The union for a healthcare district filed a grievance. The grievance alleged that the employer violated the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) by failing to apply base salary increases to the most senior nurses who had exceeded the highest step on the salary grid.
The CBA provided for annual across-the-board wage increases tied to a salary grid that capped at a specified maximum year of service. Nurses who served beyond that maximum were not eligible for step increases but instead received a separate, long-term service adjustment. These nurses who were already paid above the top grid rate were “red-circled,” meaning their base salary was frozen until the grid caught up, although they continued to receive the separate, long-term service adjustment.
In the grievance arbitration, the union argued that it understood that all the nurses would receive the increase in base salary plus the long-term service adjustment. The employer countered that it followed the explicit terms of the CBA.
The arbitrator acknowledged that the employer’s approach could negatively affect the retention of the most experienced nurses. But the arbitrator concluded that the CBA’s unambiguous language controlled. Because the salary grid did not extend beyond the maximum step, and the CBA specifically addressed compensation for employees above the maximum step through a long-term service adjustment, there was no contractual basis for any additional base salary increases.
The arbitrator further determined that the employer’s decision to red-circle senior nurses did not reduce their pay, nor violate the CBA. The arbitrator denied the grievance in its entirety.