ARTICLE 36 GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE Section 1. Purpose. This procedure is provided for the sole and only purpose of enforcing the provisions of this Agreement. Section 2. Grievance Defined. A grievance is a written claim, presented to the appropriate City representative, as identified below, by a unit employee or by the F.O.P., that the City has violated some provision or provisions of this Agreement, with resulting harm to the grievant. Section 3. Grievant Defined. A grievant is a unit employee who claims a violation of this Agreement with resulting harm to himself/herself, or the F.O.P. when claiming a violation of this Agreement with respect to some provision or provisions conferring a right or rights upon the F.O.P. as an organization as distinguished from the unit employees. Section 4. No Verbal Grievances. Unit employees are encouraged to discuss their concerns or complaints with their supervisors and to resolve same without resorting to this grievance procedure when possible. Informal discussions with supervisors or managers, however, do not constitute grievance presentations or grievance processing, and such discussions do not toll or satisfy any time limits provided in this Article. Section 5. Eligible Grievance - Requirements. The City is not required to process or answer a grievance unless: A.
It is presented in writing.
B.
It is dated and the Grievant or Grievant named.
C.
It states whether the Grievant is proceeding without the intervention or assistance of the F.O.P.
D.
It makes reference to the specific provision(s) of this Agreement that the Grievant claims the City has violated.
E.
It contains a reasonably complete statement of the facts of the matter, as the Grievant contends them to be and states the remedy sought.
F.
It is presented to the proper City representative within the time limit provided at the appropriate step of the grievance procedure.
Section 6. Grieving Without F.O.P. Assistance. The right of each unit employee to present and process grievances without the assistance or intervention of the F.O.P. If the employee processes his/her own grievance, its resolution shall not be inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement, and the F.O.P. shall be afforded the right to have a representative present at any grievance meetings. The F.O.P. does not have the
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