Contract Administration: the process by which the mutual obligations created by the collective bargaining agreement are applied and enforced

Duty of Fair Representation: the obligation of the union in collective bargaining to represent all members of the bargaining unit in an equitable manner, even those who are not members of the union

Grievance: a formal complaint in which an employee or group of employees (or occasionally the union or the employer) alleges that their rights have been violated or they have otherwise been improperly treated

Shop Steward: a union representative chosen from the immediate work group. The shop steward is the lowest level of union officer and often plays a role as the union representative in the first step or first two steps of the grievance procedure

Superseniority: placing shop stewards or other union officers at the top of the seniority list for purposes of layoff and recall only in order to keep the grievance handling system in tact during periods of layoff

Weingarten Rights: the right of an employee to have a union representative present at any meeting which the employer initiates which could result in the employee being disciplined