Grievance Committee

Grievance Committee Zoom Meetings are held at 1 pm on the first Friday of every month.
If you're a member and wish to attend it, please send your request to afscme3506chiefsteward@gmail.com. 

• Chief Steward Grace Maldutyte

• Assistant Chief Steward Kenneth Harris

• DA AE Steward George Roumbanis

• DA Coordinator Steward Sylwia Krzeminska

• KK AE Steward Doris Pledger

• KK Coordinator Steward Jeffrey Matthews

• MX AE Steward Trudy Moore

• MX Coordinator Steward Vasanta Doos

• OH AE Steward Paul Buckner

• OH Coordinator Steward Grazina Maldutyte

• TR AE Steward Jennifer Karmin

• TR Coordinator Steward Krystina Janus

• WW AE Steward Katarina Brasovan

• WW Coordinator Steward Teresa Langa-Tienda

• President George Roumbanis

July 11, 2025

The last time I reported to you was on May 17 at Wright College, where I outlined the role of the Grievance Committee, the chief steward and campus stewards, as well as the challenges we face in handling grievances.

On that note, I addressed the Board of Trustees yesterday to highlight a troubling trend: over 100 grievances filed in the past 5 years have either been denied or ignored—none have been granted. Yet, when these cases advance to arbitration, City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) often seeks to settle. This delay in addressing valid grievances ends up costing the institution more—not only in retroactive pay owed to employees but also in legal fees.

So far this year, the Grievance Committee has advanced 5 grievances to arbitration. Of those, 3 are currently scheduled for hearings this fall, and I bring them to your attention because they require E-Board approval for arbitration funding:

1. Rachell Azzarello – Discipline without just cause

2. Charles Dean – Good faith effort

3. Doris Pledger – Good faith effort

I urge you to review these cases and make a financial decision on whether to proceed with arbitration for each grievance.

Thank you for your time and continued support.

May 17, 2025

Hello, my name is Grace. For those who don’t know me, I am the Chief Steward of our local.

My basic duties and responsibilities as Chief Steward include supporting campus stewards, assisting with Step One grievances, handling Step Two grievances, and overseeing both the Grievance Committee and the Stewards Council.

Currently, we have three grievances at Step One and four grievances at Step Two—either pending hearings or awaiting reports from CCC.

The most common violations we encounter are related to the administration’s failure to act in good faith when assigning “same or similar” assignments to our teachers. We also see frequent last-minute class cancellations, which sometimes result in no pay for our teachers despite the lack of proper notice.

Other violations currently under grievance include:

• Discipline without just cause

• Filling vacancies or assigning work without following our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)

• Denial of personal care benefits

• Erosion of coordinator job duties or non-bargained changes to their scope of work

Some of the challenges we face when processing grievances include:

• A lack of member engagement in asserting their contractual rights and providing evidence

• A similar lack of cooperation from the employer in providing relevant documentation or information

• Stewards' delays in filing grievances due to the time-intensive process of investigating, gathering evidence and demonstrating CBA violations

When we meet with the employer to address CBA violations, they often use delay tactics and, in many cases, violate the grievance process outlined in our CBA. They fail to respect timelines—grievance meetings are not scheduled as required, reports are delayed or never delivered, and deadlines are ignored.

Even when we present strong evidence and clearly demonstrate CBA violations, the employer routinely denies our grievances—all the way up to arbitration. Only at the point of arbitration, when they realize the strength of our case, do they become interested in settling.

Unfortunately, arbitration is expensive and time-consuming. It often takes years to reach resolution, and due to our recent contract negotiations—which took nearly two years—arbitrations were put on hold. The good news is that several arbitrations are now being scheduled for this fall.

Let me also talk briefly about our Grievance Committee and Stewards Council, as they are closely tied to arbitrations.

Every first Friday of the month, we hold a Grievance Committee meeting. This is an opportunity for all stewards to receive training, guidance, and to raise campus-related issues. We review grievance cases, discuss violations, and decide how to proceed.

For grievances denied at Step Two, the Stewards Council—a subcommittee within the Grievance Committee—reviews each case in depth. We consider:

• Union’s arguments

• Administration’s response

• Available evidence

• Specific CBA violations

Then, the Council votes on whether or not the grievance should proceed to arbitration.

Since I became Chief Steward in January, we’ve reviewed five grievances, and four were approved to move forward to arbitration. These cases involve:

• Discipline without just cause

• Failure to make a good faith effort to assign same or similar assignments from term to term

• Denial of the personal care payment benefit

As a Grievance Committee and Stewards Council, we remain committed to defending our CBA, organizing our campuses, and representing our members to the best of our ability.

Thank you. That concludes my Chief Steward's report.