Grievance Note #1
Four-day Workweek
Your CODFA Grievance Subcommittee wants to keep you informed, to the greatest extent possible, about grievances that have been filed and their subsequent resolutions. After all, if it happened to one of us, it could happen to any of us! Please be assured that, in all cases, confidentiality will be maintained and no personal or departmental information will be revealed.
Resolved: A Four-Day Workweek Request Can Include Weekend Days (07-03)
We are happy to begin this new initiative by summarizing the results of Grievance 07-03, which was filed by a faculty member (FM) who was involuntarily assigned a Saturday class. The FM thereafter put in a 4-day workweek request, which included three weekdays (Mon-Fri) and Saturday. The request was denied, with the administrator in question stating that weekend days were not part of the workweek, and that the FM would have to file a 4-day workweek request that included 4 weekdays (plus,of course, that Saturday class that didn't count!)
The subsequent grievance was filed and denied at Step 2; however, the denial was based on the fact that a FM can only request a 4-day workweek, and that an administrator has the right to deny that request. It was not denied on the basis of a weekend day not being part of the 4-day request. Then, in his Step 3 denial, Dr, Chand directed the parties to meet and draft language that would responsibly permit the inclusion of a weekend day as part of a 4-day workweek request. In early August, the parties signed off on the following language:
The term "week," as it is used in paragraph D5 of the Contractual Agreement between the Board of Trustees of College of DuPage and College of DuPage Faculty Association IEA/NEA, 2003-2007, refers to a calendar week, Monday through Sunday.
To clarify, Dr.Picard has assured us, in writing, that "If a faculty member is assigned instructional load five days during the week (Monday through Sunday), he or she has met the terms of D5. With the proper approvals, if he or she has been assigned instructional load four days during the week, then he or she has met the requirements of D5.1 (Monday through Sunday).
Please let me know if you have any questions about this grievance resolution, or if you are experiencing difficulties surrounding a four-day workweek request. Many thanks to Mike Drafke and Tom Tallman, the CODFA representatives on this grievance.
Marty Attiyeh
Chair, Grievance Subcommittee
