When Your Union Is Not Representing You If your union is not representing you, it can be very frustrating. If you think your union is not representing the law and should be, there are certain steps to take with regards fair duty representation.
Duty of Fair Representation Explained
Unions by law represent all employees equally and must do so without regard to discrimination or favoritism. Being diligent and acting in good faith when investigating complaints Failure to adhere to these standards can in some cases constitute a breach of the duty of fair representation12.
Steps to Take
Write Down Why You Are Worried: Keep track of any interactions that you have with your union about the grievance. Take note of dates, times and subject matter.
Use Internal Remedies: Try to use whatever internal procedure for grievances that your union’s constitution or bylaws may provide, before filing a complaint. This is demonstrating that you tried to fix the problem one on one.
Complain: You may also be able to file a complaint with the labor board if internal solutions are not available. Please note this must be done within 90 days of when you knew (or should have known) what the problem was56.
Furnish Proof – Outside of what you write in your complaint, furnish any and all relevant documentation that backs up the claim that the union acted arbitrarily or in bad faith. Emails, Meeting Notes, or Witness Statements34
Possible Outcomes
If your charge is found to have merit, the labor board may also direct the union to remedy the situation (i.e. process your grievance or pay you for lost wages resulting from their inadequate representation)26. Nevertheless, punitive damages are often not given.
With your new knowledge of what is a protected activity and how to address it, you can now act on the concerns that you have about who represent your union properly.