ARTICLE 2
Coverage
For the
purpose of this Agreement, the term "employee" as used herein shall apply
to and include all production and maintenance employees of the United
Technologies Corporation, Pratt & Whitney (Connecticut Facilities) at
their facilities in and around East Hartford, Middletown, Cheshire,
(including the DE Lab, the Willgoos Lab) and other Connecticut locations
including inspectors, crib attendants, material handlers, factory clerks
(or plant clericals), trainees, apprentices, expeditors and working
leaders, but excluding timekeepers, engineering and technical employees,
laboratory technicians, foremen's clerks, salaried office and clerical
employees, medical department employees, plant protection employees,
executives, plant superintendents, division superintendents, general
foremen, foremen, assistant foremen, group supervisors, watch engineers,
and all other supervisory employees with authority to hire, promote,
discharge, discipline or otherwise effect changes in the status of
employees, or effectively recommend such action.
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ARTICLE
3
Recognition
The Company recognizes District
Lodge No. 26 of the International Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers and its affiliated Local Lodges 700, 1746 and 1746-A as
the sole and exclusive collective bargaining agency for the employees
defined above for the purposes set forth in the National Labor Relations
Act, as amended.
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ARTICLE
4
Nondiscrimination
The Company and the Union recognize that employees covered by this
Agreement may not be discriminated against in violation of the provisions
of the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, as amended; Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; the Age Discrimination in Employment
Act of 1967, as amended; the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and
the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1992; or any other state or federal
statute which affects the employment of employees covered by this
Agreement.
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ARTICLE 5
Union Security
Section 1.
Any employee who is a member of the
Union on the day of the signing of this Agreement shall, as a condition of
employment, maintain his or her membership in the Union thereafter for the
duration of this Agreement, or tender to the Union a monthly Agency or
Service Fee for the duration of this Agreement.
Section 2.
Any employee who is not a member of
the Union on the day of the signing of this Agreement shall as a condition
of employment, commencing no later than the thirtieth calendar day
following the execution of this Agreement, or the thirtieth calendar day
following the beginning of his or her employment, whichever is later,
either (1) become a member of the Union and maintain his or her membership
in the Union thereafter for the duration of this Agreement, or (2) tender
to the Union a monthly Agency or Service Fee (hereinafter "Service Fee")
in an amount permitted by law, not in excess of the monthly membership
dues of Union members.
Section 3.
Upon written request from the
Union, the Company shall terminate the employment of an employee who fails
to comply with the requirements of Sections 1 or 2 of this Article;
provided a copy of the Union's request has been sent via certified mail,
return receipt requested, to both the Company and the delinquent employee
at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date on which the employee is to
be terminated; and further provided that the delinquent employee has not
cured his or her delinquency prior to the date proposed for his or her
termination.
Section 4.
The Company agrees to deduct
monthly, in four (4) equal installments, Union dues in whatever sum
is established by the local Union as the regular monthly dues uniformly
required as a condition of retaining membership therein upon the receipt
of an assignment. The Company also agrees to deduct from the earnings of
an employee one (1) Initiation Fee in whatever amount is authorized by
such employee on a properly executed assignment card which is delivered to
the Company. The Company also agrees to deduct a monthly Service Fee,
also in four (4) equal installments, in whatever sum permitted by
law is established by the local Union, not in excess of the monthly
membership dues of Union members, upon the receipt of a properly executed
assignment card.
The sum which represents such monthly Union dues or Service Fees shall be
certified to the Company as constituting such by the Secretary-Treasurer
of the local Union. If the sum once certified is changed, the amount
deducted from the earnings of an employee who has authorized such
deduction shall not be increased or decreased until 30 days' written
notice of such change has been received by the Company from the
Secretary-Treasurer of Lodge 700/1746/1746-A.
Section 6.
Deductions provided for in Section
4 shall be remitted to the Secretary-Treasurer of the local Union by the
last day of the month in which the deduction is made whenever
practicable. The Company shall furnish the Secretary-Treasurer of the
local Union on or about the 5th day of the month following the month in
which the deduction is made a record of the employees from whose earnings
deductions have been made and the amounts of the deductions.
Section 7.
The Company's obligation to make
such deductions shall terminate automatically upon termination of the
employee who signed the authorization or upon his transfer to a plant
(other than another plant of the Company covered by an effective contract
with the I.A.M.A.W. which provides for check-off of dues or a Service
Fee), department, or job not covered by this Agreement, except that
deductions shall be resumed if an employee, terminated by layoff, is
rehired with seniority.
Section 8.
The Union agrees that it will
indemnify and save the Company harmless from any and all liability, claim,
responsibility, damage, or suit which may arise out of any action taken by
the Company in accordance with the terms of this Article or in reliance
upon the authorization described herein, in an amount not to exceed the
sum received by the Union on account of the deductions made from the
earnings of such employee or employees.
Section 9.
A Company orientation program is
normally held for new, recalled or rehired employees on their first day of
employment. Concurrent with the orientation, newly hired/reinstated
employees will be afforded an opportunity to meet with a Union official to
receive payroll deduction assignment cards for Union dues and the
Initiation Fee, or Agency or Service Fee. The Union shall assume all
responsibility for the distribution and collection of payroll deduction
assignment cards for Union dues and the Initiation Fee, or Agency/Service
Fees. There shall be no solicitation of employees for Union membership,
dues or Service Fees conducted upon the premises of the Company during
working time by the Union, its representatives or by employees; nor shall
there by any distribution or collection of payroll deduction assignment
cards for Union dues, the Initiation Fee, or Service Fees conducted upon
the premises of the Company during working time by the Union, its
representatives or by employees.
Section 10.
The check-off assignment cards
herein provided for shall be submitted by the local Union to the office of
the appropriate Manager, Human Resources of the respective plant not later
than the fifteenth day of the month preceding the month in which deduction
of Union dues and the Initiation Fee or Service Fee is first made.
Section 11.
Check-off assignments shall be
submitted with a letter of transmittal signed by an authorized officer of
the local Union listing in duplicate the name, department number, clock
number, and the amount of dues and the Initiation Fee, or Service Fee, to
be deducted from the earnings of the employees who signed such
assignments.
Section 12.
The Company shall forward to the
local Union each month the following information listed in alphabetical
order:
(a)
The names, departments, clock numbers and
social security numbers of employees who authorized deduction of Union
dues and the Initiation Fee, or Service Fee and from whose wages such a
deduction has been made during the current month.
(b)
The names of employees who authorized the
deduction of Union dues and the Initiation Fee, or Service Fee and from
whose wages no such deduction was made because of insufficient earnings
during the pay period for which the deduction was authorized.
(c)
The names of employees who
authorized such deduction but whose assignment became ineffective pursuant
to Section 7 of this Article by reason of the termination of their
employment or transfer to a job not covered by this Agreement.
Section 13.
If in any payweek of any month the
earnings of any employee who authorized such deductions are insufficient
to permit deductions to be made, the Company will make the appropriate
deductions from the employee's earnings in the following week's pay;
providing, however, if there are still insufficient funds, the Company
will make the appropriate deductions in the next succeeding week's pay, up
to the first payweek of the next succeeding month.
Section 14.
If, by the last pay period of the
succeeding month in which deductions were to be made, the earnings of an
employee who authorized such deductions are insufficient to permit such
deductions to be made, the obligation of the Company to deduct Union dues
or a Service Fee will then revert to a current basis, and it is understood
that the Company will have no further obligation for the collection of
past dues or fees in such cases.
Section 15.
A check in the total amount of dues
and initiation fees and service fees deducted by the Company shall be
drawn each month by the Company to the order of Lodge 700/1746/1746-A,
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, as
appropriate, and shall be sent by Registered Mail, Return Receipt
Requested, to the Secretary-Treasurers thereof.
Section 16.
The Company's obligations set forth
in this Article of the contract shall terminate automatically in the event
of any strike, sympathy strike, sit-down, slowdown, concerted stoppage of
work, or picketing of the Company's plant by employees of the Company;
provided, however, that said obligations shall not terminate if the Union
has complied with the provisions of Article 24 of this Agreement.
Section 17.
It is agreed that the Company shall
honor check-off assignment cards only when such cards are properly
executed in the form, basic color, paper stock and size of the samples
attached hereto and made a part of this Agreement.
Section 18.
All of the provisions of this
Article shall be effective to the extent permitted by applicable law.
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ARTICLE 6
Union Representation
Section 1.
(a) The total number of Shop
Stewards shall be determined by applying a formula of one (1) Shop Steward
for every seventy-five (75) employees in the bargaining unit as set forth
in Article 2. The area of the shop which each Shop Steward shall
represent for the purpose of adjusting grievances or complaints under
Article 7 shall be mutually agreed upon by the Company and the Union. The
number of Shop Stewards assigned to any one Shop Steward area shall not
exceed a ratio of one (1) Shop Steward for each fifty (50) bargaining unit
employees in that area, subject to the overall limitation of one (1) Shop
Steward per seventy-five (75) employees set forth above. The number of
Shop Stewards and the areas which they represent shall be subject to
review upon the request of either the Company or the Union.
(b)
Should the number of Shop Stewards exceed
the limitations set forth in Section 1(a) above, the Company shall so
inform the Union in writing. The Union shall thereupon promptly notify
the Company in writing of the revisions in Shop Steward assignments
required by such limitation. Failure of the Union to so notify the
Company within ten (10) days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays)
shall automatically reduce the number of Shop Stewards to the required
level by cancelling Shop Steward appointments on the basis of seniority as
defined in Article 8, starting with the least senior Shop Steward.
(c) In outlying areas where the
employee complement would not allow for the recognition of a Shop Steward
under the provisions of Section 1(a), of this Article, exceptions may be
made if it is mutually agreed by the parties.
Section 2.
The number of Shop Committeepersons
shall be five (5) for the bargaining unit as set forth in Article 2,
except for cases in which the individual bargaining unit exceeds 2,100,
the number of Shop Committeepersons may be increased to a total of six
(6). In the event that the number of bargaining unit employees decreases
during the term of office, such additional Shop Committeeperson shall be
permitted to complete his or her term of office before being removed.
The Shop Committee shall meet with the Committee of Management as provided
in Article 7.
Section 3.
Shop Committeepersons (except the Chairperson) and Shop Stewards shall be
active employees of the Company. No employee shall act as a Shop
Committeeperson or Shop Steward unless at the time of his or her selection
he or she has not less than six (6) months' seniority as defined in
Article 8; provided however, those selected with less than twelve (12)
months seniority will not be afforded the provisions of Article 8, Section
15 until they attain twelve (12) months seniority.
The six (6) month seniority
requirement shall not apply in those cases where the employee selected to
be a Shop Committeeperson or Shop Steward previously held one of these
positions within District 26.
Section 4.
The Union shall furnish the Company
with a list of its officers, Shop Committee members, and Shop Stewards,
and shall as soon as possible notify the Company of any changes therein.
No officer, Committeeperson, or Shop Steward shall be recognized by the
Company until such written notification of his or her appointment shall
have been received by the Company from a duly authorized officer of the
Union. Subject to the limitations of this Article, the Company shall
recognize Shop Steward appointments within five (5) days (excluding
Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) after receipt of notification from the
Union.
Section 5.
The Company will provide Company
badges for entrance into the plants and facilities to the Directing
Business Representative, the Assistant Directing Business
Representative, Business Representatives of District 26, the Grand Lodge
Representative and full-time officers of local Unions which represent
employees covered under Article 2. The Union Representatives stated above
will have access to the plants and facilities to address specific problems
at the request of the Directing Business Representative or his or her
designee and concurrence of the Company. However, none of these visits to
the Company's plants or facilities will result in a meeting with any
employee who is clocked in on Company time, except by mutual agreement of
the Company and Union.
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ARTICLE 7
Grievance Procedure
Grievance
Procedure Review.
At
the request of either party, there will be a meeting between the Directing
Business Representative or his or her designee, and appropriate Union
representatives and the Vice President, Human Resources or his or her
designee, and appropriate Company representatives, to discuss problems of
significant magnitude which impede the grievance procedure from
functioning in an effective fashion, including earnest effort issues. The
purpose of this meeting shall not be to resolve particular grievances.
Section 1.
In the event that a difference
arises between the Company, the Union or any employee concerning the
interpretation, application, or compliance with the provisions of this
Agreement, an earnest effort will be made to resolve such differences in
accordance with the following procedure which must be followed.
Oral Step.
An employee having a grievance or
complaint pertaining to his or her wages, hours, or working conditions
may, after notice to his or her immediate supervisor, take it up either
directly with his or her supervisor or with the Shop Steward who shall
take it up with the employee's supervisor. If the employee's grievance
concerns disciplinary action administered by another supervisor, then the
supervisor who administered the disciplinary action will be present with
the immediate supervisor in the grievance procedure, provided he or she is
still a supervisor of bargaining unit employees. Such grievance shall be
presented orally at this step of the grievance procedure. Any such
discussion shall be as brief as possible and the employee may be present
at this discussion.
The supervisor will produce at this step of the procedure, at no cost to
the Union, the records the supervisor has available to him or her and
which the Company relied upon to reach the conclusion or make the decision
which resulted in the instant grievance.
No Steward shall be called in the
case of a grievance involving any disciplinary action until the
administration of such action shall have been completed nor shall a
Steward be called for an employee who alleges he or she is being
improperly laid off. In the case of a grievance concerning the discharge
or suspension of an employee, the Steward will be given the opportunity to
meet with the supervisor who issued the discipline.
The Shop Steward shall be given an opportunity to be present at the
adjustment of a grievance arising under the terms of this Agreement which
is presented to the supervisor directly by an employee.
If the grievance is not satisfactorily
settled at the Oral Step, it must within five (5) working days, excluding
Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays of the supervisor's disposition be
reduced to writing on the form provided. All grievances which affect the
wages, hours, or working conditions of any employee shall, when reduced to
writing in Written Step 1, be signed by that employee. The dispositions
given at Written Steps 1 and 2 of this procedure, together with the dates
thereof, must be noted on the form and signed by the respective
representatives of the Company and the Union.
Grievance forms shall be obtainable
from the supervisor.
When the grievance is reduced
to writing, there must be set forth in the spaces provided all of the following:
(a)
A statement of the grievance and the facts
involved;
(b)
The remedy requested; and
(c) The violation, if any, of the
Agreement which is claimed.
Written Step 1.
When reduced to writing, the
grievance shall be taken up, as soon as possible, but no more than five
(5) working days by the Shop Steward within whose area the grievance arose
together with the employee (except in cases of discharge or indefinite
suspension where a Shop Committeeperson may attend in place of the
employee) with the grieving employee's supervisor and the Unit Manager of
record. (In the case of a grievant assigned to a three day a week, twelve
hour per day alternative workweek schedule, the grievance will be taken up
as soon as possible, but no more than seven [7] calendar days.) In
the case of a grievance alleging discrimination and at the request of the
grievant, with the permission of the Shop Chairperson, the Chairperson of
the Local Lodge Human Rights Committee may attend and participate in such
Written Step 1 meetings. In the event that the Unit Manager of record is
not available, the Company may substitute another management
representative in his or her place. The Unit Manager or designated
management representative may substitute a Human Resources Representative
for the employee's supervisor. The answer of the Unit Manager or
designated management representative will be given in writing on the form
provided within five (5) working days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and
holidays after its presentation. In cases where the employee has filed
multiple grievances pertaining to the same issue, all cited issues will be
discussed together. However, the Unit Manager or designated management
representative will give a written disposition on each grievance.
The
Company will produce at this step of the grievance procedure at its own
cost and without the need of a request by the Union the records it relied
upon to reach the conclusion or make the decision which resulted in the
instant grievance. If the Steward considers other relevant records to be
necessary to the resolution of the grievance, the Company will produce
such additional records, without cost, if it does not impose an
unreasonable burden on the Company to obtain such records. Where the
Steward's request for additional records does impose an unreasonable
burden on the Company, the Union agrees to reimburse the Company for the
actual cost incurred by the Company in locating and procuring such
additional records.
If the Company fails to
produce records at the Oral Step or Written Step 1 which the Steward
considers to be necessary to the resolution of a grievance, the Steward
will promptly notify the Shop Chairperson. Within twenty-four (24) hours
the Shop Chairperson or his or her designee will notify the Manager, Human
Resources to provide the necessary records. The Manager, Human Resources
or his or her designee will have forty-eight (48) hours to decide whether
or not to produce the requested records. The Company will have a
reasonable amount of time to produce the records agreed to by the Manager,
Human Resources or his or her designee. The Shop Steward will have the
option of placing the original grievance on hold until either the Manager,
Human Resources or his or her designee has decided not to produce the
requested records or until the requested records are provided.
Written Step 2.
(a)
If the grievance is not satisfactorily
settled at Written Step 1, an appeal therefrom may be taken by the Shop
Steward to the Committee of Management. The appeal by the Shop Steward
shall be considered to be taken if the Shop Steward so marks the grievance
form within the time limit provided in Section 5 of this Article. In
addition, such appeal shall be included on an agenda letter (filed as
provided in Section 9[a] of this Article) for the first regularly
scheduled meeting of the Committee of Management following the date of the
Unit Manager or designated management representative's decision; provided,
however, that if this is not done, the grievance shall be included on an
agenda letter for the second regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee
of Management following the date of the Unit Manager or designated
management representative’s decision. If the grievance is not included in
such an agenda letter, the decision of the Unit Manager or designated
management representative shall be final and conclusive and binding upon
all employees, the Company, and the Union.
(b)
The following types of grievances shall be
presented initially at this step of the grievance procedure: grievances
which affect a substantial number of employees (five or more), other than
job rating grievances, earnest effort grievances, record request
grievances, grievances which the Unit Manager or designated management
representative at Written Step 1 of this procedure lacks authority to
settle, and grievances filed by the Company or the Union.
(c)
The Committee of Management
shall meet with the Union Shop Committee and Business Representative
whenever necessary but not more frequently than every two weeks to hear
grievances and complaints properly before it as set forth in Written Step
2(a) and (b) of this Article.
(d)
The Committee of Management will render a
disposition on a grievance so presented to it upon completion of
the Union’s presentation at the Written Step 2 meeting. However, it is
understood and agreed that either party may, at any step of the procedure,
place a grievance on hold. In such cases, the disposition will not be
given until the regularly scheduled meeting in which the grievance is no
longer on hold by either party.
It is agreed that in the interest
of encouraging the settlement of grievances, no decision or resolution of
a grievance at the Oral Step or at Written Steps 1 and 2 shall be cited by
either party as a precedent in any subsequent grievance.
Section 2.
A claim that under the Hourly Job
Rating Plan a job has been improperly assigned or evaluated to a labor
grade shall first be taken up by either the Union Job Evaluation
Specialist or the Shop Committeeperson for the area with the designated
management representative. If such claim involves a new job or a changed
job as defined herein, it must be presented to the designated management
representative by either the Union Job Evaluation Specialist or the
Shop Committeeperson within sixty (60) days of the assignment or
evaluation of the new or changed job to a labor grade. Either the Union
Job Evaluation Specialist or the Shop Committeeperson shall
complete his or her presentation of the facts relating to the claim within
sixty (60) days after the original presentation. The designated
management representative shall render his or her decision on such claim
within sixty (60) days after either the Union Job Evaluation
Specialist or the Shop Committeeperson has notified him or her in writing
that the Union has completed its submission of facts relating to the
claim.
If no satisfactory adjustment
of the matter is reached by either the Union Job Evaluation Specialist or
the Shop Committeeperson and designated management representative, any
aggrieved employee or the Union Job Evaluation Specialist or Shop
Committeeperson may then file a grievance as hereinbefore provided. Such
grievance shall be processed beginning with Written Step 2 of the
grievance procedure provided that it is included in an agenda letter as
provided for in Written Step 2 (a) herein, after the decision given by the
designated management representative. Such written grievance shall state
in detail the specific facts upon which the Union bases its claim that the
job has been improperly evaluated and shall set forth the specific factors
of the evaluation which it claims are incorrect giving specific and
detailed reasons for such claim.
Section 3.
(a) Any contractual grievance not
settled at Written Step 2 of Section 1 of this Article shall be submitted
to arbitration upon the request of either party hereto filed in accordance
with the provisions of this Article with the exception of Articles 1 and
27.
(b)
Other grievances arising under this
contract which are not settled at Written Step 2 of Section 1 of this
Article may be referred to arbitration if the Company and the Union
mutually agree in writing. The Company will respond to the Union within
ten (10) working days of receipt of an appeal letter under (a) and (b) of
this Section.
(c)
Except for the grievances which can be
arbitrated under Section 3(a) and 3(b) of this Article, no disputes,
misunderstandings, differences, or grievances arising between the parties
as to the meaning, interpretation, or application of the provisions of
this Agreement shall be submitted to any Arbitrator for decision. It is
further understood and agreed that no grievance, dispute,
misunderstanding, or difference between the parties arising out of events
which occurred prior to the execution of this Agreement shall be submitted
to arbitration under the provisions of this Agreement.
(d)
The decision of the Arbitrator shall be
supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole and shall be
final and conclusive and binding upon all employees, the Company, and the
Union.
(e)
The Arbitrator shall have no power to add
to or subtract from or modify in any way any of the terms of this
Agreement; nor shall the Arbitrator have jurisdiction in any case
submitted to arbitration to affect in any way, directly or indirectly, by
any decision or in any other manner, the right and responsibility of the
Company to direct its operations; to determine the number and location of
its plants; the product to be manufactured; the types of work to be
performed; the assignment of all work to employees or other persons; the
schedules of production; shift schedules and hours of work; the methods,
processes and means of manufacturing; or the rules and regulations to be
made or applied for production, discipline, efficiency, and safety.
(f)
The party referring a grievance to
arbitration shall have the obligation of going forward with its case
before the other party shall be required to present its case or adduce any
testimony; provided, however, that in cases involving discharge,
suspensions, final warnings or promotions based upon “most senior
qualified”, the Company shall first present to the Arbitrator its case in
support of such action.
(g)
Grievances subject to arbitration
under this Section shall be referred for a decision to one of the members
of a fixed panel of arbitrators which consists of: Richard I. Bloch,
Arthur Stark, Arvid Anderson, Timothy Bornstein, Mark L. Irvings, Dana E.
Eischen, Michael W. Stutz, and Joan Parker. The designation of the
Arbitrator shall be made either by mutual agreement of the parties hereto;
or in the absence of such agreement, the Arbitrator shall be alternated
with each case.
(h)
The fee and expenses of the Arbitrator
shall be divided equally between the Company and the Union.
(i) The Company and the Union agree
that in grievance arbitrations pertaining to terminations for attendance,
sleeping, theft, and fighting, as well as suspensions for any reasons or
final warning grievances, the Arbitrator will render his or her oral
decision within seven (7) days of the close of the hearing, followed by a
written award. This shall not apply if the parties mutually agree to have
transcripts and submit briefs to the Arbitrator. The Company and the Union
further agree in all other cases the Arbitrator will render his or her
decision within sixty (60) days of the filing of the briefs.
(j)
Arbitrations involving discharge,
suspension, and final warnings grievances and grievances alleging unfair
labor practices shall be expedited to the fixed panel ahead of all other
arbitrations not as yet scheduled for hearing.
Section 4.
An employee may file a grievance
alleging that he or she is not properly classified in his or her assigned
job code because he or she has performed the essential duties of a
different job code within the bargaining unit (at least one labor grade
higher than his or her assigned code) for a practicable majority of the
time during a period of ninety (90) continuous working days. If such a
grievance is found to have merit, the award of the Arbitrator is limited
to an adjustment in pay equal to the difference between the employee's
actual earnings and the earnings he or she would have received had he
or she been properly classified during the ninety (90) continuous
working days immediately preceding the filing of the grievance.
Section 5.
Should any appeal from the
disposition of a grievance given at the Oral Step or at Written Steps 1
and 2 of Section 1 not be taken within five (5) working days, excluding
Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, from the date of such decision, then the
decision on such grievance shall be final and conclusive and shall not be
reopened for discussion. Any disposition of a grievance accepted by the
Union or by the Company in the case of a grievance filed by the Company,
or from which no appeal has been taken, shall be final and conclusive and
binding upon all employees, the Company, and the Union.
Section 6.
Any grievance not presented for
disposition through the grievance procedure described herein within five
(5) working days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, from the
date it was found to exist by the employee, shall not thereafter be
considered a grievance under this Agreement unless a reason satisfactory
to the Company in explanation of the failure to present the grievance
within such time is given.
Section 7.
In no event shall any disposition
or award upon any grievance be made retroactive for any period prior to
the date the grievance was first filed in writing; provided that in cases
involving discharge and suspension, retroactivity will begin with the date
the discipline was taken.
Section 8.
It is agreed that each Shop Steward
has assigned work to perform in the plant and the interests of production
and efficiency require that interruptions of the Shop Stewards' work
assignments be as infrequent and of as short duration as the grievance or
complaint reasonably requires. Shop Stewards shall first request
permission from their supervisor before leaving their jobs. Such request
shall not unreasonably be denied.
Upon entering a department
other than his own, a Shop Steward shall first report to the supervisor in
charge of the new department and make known the purpose of his or her
being there.
Section 9.
A member of the Shop Committee or a
Shop Steward shall, after notice to his or her supervisor, be allowed to
leave his or her job for attendance at the following meetings, where
necessary and as indicated. Time spent in attendance at such meetings
during his or her scheduled working hours shall be recorded and paid as
provided in subsections (c) or (d) below.
(a) For a member of the Shop
Committee to attend a regular Written Step 2 meeting to be held whenever
necessary, but not more frequently than once every two (2) weeks, and for
not exceeding three (3) hours. Before the holding of such meeting, the
Chairperson of the Shop Committee must have presented to the Manager,
Human Resources an agenda in writing by the close of business, at least
three (3) working days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays,
previous to the time of the meeting. Such agenda shall state fully the
specific grievances or complaints which the Union wishes to discuss at
such meeting. There shall be no obligation on the part of management
representatives to discuss any matter which does not appear on such
agenda.
(b) For
a member of the Shop Committee to attend any special meeting not exceeding
three (3) hours relating to discharge or other matters which cannot
reasonably be delayed until the next regular meeting of the Shop Committee
and the Committee of Management; or to attend a Written Step 1 meeting
involving a discharge or indefinite suspension.
(c) Shop Stewards will receive
pay for grievance or complaint handling as described in Article 7, Section
1, Oral Step, and Written Step 1 herein at their regular base rate plus
cost-of-living allowance exclusive of overtime allowances, but including
shift premium, if any, not exceeding three (3) hours in any workweek.
(d) Shop Committeepersons will
receive pay for time spent at regular meetings as described in Article 7,
Section 1, Written Step 2 herein at their regular base rate plus
cost-of-living allowance exclusive of overtime allowances, but including
shift premium, if any, not exceeding three (3) hours in any workweek.
Shop Committeepersons will also receive pay for time spent at any special
meetings or Written Step 1 meetings as described in Article 7, Section 9,
subsection (b) above at their regular base rate plus cost-of-living
allowance exclusive of overtime allowances, but including shift premium,
if any, not exceeding three (3) hours in any workweek.
(e)
The Company will pay up to eight (8) hours
lost time for two (2) members of the Shop Committee to audit Company
layoff lists involving any layoff of 50 or more employees at a single
site.
Section 10.
It is agreed that if time spent
by Shop Stewards and Shop Committeepersons in the grievance procedure
exceeds that amount allowed under Article 7, Section 9 above, the excess
time will be billed to the appropriate Local Lodge on a monthly basis.
Remittance for such time shall be made payable to the Company not later
than thirty (30) days following the submission of said bill.
Section 11.
Any employee shall have the right
to appeal his or her discharge or suspension through the grievance
procedure within five (5) working days from the date thereof. Failure to
file such an appeal within five (5) working days shall prohibit any
further consideration of such discharge or suspension. If as a result of
such appeal the employee is found to have been discharged or suspended
without just cause, he or she shall receive pay at his or her regular rate
for the time he or she would have otherwise normally worked, including
overtime, less any income he or she may have received from any other
source. An employee who has been discharged or given a disciplinary
suspension shall, before leaving the plant, be permitted to see the
Shop Steward for the area in which he or she worked at a location
designated by the Company if he or she requests this privilege of his or
her supervisor. Any grievance filed concerning the discharge or
indefinite suspension of an employee shall be presented initially at
Written Step 1 of the grievance procedure.
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ARTICLE 8
Seniority
Section 1.
(a) In case of an
indefinite layoff for lack of work, employees shall be laid off and
recalled by noninterchangeable occupational groups within specified
seniority areas in accordance with their seniority (length of continuous
service with the Company since the most recent date of hire); provided,
however, the employees in job grade levels designated as "I"
(interchangeable) within a job family and seniority area shall be laid off
and recalled in accordance with their seniority within such job family.
(b)
Pursuant to Letter 17, nothing herein
shall preclude the Company from transferring an employee scheduled to be
laid off from a job in one occupational group, job family and seniority
area to a job in a different occupational group, job family or seniority
area in which no laid-off employee retains seniority, nor from recalling
without loss of seniority an employee laid off from one occupational
group, job family or seniority area to a job in a different occupational
group, job family or seniority area in which no laid-off employee retains
seniority. If the employee is transferred or recalled, his or her
seniority thereafter shall be in the occupational group, job family and
seniority area to which he or she transferred or to which he or she was
recalled and he or she shall have no seniority in his or her former
occupational group, job family or seniority area.
Section 2.
The noninterchangeable occupational
groups, the job families (including job grades designated as Level "I"),
and the seniority areas mentioned in Section 1 have been mutually agreed
upon and are incorporated and made part of this Agreement as Appendices
"A" and "B" attached hereto.
Section 3.
(a)
Before new employees are hired in a given
occupational group in a particular seniority area, the employees with
seniority who are still laid off from that occupational group or job
family in the area shall first be offered employment in that occupational
group from which they were laid off or job family in jobs included in
the "I" level at the then existing rate of pay for the job to which they
were recalled in accordance with seniority. Employees who remain in the
same job family and were demoted as a result of a reallocation of
employees in the presence or absence of a layoff and employees who were
recalled to a lower grade job in the same job family shall be considered
to be on the recall list for their former job as though they had been laid
off at the time of their demotion for the period of seniority retention
provided in Section 14 of this Article. Demoted employees with seniority
retention rights, will be given the opportunity to return to their former
job as openings become available in accordance with their seniority
and before promotions are made to that job within their seniority area.
(b)
Employees on layoff will have ConnOps-wide
recall rights by occupational group and job family. Recall shall be made
in order of seniority from the pool of such employees on layoff without
regard to the seniority area from which they were laid off.
Section 4.
(a)
When it is necessary to readjust personnel
in conjunction with a layoff, employees shall be demoted as required in
accordance with their seniority within each noninterchangeable
occupational group; provided, however, that such demotions or lateral
transfers to job grade level "I" shall be made within the employee's job
family in their seniority area without regard to the noninterchangeable
occupational groups within such job family.
(b)
Any employee who suffers a demotion and
who is currently paid at a rate above the maximum for the labor grade to
which he or she is demoted shall have his or her wages frozen for a period
of six (6) months from the effective date of the demotion before suffering
any actual loss in wages. Any subsequent reduction in wages shall be at
the rate of $.10 per hour every sixteen (16) weeks until such time as the
employee reaches the maximum rate of the lower labor grade. Any employee
who is demoted, but at the time of the demotion is paid at a rate less
than the maximum rate of the lower labor grade, shall continue with his or
her automatic progression until such time as he or she attains maximum
rate.
(c)
Any shift imbalance in specific
departments and ensuing reallocation of employees will be done in a manner
which permits the more senior employees to be assigned to the shift of
their preference.
Section 5.
Except in an emergency or for
reasons or conditions over which the Company has no control, where there
are general layoffs for an indefinite period, as much notice as is
practicable, but not less than ten (10) days, shall be given in writing to
the Shop Committee before the layoff. A list will be supplied indicating
the names of the employees scheduled to be laid off and their seniority
status in relation to the remaining employees in the occupational group.
The Company on a monthly basis will provide to the Chairperson of the Shop
Committee a list of the names of laid-off employees who exercised their
right of recall.
Section 6.
(a)
An employee shall be considered a
probationary employee for the first ninety (90) days of his or her
employment, and thereafter his or her seniority shall be from his or her
most recent date of hire. In the case of probationary employees, there
shall be no seniority rating nor responsibility upon the part of the
Company for continuous employment nor for reemployment if laid off before
the completion of their continuous probationary period. It is understood
and agreed that during such probationary period, layoff or discharge shall
be left to the discretion of the Company.
(b)
In the case of an indefinite layoff for
lack of work, probationary employees in the occupational group or job
family in the seniority area affected by the layoff shall first be
terminated.
Section 7.
(a)
No employee shall be eligible by reason of
his or her seniority to be recalled to a higher-rated job as a result of
layoff except where the job held by the employee at the time of layoff has
been upgraded or where the essential elements of that job have been
combined with another and the resulting job is of a higher labor grade.
In all such cases, the employee shall have recall rights to the
higher-rated job. However, nothing shall preclude the Company from
offering an employee the opportunity to be recalled to a higher-rated job.
(b)
Laid-off employees who were previously
demoted under the conditions defined in Section 4(a) of this Article and
who would have been considered to be on the recall list for their former
job, as defined in Section 3 of this Article, may be offered recall to
their former job in accordance with their seniority retention, as provided
in Section 14(c) of this Article.
(c)
No employee shall be eligible by reason of
his or her seniority to be transferred to a higher-rated job as a result
of layoff.
Section 8.
Whenever promotions are made
to higher-rated jobs other than to supervisory jobs, they shall be made as
follows:
(a)
Whenever promotions are made to
higher-rated jobs, except as provided in 8(b) below, they shall be made on
the basis of the most senior qualified employee in the line of progression
in the occupational group in which the promotion is made.
(b) Whenever promotions are made
to the highest labor grade in the occupational group and all working
leader positions, they shall be made on the basis of the coequal standards
of seniority, ability and fitness of the employee.
(c)
It is understood that the employees who
may file a grievance concerning such a promotion, as defined within this
Section, are those assigned to the business unit in which the promotion
occurs, or in the business unit from which the promotee was transferred.
(d)
All promotions will be made on shift. In
the event that such promotions create an imbalance, the resulting
imbalance will be adjusted as provided by Letter 17 of this Agreement.
This provision shall not apply for promotions to working leader or
promotions resulting from job posting.
Section 9.
(a)
Temporary layoffs due to lack of work not
to exceed thirty (30) days may be made by the Company irrespective of any
provisions of this Agreement. In such cases the Company will, in lieu of
layoff whenever possible, reassign employees to other jobs during the
period of such layoff.
(b)
Selection of employees for such temporary
layoffs will be made by taking volunteers in seniority order, beginning
with the most senior employee in the affected classifications by
department by shift. In the event that an insufficient number of
employees volunteer, then in reverse order of seniority in the affected
classifications by department, by shift, the Company will notify the least
senior employees that they will be temporarily laid off. An employee
shall not be temporarily laid off under this Section more than once until
all other employees in the same classification in the department affected
shall have been temporarily laid off once under this Section.
(c)
If there is a series of such temporary
layoffs, the Company will so far as it is practicable make an equal
distribution of such lost time.
(d)
While on such temporary layoff, employees
shall continue to accrue their seniority, pension credits, and the Company
shall continue to provide coverage for their health and dental insurance.
In addition, it is agreed that such layoffs will not affect vacation pay,
sick pay, service awards, incentive vacation, life insurance coverage,
automatic wage rate progression increases, eligibility for job posting or
apprenticeship programs, educational assistance and Employee Assistance
Programs. It is further understood that employees affected by temporary
layoffs will not be denied any of the contractual benefits provided under
the terms of this Agreement. Upon return to work, the employees shall be
returned to the job they held at the appropriate rate of pay and on the
shift where they worked at the start of such temporary layoff.
Section 10.
The Company will survey employees
for transfer to a preferred shift. Such transfers will be made on a
seniority basis within a business unit.
Section 11.
(a)
If any person is transferred from any
plant or facility operated by Pratt & Whitney (Government Engine Business)
or by UTC Fuel Cells, LLC, or any Hamilton Sundstrand unit
represented by Local Lodge No. 743 of the I.A.M.A.W. into the bargaining
unit covered by this Agreement, or from one noninterchangeable
occupational group or from one seniority area to another
noninterchangeable occupational group or area within the bargaining unit,
his or her seniority in the bargaining unit shall include his or her total
length of continuous service with Pratt & Whitney (Government Engine
Business) or UTC Fuel Cells, LLC, or any Hamilton Sundstrand unit
represented by Local Lodge No. 743 of the I.A.M.A.W. except as provided in
(c) of this Section.
(b)
If any bargaining unit employee is hired
from any plant or facility operated by Pratt & Whitney (Government Engine
Business), Hamilton Sundstrand or UTC Fuel Cells, LLC, which are
represented by the I.A.M.A.W., or Sikorsky Aircraft represented by IBT
Local Union 1150, and such person retains recall rights, his or her
seniority in the Pratt & Whitney (Connecticut Facilities) bargaining unit
shall be established at the date of hire for purposes of layoff, promotion
and shift transfer. His or her Hamilton Sundstrand, UTC Fuel Cells, LLC,
or Sikorsky Aircraft seniority date will be used for health and welfare
benefits and those relating to sick and personal time and vacation
eligibility.
(c)
For the purposes of layoff only, and
except as provided in Sections 1(b) and 4(a) of this Article, an
employee promoted, demoted or laterally transferred from one
noninterchangeable occupational group or from one seniority area to
another shall have his or her seniority transferred to the
noninterchangeable occupational group and seniority area to which he or
she is transferred ninety (90) calendar days after the date on which the
transfer becomes effective.
Section 12.
(a)
Upon written application by the
Union, the Company will grant a leave of absence of not less than one (1)
year to any employee who enters the employ of either the local Union or
the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Such
leave of absence shall terminate automatically if the employee's
assignment by the local Union or the International Association of
Machinists and Aerospace Workers is to any organization other than a local
Union which represents the employees of a plant of the Company. This
provision shall not prevent a necessary and temporary short-term
assignment to a local Union which does not represent employees of the
Company, where advance notice of such assignment is given to the Company.
The resultant reassignment shall not, absent mutual agreement, exceed
twelve (12) calendar weeks in any contract year. An extension of such
leave for an additional period shall be granted upon written application
made prior to the expiration of such leave of absence.
During such leave of absence such employee
shall be considered to head the seniority list in the occupational group
in which he or she worked immediately before the beginning of his or her
leave for the purpose of layoff consideration. It is understood and
agreed that such an employee will not accumulate Continuous Service
Credits for the purpose of computing Pension benefits under the Company's
applicable Plan during such a leave of absence or any extension.
(b)
If an employee who has been granted such
leave of absence reports for work at the beginning of the first regular
workday after the termination of such leave, he or she shall be
reemployed on the same general type of work which he or she did last prior
to his or her leave at the wage rate existing in the plant at the time of
his or her return for the job on which he or she is reemployed.
(c)
During such leave of absence, such
employee shall accumulate his or her seniority. His or her reemployment
shall be subject to the condition that he or she is able to perform the
duties required of him or her and that he or she would have retained his
or her seniority under this Article had he or she been in the employ of
the Company during the period of his or her leave of absence.
Section 13.
A salaried employee who once
held a bargaining unit position may be returned to the bargaining unit to
a job that has been posted and not filled from within the bargaining unit;
provided, however, that such employee will return to the bargaining unit
without seniority for all purposes other than benefits.
Section 14.
An employee shall lose his or
her seniority rights under any one of the following circumstances:
(a) If he or she resigns.
(b) If he or she is discharged for
just cause.
(c ) If the employee is laid off or
continuously absent from work for any other reason, he or she shall
retain seniority rights as follows:
|
Seniority at the Time of
Layoff or Absence |
Period of
Retention |
|
91 days up to 2 years |
24 months |
|
2 years up to 5 years |
36 months |
|
5 years or over |
60 months |
(d) If he or she fails to report
to work within five (5) working days after due notice by the Company to
the employee's last known address to return to work after layoff, or fails
to give reasons satisfactory to the Company within such five (5) days for
not reporting to work.
Section 15.
For all purposes, other than
layoff, the seniority rights of the members of the Union Shop Committee,
President, Vice President, if employees, and Shop Stewards, Senior Union
EAP Coordinator, Union EAP Coordinators, Senior Union Training
Coordinator, Union Job Evaluation Specialist, Chief EHS Representative,
Senior Union EHS Coordinator, and Union EHS Representatives shall be
exactly the same as the seniority rights of all other employees except as
provided below:
(a)
In the case of layoff, and for the sole
purpose of maintaining Union representation at the time of layoff, members
of the Union Shop Committee, the President, Vice President, Senior Union
EAP Coordinator Union EAP Coordinators, Senior Union Training Coordinator,
Union Job Evaluation Specialist, Senior Union EHS Coordinator, and Chief
EHS Representative, if employees, shall, during their term of office, head
the seniority list in their occupational group and job family, and
will not be laid off until all other employees in their labor grade (or
lower labor grade) in their respective occupational group and job family
have been laid off.
(b)
In the case of layoff, and for the sole
purpose of maintaining Union representation at the time of layoff, Shop
Stewards shall, during their term of office, head the seniority list in
their occupational group and job family, in their steward area, and
on their respective shift, or in the case of Union EHS Representatives in
the area for which they are responsible, and will not be laid off until
all other employees in their labor grade (or lower labor grades) in their
occupational group and job family, in their steward area, or in the
case of Union EHS Representatives in the area for which they are
responsible, and on their shift, have been laid off.
(c)
A Shop Committeeperson or a Shop Steward
will not be transferred or promoted to a job outside of his or her
Committeeperson or Steward area unless he or she notifies the Company in
writing that he or she wishes to be considered for such a job during which
time he or she shall maintain his or her position as a Committeeperson or
Shop Steward; or unless there is no job of the same or lower labor grade
in his or her occupational group in such area which he or she is qualified
to perform; or except in the case of an emergency; or unless his or her
department is being transferred to another location outside such area.
Section 16.
(a)
Severance pay allowances shall be paid to
employees who are laid off for an indefinite period. To be eligible for
any severance pay allowance, an employee must have at least ninety (90)
days seniority as of the day preceding the layoff.
(b)
Severance pay allowance shall be calculated on a weekly basis (the
employee's normal workweek at the time of the layoff) and each week's pay
allowance shall consist of forty (40) times the employee's base hourly
wage plus cost-of-living allowance (excluding any shift or other premium
pay) which the employee was paid for the last day of work preceding
layoff.
(c)
Severance pay allowance shall be paid weekly to an eligible, laid off
employee beginning on the second payday following the date the employee is
laid off.
(d) The
number of weeks for which an employee shall receive severance pay
allowance shall be governed by the employee's seniority on the day
preceding layoff as follows:
|
SENIORITY
(COMPLETE YEARS) |
SEVERANCE
WEEKS |
|
From 90 days
to one (1) year …..……………………..…. |
Two (2) weeks |
|
From One (1)
to Two (2) Years ................................….. |
Four (4)
weeks |
|
Three (3)
years ............................................................... |
Four (4)
weeks |
|
Four (4)
years ...........................................................….. |
Four (4)
weeks |
|
Five (5)
years
................................................................. |
Five (5)
weeks |
|
Six (6) years
................................................................... |
Six (6) weeks |
|
Seven (7)
through Nine (9) years .................................. |
Seven (7) weeks
|
|
Ten (10)
through Twelve (12) years .............................. |
Nine (9)
weeks |
|
Thirteen (13)
and Fourteen (14) years ......... ............... |
Ten (10)
weeks |
|
Fifteen (15)
and Sixteen (16) years ............................... |
Twelve (12)
weeks |
|
Seventeen
(17) and Eighteen (18) years ....................... |
Fourteen (14)
weeks |
|
Nineteen (19)
and Twenty (20) years ........................... |
Sixteen (16)
weeks |
|
Twenty-one
(21) and Twenty-two (22) years ................ |
Eighteen (18)
weeks |
|
Twenty-three
(23) and Twenty-four (24) years ............ |
Twenty (20)
weeks |
|
Twenty-five
(25) or more years ..................................... |
Twenty-four
(24) weeks |
(e)
No employee, however, shall be paid a severance pay allowance for
any week following the date the employee is recalled to work from a
layoff.
(f) No
employee shall be paid the severance pay allowance more than once during
this contract period; provided, however, if the total severance pay
allowance to which the employee was entitled under (d) above was not paid
him or her during this contract period because of his or her recall
from layoff, such employee who is again laid off during this contract
period shall again be eligible for severance pay allowance but only for
the number of weeks for which his or her total severance pay allowance was
not paid because of his or her recall from layoff.
(g) No
severance pay allowance will be paid to any employee who is laid off
because of an act of God or a natural emergency or be
