Episode 151: Interview with NALC Branch 758 President Phil Bzura
About this episode
Phil Bzura discusses the challenges faced by NALC Branch 758 regarding the grievance process and the impact of leadership changes on their negotiations.
NALC Branch 758 President Phil Bzura describes a long-running struggle over the grievance process in Region 6 and what he believes happens when regional leadership loses touch with the branches and stewards it is supposed to serve. Phil explains that the Dispute Resolution Process (DRP) was presented as a way to resolve grievances quickly and at the lowest possible level, reducing the need for arbitration andproviding timely remedies. But in Branch 758's experience, management repeatedly failed to meet on grievances and failed to provide requested information, while many Step B decisions provided little or no meaningful remedy. Branch 758 continued fighting. Eventually, a case went to arbitration and an arbitrator awarded $500 for management's repeated violations. From there, monetary remedies began appearing at Step B, and subsequent arbitration and pre-arbitration settlements produced escalating remedies reaching approximately $1,000 . Under former Region 6 NBA Troy Clark, Phil says the branchobtained strong settlements, including precedent-setting agreements and meaningful monetary remedies. Branch 758 also negotiated a Formal Step A agreement worth $2,400 on two grievances…
People in this episode
Host: Big Rich
Guest: Phil Bzura
Topics covered
- grievance process
- arbitration
- labor relations
- monetary remedies
- union leadership
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: NALC Branch 758
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