Resource Manager’s Step III answer, the grievance shall be considered settled on the basis of the Company’s answer in Step III. After a complete Step IV grievance committee meeting, the Human Resources Manager shall issue a decision within ten (10) days of the hearing. After the Human Resources Manager has issued a decision, either party to this Agreement may move the matter to arbitration.

• Step V (Only For Major Suspensions of More Than Three Days and Terminations)

Only for major suspension of more than three days and terminations, the Union may request a meeting with the Company President to be held within five (5) days of the Human Resource Manager’s written Step IV answer. Within five days of the meeting, the President or their designee shall issue a response.

Section 28.3: Step VI Arbitration

A. If either party is dissatisfied with the results of Steps IV or V, that party may request that the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service propose a panel of seven (7) nominees. Within seven (7) calendar days of receipt of the panel, the Union and the Company shall alternately strike one name from the panel, until only one remains. The right to strike first shall alternate between the parties. The person whose name has not been stricken shall serve as arbitrator. The arbitrator shall have the sole right to determine the rules and procedures to be followed in the conduct of the arbitration hearing, and the arbitrator shall have authority to make decisions only with respect to grievances that involve the interpretation of the provisions of the Agreement and shall have no authority to modify, add to, alter or detract from the terms of any provisions of this Agreement. Any grievance or dispute filed after 7/5/05 not requested within one (1) calendar year of its occurrence shall be deemed waived.

B. The arbitrator shall submit a decision to the Union and Company within six months. If the arbitrator cannot submit the decision within six (6) months, the arbitrator shall not make a back pay award in excess of six (6) months from the date of the grievance.

C. The expenses and salaries incident to the service of the arbitrator shall be shared equally by the Company and the Union.

D. The award of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on all parties.

E. Either the arbitrator or the Company or the Union may call any employee as a witness in any proceeding before the arbitrator, and the company agrees to release said witness from work if he is on duty. If an employee witness is called by the Company, the Company will reimburse for lost time, not to exceed eight (8) hours in any one day. If called by the Union, the Union will reimburse for lost time. If called by the arbitrator, the Company and Union will split the wages for lost time equally.

F. If a party to this Agreement intends not to comply with an arbitrator’s award because of grounds for reversal in court, the non-complying party shall notify the other of such intent within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of award.

G. Should either party purchase the services of a court reporter and a transcript of an arbitration hearing, the other party will be granted limited access to review the transcript for accuracy and to take notes only. There can be no duplication of the transcript whatsoever unless the party requesting such copies pays one-half of the court reporter and transcript fees to the other party.

Section 28.4: Expedited Grievance Procedures

The grievance procedure commencing at Step III shall be utilized by the Union in processing group grievances which allege a breach of the contractual obligations of the Company to the Union as such and shall be utilized by the Company for grievances against the Union. Such claims shall be presented to the other party within seven (7) calendar days of the event that is the basis of the grievance.

Section 28.5: Grievance Investigations

The Union’s District Director, his designated representatives, and the Local Union representative or Officer of the International will have access to the plant to investigate grievances after advance notice to the Human Resources Manager. Such investigations shall be conducted so as not to interfere with plant operations.

Section 28.6: Failure to Appeal and Extensions of Time Limits

A. All grievances will automatically be resolved in favor of the party who has presented its position to the responding party in writing and the responding party has failed to comply with the applicable contractual time limits for appropriate response. Notwithstanding the above, the time limits provided in this Article may be extended by written mutual agreement of the parties.

B. All payment settlements made at Steps III and above shall be due within 30 days after the date the settlement is signed by the parties. Should the paying party be late in the payment of settlements, a charge will be paid to the grieved party in the amount of 10% of the amount of the original settlement for each month the payment is delayed.

Section 28.7: Rights to Process Grievance for Legal Heirs

In the event an employee dies, the Union may process on behalf of his legal heirs any claims he would have had relating to any monies due under any provision of this Agreement.