This article can be found in Class Action: An Activist Teacher’s Handbook, a joint project of Jacobin and the Chicago Teachers Union’s CORE. The booklet can be downloaded for free, and print copies are available for a limited time.

Filing a grievance is the most rudimentary form of union activity and representation in the workplace.

A grievance is filed when a union member feels that management or administration has violated one of the principles of their contract. For many workers, it is their first experience in organized workplace confrontation.