Negotiators propose longer grievance steps and arbitration options

Negotiators spent a substantial portion of the meeting on grievance and arbitration language. The union proposed expanding initial timelines so parties have 30 days (instead of 10) to investigate and try to resolve disputes before moving to arbitration, citing experience that extra time produced settlements in other districts. The union also proposed modernizing language that previously required overly specific grievance descriptions, arguing specificity had been used adversarially in the past.