Organizing, Filing a Charge, and Pursuing a Grievance: A Practical Checklist

Labor and Employment > Labor Relations and Unions | Published 26 March 2025 - Updated 11 July 2026 | UpLaw - uplaw.us

Two questions come before every other one: is this worker covered, and was the activity concerted? Work them in that order.

Items marked ⚠ are the ones where the natural instinct is wrong.

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Section 1 — Coverage screen

☐ Is the worker an "employee" under 29 U.S.C. § 152? ☐ ⚠ Supervisor? Authority to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, discipline, or responsibly direct, using independent judgment. Title is irrelevant. See NLRB v. Health Care & Retirement Corp.. ☐ ⚠ Independent contractor? If so, there are no labor rights at all. See worker classification and assessing and challenging a worker classification. ☐ Managerial employee? See NLRB v. Yeshiva University. ☐ Agricultural laborer or domestic worker? Excluded. ☐ Public employee? Outside the Act; state law governs, and Janus v. AFSCME controls fees. ☐ Rail or air carrier employee? The Railway Labor Act applies — 45 U.S.C. § 151, 45 U.S.C. § 152, 45 U.S.C. § 153, with air coverage at 45 U.S.C. § 181. ⚠ Entirely different procedures. ☐ ⭐ Settle coverage first. A perfect protected-activity analysis is worthless if the worker is a supervisor or a contractor.

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Section 2 — Is the activity protected?

☐ Was it concerted — with or on the authority of other employees? NLRB v. City Disposal Systems extends protection to an individual invoking a collective agreement right. ☐ Was it for mutual aid or protection — about terms and conditions of employment? Eastex, Inc. v. NLRB reads this broadly. ☐ ⭐ No union is required. Two coworkers comparing pay are engaged in protected activity under 29 U.S.C. § 157. ☐ Check for loss of protection: a purely individual gripe; disloyal disparagement unconnected to a labor dispute; egregious misconduct during the activity; or support for an unlawful object. ☐ ⚠ Frame it collectively from the start. "Several of us" is protected where "I" frequently is not — and the framing cannot be fixed afterward. ☐ Preserve the evidence of concert: the group email, the signature list, the text thread, the names of everyone who participated.

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Section 3 — Organizing

☐ Map the workplace — departments, shifts, classifications, and informal networks. ☐ Identify the issues employees actually name. ⭐ Scheduling, respect, and favoritism drive more campaigns than wages. ☐ Build a committee reflecting every department and shift. ☐ Assess support before acting. ⚠ A campaign launched at forty percent usually fails and poisons the ground for years. ☐ Solicit on nonwork time in nonwork areas, and document that you did. ☐ Understand access limits for nonemployee organizers — NLRB v. Babcock & Wilcox Co. and Lechmere, Inc. v. NLRB. ☐ Collect authorization cards; typically thirty percent supports a petition under 29 U.S.C. § 159. ☐ ⚠ Never misrepresent what a card does. A card signed on a misrepresentation can be challenged. ☐ Anticipate the unit dispute, which is the most common employer delay tactic; community of interest governs. ☐ Consider whether the employer will voluntarily recognize a card majority, and whether a neutrality agreement is achievable. ☐ Document everything the employer says and does, with dates and witnesses.

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Section 4 — The four employer prohibitions

Watch for these; each is an unfair labor practice under 29 U.S.C. § 158.

☐ Threats — closure, job loss, reduced benefits, "things will get worse." ☐ Interrogation — "who started this?", "how are you voting?", "who else signed?" ☐ Promises or grants of benefit — a raise announced mid-campaign, a fixed complaint, a new policy. ☐ Surveillance — watching a meeting, photographing handbilling, or saying anything that creates the impression of watching. ☐ Plus: discrimination in discipline or assignment, and soliciting grievances with an implied promise to remedy them. ☐ ⭐ A single supervisor's remark can set aside an election and, in a serious case, support a bargaining order under NLRB v. Gissel Packing Co.. ☐ Record each incident with date, time, location, exact words, and witnesses, the same day. ☐ ⭐ File charges during the campaign, not after. A charge filed while the campaign is live changes employer behavior; one filed after the election rarely does.

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Section 5 — Filing a Board charge

☐ ⚠ File within six months of the violation. 29 U.S.C. § 160. Jurisdictional and unforgiving. ☐ Identify the section violated and the specific conduct, with dates. ☐ Name the correct respondent — the employer entity, the union, or both. ☐ Prepare witnesses for affidavits; the regional investigation runs on affidavits. ☐ Gather documents — handbooks, policies, emails, discipline records, comparator discipline, schedules, and any recording. ☐ Expect the process: investigation, dismissal or complaint, hearing before an administrative law judge, Board review, and enforcement or review in a court of appeals. Rules at 29 C.F.R. part 102 and 29 C.F.R. part 103. ☐ Understand the remedies. ⚠ Make-whole only — reinstatement, back pay, notice posting. No punitive damages, and the timeline can run years. ☐ Appeal a regional dismissal within the short period stated in the letter. ☐ ⭐ Weigh the forum before filing. The same discharge might support a Board charge, a grievance, a discrimination claim, and a whistleblower complaint, each with different deadlines and remedies. See reporting misconduct and preserving a retaliation claim.

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Section 6 — Bargaining

☐ Survey the membership and rank priorities before the first session. ☐ Send information requests early — wage data, benefit costs, staffing, overtime distribution, subcontracting, and grievance history. ⭐ The information request is enforceable and it is the most underused tool available. ☐ Cost every proposal in dollars per hour per employee. ☐ Distinguish mandatory from permissive subjects; ⚠ never insist to impasse on a permissive subject. ☐ Exchange full proposals early and confirm tentative agreements in writing as reached. ☐ Keep detailed notes of every session. ⚠ Bad faith is proved by a pattern over time, and the notes are the proof. ☐ Watch for surface bargaining: no counterproposals, unavailable negotiators, regressive proposals, and unilateral changes during bargaining. ☐ Watch for unilateral changes to mandatory subjects — a refusal to bargain under NLRB v. Katz. ☐ In restructuring, distinguish decision from effects bargaining — First National Maintenance Corp. v. NLRB and Fibreboard Paper Products Corp. v. NLRB. ☐ Communicate with members continuously. ⭐ A committee that goes silent loses the ability to mobilize, which is the only real leverage most units have. ☐ Enforce the agreement under 29 U.S.C. § 185.

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Section 7 — Grievances

☐ Calendar the deadline the day you learn of the issue. ⚠ The contract's time limit is the single most common reason meritorious grievances fail. ☐ Get facts before theory — who, what, when, where, and which provision. ☐ Identify the article and section allegedly violated. ☐ State the remedy sought specifically: reinstatement, back pay, expungement, a schedule change. ☐ Interview the grievant and every witness promptly and separately. ☐ Request information — the investigation file, comparator discipline, applicable policies, and any recordings. ☐ Check past practice. ⭐ In arbitration, consistent past practice frequently beats contract language, and it is proved with documents and testimony about what actually happened over years. ☐ Check the employer's procedure — missed steps, missed deadlines, discipline without the contractual investigation. ☐ Apply the just cause elements most arbitrators use: notice of the rule; a reasonable rule; an actual investigation; a fair investigation; substantial evidence; evenhanded application; and a proportionate penalty. ☐ Move it through the steps on time, in writing, keeping proof of every filing. ☐ Settle where the settlement beats the realistic arbitration outcome, and document what it concedes. ☐ At arbitration, prepare the grievant thoroughly. ⚠ The most common cause of loss is a grievant whose account changes. ☐ Know the standard of review — awards are final on the merits under the deferential United Steelworkers v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co. framework. See arbitration and compelling, resisting, or preparing for arbitration. ☐ ⭐ Statutory claims survive the grievance procedure unless clearly and unmistakably waived. See employment discrimination charges and wage and hour law.

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Section 8 — Investigatory interviews

☐ If you reasonably believe discipline may result, ask for a union representative. NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc.. ☐ ⚠ The right must be requested. It is not automatic and nobody will offer it. ☐ Say it plainly: "If this discussion could lead to discipline, I request that a union representative be present." ☐ Understand the employer's options: grant the request, end the interview, or offer the employee the choice of proceeding alone. ☐ ⚠ The employer may lawfully end the interview and decide based on other evidence. ☐ The representative may assist and clarify, not obstruct. ☐ ⭐ A steward who says nothing but takes notes has still changed the interview substantially. ☐ Write down what happened immediately afterward — who was present, what was asked, and what was said.

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Section 9 — If your union will not help

☐ Request the file and the written reasons for the decision not to advance or arbitrate. ☐ Pursue the internal union appeal first. ⭐ Faster, cheaper, and it builds the record if litigation follows. ☐ Understand the standard. Vaca v. Sipes — arbitrary, discriminatory, or bad-faith conduct. Mere negligence generally is not a breach. ☐ ⚠ Note the short limitations period on a hybrid suit against both employer and union. ☐ Know your statutory rights against the union: the bill of rights at 29 U.S.C. § 411, enforceable under 29 U.S.C. § 412; reporting at 29 U.S.C. § 431; elections at 29 U.S.C. § 481; officer fiduciary duties at 29 U.S.C. § 501; definitions at 29 U.S.C. § 401; regulations at 29 C.F.R. part 452 and 29 C.F.R. part 458. ☐ On dues: union security is limited by state law under 29 U.S.C. § 164, and objectors may be charged only for representational expenses under Communications Workers v. Beck.

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Section 10 — Strikes

☐ Determine the strike's character first. ⭐ Economic strikers may be permanently replaced; unfair labor practice strikers may not. Nothing else matters as much. ☐ Document employer unfair labor practices before and during, which can convert the character of the strike. ☐ Check the no-strike clause; a strike over an arbitrable dispute can be enjoined under Boys Markets, Inc. v. Retail Clerks Union. ☐ Give required notices on contract expiration and in health care institutions. ☐ ⚠ Avoid intermittent or partial strikes, which are generally unprotected. ☐ ⚠ Avoid property damage. Glacier Northwest, Inc. v. Teamsters permits a state tort claim for intentional destruction during a strike. ☐ Avoid secondary activity restricted by 29 U.S.C. § 158, with damages exposure under 29 U.S.C. § 187. ☐ Make any offer to return unconditional and in writing. ☐ Track recall rights and any failure to honor them. ☐ Note the right to strike at 29 U.S.C. § 163 and conciliation provisions at 29 U.S.C. § 165 and 29 U.S.C. § 169.

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Section 11 — Decertification

☐ Check the timing bars first. ⭐ The windows decide these cases; a petition one day outside is dismissed regardless of support. ☐ Certification year bar; contract bar up to three years with defined open windows; election bar of one year. ☐ Gather a thirty percent showing for a decertification or deauthorization petition. ☐ ⚠ The employer may not initiate, sponsor, or assist. Employer fingerprints void the petition and produce a charge. ☐ Deauthorization removes union security while keeping the union; decertification removes the union. ☐ Withdrawal of recognition by an employer requires actual loss of majority support and is legally hazardous.

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Section 12 — For employers

☐ Audit the handbook against Section 7: pay confidentiality rules, broad social media policies, blanket investigation confidentiality directives, civility rules reaching protected complaint, no-recording rules, and solicitation rules. ☐ ⭐ A rule can violate the Act without ever being enforced. Maintaining it is the violation. ☐ Train supervisors on the four prohibitions before any campaign — threats, interrogation, promises, surveillance. ☐ Apply solicitation rules evenhandedly. A rule enforced only against union activity is worse than no rule. ☐ Do not solicit grievances with an implied promise to fix them during a campaign. ☐ Never assist a decertification effort. ☐ Answer information requests in bargaining and grievance handling; refusals are easy violations to prove. ☐ Never change a mandatory subject unilaterally — NLRB v. Katz. ☐ Document discipline contemporaneously with comparators, so motive is not inferred from timing alone. ☐ Distinguish decision from effects bargaining in restructuring. ☐ Understand preemption — San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon, Machinists v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, and the limits set by Lingle v. Norge Division. ☐ ⭐ The cheapest labor law compliance available is a handbook review and one hour of supervisor training. The most expensive is a bargaining order. ☐ See starting and running a small business and the paperwork that protects you.

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Section 13 — Quick reference

Your situation	Do this first	Watch out for
Considering complaining about conditions	Frame it collectively — "several of us"	⚠ Individual gripes are unprotected
Fired after group activity	File a Board charge	⚠ Six months, jurisdictional
Employer bans pay discussions	Note the rule; it is usually unlawful	Maintaining it is the violation
Campaign underway	Log every employer statement	File charges during, not after
Called into a meeting about discipline	Ask for a representative	⚠ The right must be requested
Discipline imposed under a new rule	Check for unilateral change	Katz
Grievance arising	Calendar the deadline immediately	⚠ Time limits kill good grievances
Union declines to arbitrate	Internal appeal first	Short hybrid-suit period
Considering a strike	Determine economic or unfair labor practice	⚠ Permanent replacement
Seeking decertification	Check the timing window	Employer assistance voids it
Employer or worker unsure of coverage	Run the coverage screen	Supervisors and contractors excluded
Multiple possible claims	Map every forum and deadline	Elect deliberately

☐ Print this and keep it with the contract or the campaign file. ⭐ Two habits prevent most losses in this field: say "we," and calendar every deadline the day it starts running.

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Section 14 — Worked example: a discharge, handled correctly

Six employees at a distribution center sign a note to the plant manager objecting to a new rule requiring unpaid time waiting for equipment. Eleven days later, Marisol — who typed the note — is discharged for "repeated tardiness."

Day of discharge. She writes down everything the same evening: who was in the room, exactly what was said, the reason given, and the fact that the manager mentioned "the letter" in the meeting. ⭐ That last detail is the case.

Day 1. She collects the note and the signature list, and photographs of the posted schedule showing others who were late that month and were not disciplined.

Day 2. She talks to the five other signers. Two confirm supervisors asked them "who put this together." ⚠ That is interrogation, an independent violation under 29 U.S.C. § 158.

Day 4. She requests her personnel file in writing. It contains no prior attendance warning.

Day 10. She files a charge with the regional office, well inside the six-month period at 29 U.S.C. § 160. The charge names the discharge and the interrogation.

Week 4. The regional office takes affidavits from Marisol and three coworkers. The employer produces attendance records that show four other employees with worse records who were not disciplined.

Week 12. The region finds merit. The case settles: reinstatement, back pay, expungement of the discharge, and a notice posting.

⭐ What made this work: the activity was concerted and documented; the timing was tight; the comparators existed and were identified; a supervisor's own words tied the discharge to the letter; and the charge was filed promptly rather than after the deadline had passed.

⚠ Compare the version where Marisol had written the note alone, in the first person, complaining about her own schedule. The employer's conduct would be identical and there would be no federal claim at all. The difference is six signatures.

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Section 15 — Public sector employees

☐ Identify the governing statute. State public employee relations acts vary from full bargaining rights to outright prohibition, and there is no federal fallback. ☐ Identify every parallel system: the collective agreement, the civil service or merit system, and constitutional protections. ⭐ A public employee frequently has two or three overlapping remedial paths, each with its own deadline. ☐ Check the scope of bargaining, which is frequently narrower and constrained by statutory management rights. ☐ ⚠ Strikes are prohibited for most public employees, often with severe penalties; interest arbitration frequently substitutes. ☐ On dues and fees, Janus v. AFSCME requires affirmative consent before deduction. ☐ Consider constitutional claims unavailable in the private sector: free speech on matters of public concern, procedural due process where a property interest in employment exists, and equal protection. ☐ Federal employees have limited bargaining rights, a narrow statutory scope, no right to strike, and their own appeal systems. ☐ See civil appeals and representing yourself in civil court for review procedures.

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Section 16 — Choosing the forum

Before filing anything, map every option for the same set of facts.

Forum	Deadline	Remedy	Notes
Board charge	⚠ Six months, jurisdictional	Reinstatement, back pay, notice	No punitive damages; slow
Contract grievance	⚠ Contract period, often days	Contract remedies	Union controls arbitration
Discrimination charge	Statutory, often 180 or 300 days	Damages and fees	Independent of the grievance
Wage claim	Statutory	Unpaid wages, liquidated damages	Independent of the contract
Safety whistleblower complaint	Short statutory period	Reinstatement, back pay	29 C.F.R. part 1977
Public employee appeal	Statutory	Varies	Parallel to any grievance
Internal union appeal	Union constitution	Reconsideration	Precedes a duty of fair representation suit

☐ ⭐ Filing in one forum rarely forecloses the others, but missing a deadline in any of them forecloses that one permanently. Calendar them all on day one, then choose. ☐ Note that an arbitration agreement with a class waiver does not bar a Board charge, notwithstanding Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis. ☐ See workplace safety and at-will does not mean for any reason.

☐ Where a noncitizen employee is involved, confirm that no filing creates immigration exposure before proceeding. See removal defense. ☐ Where the employer is a government contractor, additional complaint routes may exist with their own short deadlines.

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Related Documents

• The Right to Act Together: What Labor Law Actually Protects at Work
• Labor Relations and Unions: A Comprehensive Guide to Organizing, Bargaining, Unfair Labor Practices, and Grievances
• The Labor Relations and Union Rights Toolkit