Most of the work CAPE does on behalf of its members often goes unseen by the membership because cases tend to be single issues and confidential (unless the member allows the union to report their victory to the membership). At any given month, our business agents and general counsel are working on 30 or more member cases in various stages and degrees.
Recently, CAPE represented two grievance cases on “Letters of Warning” that were successfully resolved based on several factors, including:
1. The employees were known and respected for their work separate from the grievance at hand.
2. The overall work of the employees’ classification was well understood and respected by management.
3. The employees had a good case and maintained competent professional demeanor in the process.
4. Management’s orientation on discipline was fairly balanced between remediation and punishment.
5. CAPE’s business agent was contacted early in the process and honestly apprised of situation by the members.
These factors – combined together – gave the cases reasonable chances for prevailing.
When you have the perfect combination of these such factors, the likelihood of winning your case is greater. In these cases, CAPE was fully prepared and able to sit down with management and have informative meetings to resolve the disputes.
The results were an outright dismissal of the allegations for one case; and a reduction to a nondisciplinary Memo of Expectations for the second case. In both cases, career-threatening proposed disciplines were kept from inclusion in the members’ permanent files thanks to the work done on their behalf by CAPE’s business and legal staff.
The end result? Careers were kept on track for future professional opportunities. That’s why CAPE exists: to look out for the best interests of its members. These outcomes would not likely have happened without CAPE’s intervention.
If you have a grievance, don’t wait. Call CAPE!