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The use of “may” in 25.02 is only another<br />

contractual recognition that the grievance is the<br />

property of the union and that the union is not<br />

required to appeal every grievance to step 5. 158<br />

Section 25.02 indicates that an unsettled<br />

grievance may be appealed to arbitration <strong>by</strong> the<br />

union as long as written notice is given to the<br />

Director of the Office of Collective Bargaining<br />

within (30) days of the answer, or the due date of<br />

the answer if no answer is given, in step 4. 164<br />

The grievant was an employee of the<br />

Unemployment Compensation Board of Review.<br />

The Grievant worked next to employees of the<br />

Ohio Bureau of Employment Services and often<br />

voluntarily helped out with work done <strong>by</strong> OBES<br />

employees. The grievant received a letter from<br />

the Chairman of the Board informing her that she<br />

would be laid-off from her position. The grievant<br />

filed a grievance with OBES against the UC<br />

Board of Review in Akron protesting her layoff.<br />

Documents such as the grievant’s employee<br />

identification card, check stub, record of<br />

appointment, position description, the OBES<br />

telephone directory and others indicate that the<br />

Board is a division of OBES. Additionally,<br />

grievant indicated that she assisted on work done<br />

<strong>by</strong> OBES employees. Nonetheless, the Arbitrator<br />

declined to decide the meaning of "Agency<br />

Head” in Section 25.02 of the Agreement.<br />

Instead, the arbitrator relied on the abovementioned<br />

circumstances in ruling that the<br />

Grievant and Union proceeded in compliance<br />

with Section 25.02 of the Agreement. 172<br />

The grievant was an employee of the<br />

Unemployment Compensation Board of Review.<br />

The Grievant worked next to employees of the<br />

Ohio Bureau of Employment Services and often<br />

voluntarily helped out with work done <strong>by</strong> OBES<br />

employees. The grievant received a letter from<br />

the Chairman of the Board informing her that she<br />

would be laid-off from her position. The<br />

Arbitrator found that the Step Four request was<br />

timely filed. The Union produced an Inter-<br />

Office-Communication containing the Step Four<br />

request dated within the time limit. Moreover, a<br />

letter from the Union's Director of Arbitration to<br />

the Office of Collective Bargaining, stated that<br />

the date stamp reflects OCB's receipt of<br />

duplicates that it requested and received from the<br />

Union. This letter did not show that the<br />

documents were duplicates rather than originals,<br />

but it does note that the Step 3 Grievance Form<br />

also contained a date stamp. The evidence leads<br />

one to believe that the grievance packet<br />

contained duplicates of earlier documents that<br />

were timely filed <strong>by</strong> the Union. Furthermore, the<br />

Board did not complain that the Step 5 notice,<br />

which was appropriate only after the Step 4<br />

procedure has been exhausted, was untimely<br />

filed. 172<br />

Where the State argued that the grievance was<br />

not arbitrable because it was sent to the wrong<br />

“agency head” in violation of 25.02, the<br />

arbitrator ruled that the grievance was arbitrable<br />

because the grievant and the union reasonably<br />

believed that they had complied with section<br />

25.02 and the proper agency actually received<br />

the grievance within the time limits of 25.02.<br />

172<br />

Arbitrator Rivera’s appropriate observation<br />

concerning the concept of notice finds strong<br />

Support in an Arbitral (and legal) consensus on<br />

the point. Actual receipt of “written notice” is<br />

not required; proof of mailing will suffice to<br />

establish the presumption that the written notice<br />

was received, notwithstanding the inability of the<br />

recipient to produce it. 187<br />

Article 25, Section 25.01 (B) specifically<br />

contemplates the possibility of a class action<br />

grievance and one grievant representing a group.<br />

The language of the grievance itself clearly<br />

indicated an intent for it to be handled as a group<br />

grievance. While the grievance is signed <strong>by</strong> one<br />

grievant in this case, <strong>by</strong> its specific terms it is<br />

filed on behalf of all members that are affected.<br />

On its face, it is clearly brought on behalf of the<br />

group and cannot be seen as referring to an<br />

individual grievant. 297<br />

The grievant had a thirty day time limit on filing<br />

her grievance starting from the date the grievant<br />

became or reasonably should have become aware<br />

of the occurrence giving rise to the grievance.<br />

The event giving rise to the grievance occurred<br />

when the grievant continued to be carried as a<br />

probationary employee after sixty days of<br />

employment. The grievant had thirty days form<br />

the date when she was wrongfully listed as a<br />

probationary employee. The Union’s argument<br />

that the grievant was not harmed until she was<br />

later removed was dismissed. The arbitrator<br />

found that as soon as the grievant was kept on<br />

probationary status and did not receive the full<br />

protection and rights of seniority status. The<br />

employer is also not liable for the training of the

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