He has served on the negotiating teams for the Union and has been secretary and president. He has filed numerous grievances at the elementary and secondary level, probably three a year on average. Pawelkiewicz testified that it was the Union's practice to try to resolve a dispute before filing a grievance -- he called it investigating a grievance. There may be times when the Union will immediately file a grievance, such as when a teacher has been suspended. Other times, the Union would go to the administration and talk with the principal, get his side of the story, and try to work out the situation so that it would not become a grievance. Pawelkiewicz could not recall anytime in 16 years that the District objected to the processing of a grievance on the grounds that it was untimely.