Jobs

Service Center Representative

Boston , MA

Summary

Join the fight for justice for janitors, security officers and all service workers. SEIU Local 615 has an opening for a bilingual (Spanish-English or Portuguese-English) representative to handle contract enforcement and grievances. Fluency in both languages necessary. Paralegal, legal, or grievance handling experience required. Careful documentation, case management, ability to work with members, and strong written and verbal communication skills in both languages required. Competence in both Spanish and Portuguese a major plus.

Description

Title:   Service Center Representative (also known as Grievance/Contract Enforcement Representative)

Purpose:   To assist the leadership of Local 615 in building a powerful rank and file union, through organizing and representing workers within the Union’s jurisdiction. Specifically, the role of the Service Center is to enforce the terms of the collective bargaining agreement on behalf of members. Equally important, the Service Center’s role is to increase the capacity of the internal organizing staff to identify, recruit and train member leaders by assuming a larger share of member representation.

Duties and Responsibilities:     A Service Center Organizer performs a wide range of duties, which may vary according to the needs of the overall program, a specific campaign, or needs of the local as determined by the officers. The list below captures some not all of the duties and responsibilities for which a Service Center Organizer will be evaluated:

1. Interact with the membership who have grievances or seek information in a positive, courteous, and respectful manner.
2. Support member leadership by involving stewards whenever possible
3. Assist other internal staff in handling grievances as necessary,
4. Assess opportunities to move issue  or company specific campaigns
5. Identify and refer potential leaders to organizers
6. Plan own work and make weekly and monthly plans
7. Issue identification, investigation, and resolution
8. File and process grievances up to and including  Local 615’s arbitration panel presentation
9. Communicate problems and concerns to the  Lead Organizer or Division Director
10. Effectively ID opportunities to use legal/contract violations to advance campaign and ID violations, document violations, file violations (with minimal counsel) and prepare witnesses in legal or contractual violation cases
11. Interpret and enforce multiple collective bargaining agreements
12. Understand the uses and limits of the grievance and arbitration procedure;
13. Manage large caseload:  investigation and timely resolution
14. Negotiate resolution of issues with Employers which maintains standards
15. Communicate effectively with employers and management representatives both verbally and in writing.
16. Understands the difference between ULPs, violations of the CBA, and other legal violations
17. Effectively utilize the Union’s database and word processing programs
18. Responsible for updating Service Center database
19. Responsible for attending to walk-ins and doing intake
20. Do building or site visits as needed for investigative  purposes

21.   Identify trends in grievances that may require field action, or coordinated Local response;

22.   Provide analysis and write coherent reports about  service center activity and results

OTHER DUTIES

a)      All Organizers may be assigned other duties not included in this job description as required by the organization.

b)      All Organizers are expected to respect the processes of the organization and are expected to work within the framework of the organization to resolve internal disputes and issues.

Organizers must be able to act independently while keeping the Division Director updated on their progress.  It is expected that all Organizers are self-starters who will take initiative to drive the local union’s program goals. 

Additional Criteria for Evaluation:

Organizers will be evaluated on their ability and skill in assisting Local 615 to meet its goal of organizing and representing workers successfully and on their effectiveness at the above listed job duties.  Among other criteria they will be evaluated is their ability to work independently, to work with other staff and members during campaigns, balance conflicting demands successfully, their execution of the plan for their assignment, their success at meeting the goals set for their assignment and their ability to work according to deadlines.  

Working Conditions:

Organizers are required to work long and irregular hours including work on weekends and on holidays as necessary.  The work of a Service Center Organizer necessitates flexibility as demands and priorities for a particular campaign or the overall organization shift.  It is expected that Service Center Organizers be available during the times that workers in their assigned area are available at their work site, home or other locale.

Qualifications

In addition to the above listed job duties and responsibilities, there are conditions and requirements which are essential and are therefore mandatory for anyone occupying the post. 1) Must have a valid drivers license and a working car with the required car insurance 2) Must be able to speak the primary language of the workers in the assigned area and able to communicate effectively in English 3) Dress appropriately for given job assignments 4) Must be able to travel between various sites in short time periods, ascend flights of stairs, and participate in marches and demonstrations of at least 3 hours in duration. 5) Must be willing to and capable of travel within and outside of the local union’s jurisdiction for the purposes of campaign work, support work for national union priorities or education/training 6) College Degree or equivalent skills