USE A POSITIVE FRIENDLY APPROACH

Only people who are not sure of themselves feel the need for putting up a front and being aggressive, domineering and belligerent. You have nothing to fear, you are fully protected by your contract in what you are doing. So, keep you head, your temper and your sense of humor. Be positive and friendly in your approach, not disagreeable and on the defensive.

You explain to the supervisor the grievance you want to discuss. Make sure he or she has a copy of the contract so you can point out the clause that had been violated in this case. It’s a good idea to listen to the supervisor’s side of the case first, particularly if you’re not sure you have a full picture of the situation.

BE A GOOD LISTENER AND DISAGREE AMIABLY

Being a good listener and not just making a speech in order to impress the supervisor is a pretty good rule to remember. Then present your side of the case, well supported by all the facts you’ve gathered and checked. If possible have in mind beforehand a definite plan of settlement. When you must disagree with what the supervisor maintains, do it with dignity. Remember, the grievance machinery is based on the principle of helping solve peacefully and fairly the problems that come up in order to produce a smooth running ship with the best possible conditions.

NO EMPTY THREATS

Don’t get upset and make empty threats that both you and the supervisor knows you can’t carry out. Angrily saying that you’ll call a strike immediately if the supervisor doesn’t settle the grievance on your terms is absurd and may be illegal according to the contract. If you and the supervisor can’t come to an agreement there are further steps to be followed before the question of a strike even comes up. If the contract provides for arbitration, the question of a strike is out of the picture entirely.

TRY TO SETTLE AT FIRST STAGE

You should exert every effort to come to an agreement at this first stage. It’s better for all concerned and fewer hard feelings will result. Higher company officials are generally reluctant to overrule a decision made by a subordinate. Then too, you don’t want to bog down your top union committee by passing on to it small grievances which could be better handled by you and the supervisor, who are in actual contact with the situation. The top committee should be left t devote more time to matters of greater importance.

However, be careful not to force the supervisor (or any other company official) to make a premature denial or snap judgment. It’s human nature, one a person has committed himself, to go to great lengths to defend his/her position, regardless of later evidence to the contrary. Your attitude and the way you handle the matter has a lot to do with supervisor’s keeping a fairly open mind until the question has been fully discussed and all the facts looked into.

If you definitely can’t reach an agreement be sure to follow through on the matter immediately, don’t stall-forward the grievance to your Chief Steward or Plant Grievance Committee to work on.

STICK TO THE FACTS AND STICK TO THE POINT

Stick to the point in you discussion with the supervisor and don’t get sidetracked. You should know your case well enough to know what applies to what you’re talking about and what is irrelevant.

Fully as important as sticking to the point is sticking to the facts. Be sure you are presenting your case on the basis of facts, not opinions. If you and your supervisor can agree on the facts it is much easier to come to some conclusion.

INSIST ON RETROACTIVE AGREEMENTS

If the results of your talk is a request by the supervisor to have management study the situation before a decision is made, make sure the workers concerned are protected by having the future decision applied retroactively to the date the question was first presented. This will also mean that management won’t stall in coming to a decision.

Above all, remember, no horse trading with the company, that is, giving up one grievance case in order to get a favorable decision on another. Grievances should be settled on the basis of their merits.

DON’T GLOAT

If you do win your case, don’t gloat and brag about you victories over management. Be gracious and allow the supervisor to "save face" as much as possible. You may want the same consideration at some later date. Shop steward diplomacy means that you will try to point out to management that actually it is to their advantage t have satisfied alert workers. You’re asking for justice and not favors, and you’re expected to be as fair as you expect management to be. Creating hard feelings unnecessarily over a victory won may men you’ll have a harder time when you bring up your next case. Often a grievance settlement is to the mutual advantage of both labor and management if looked at with a long-range point of view, for the resulting shop harmony means greater productivity along with satisfied workers.

GET TO THE ROOTS FROM WHICH GRIEVANCES GROW

When a lot of grievances arise over one issue it’s your responsibility to try to get to the root of the trouble. Discuss this with the supervisor, and if it is necessary, take the matter to your plant grievance committee. Too many grievances are a sign that there is something chronically wrong that needs to be corrected.

EDUCATE THE SUPERVISOR

In some cases you may have a really unfair supervisor. Perhaps it’s because he or she is new at the job, or unsure of self and his or her authority, or because the plant just recently has been organized and there is little precedent established for good relations between the supervisor and the union. In all these cases the purpose of collective bargaining and the machinery involved is not fully understood. You’ve got an educational job to do. You must make supervisors realize that, whether or not they like unions, they are here to stay and legal procedure has been set up to govern working conditions and labor – management relations in the plant. It may take a lot of patience on your part, but if you are fair and reasonable and firm with the supervisor you are bound to get somewhere.

But, maybe the supervisor’s unfair attitude and actions are due to being plain "ornery", or even to the fact that he or she is following out the policy set by top management which is trying to "break the union". In the first case, reports to top management may help or perhaps some publicity in the local union papers or bulletins would ease the situation. However, if you feel that official policy is actually responsible for the attitude and actions of the supervisor that is very serious matter that requires the attention of top union officers.