Interviewing Postal Inspectors, Obtaining Their ... - NALC Branch 908

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NALC Arbitration Advocate Page 6 Volume 2, Issue 2 May 1998 but is not limited to, the Postal Service Manual and the F-21, Timekeeper's Instructions. Furthermore, the new NALC- USPS Joint Contact Administration Manual makes Article 19's meaning even more explicit: Handbooks and Manuals: Article 19 provides that those postal Handbook and Manual provisions directly relating to wages, hours, or working conditions are enforceable as though they were part of the National Agreement. Changes to Handbook and Manual provisions directly relating to wages, hours, or working conditions may be made by management at the national level and may not be inconsistent with the National Agreement. A challenge that such changes are inconsistent with the National Agreement or are not fair, reasonable, or equitable may be made only by the NALC at the national level. (Emphasis added.) *#65 0X 76 Although this language seems clear, problems sometimes occur because the Postal Service has published so many handbooks and manuals that few people are familiar with all of them. There are literally hundreds of thousands of pages of published handbooks, manuals, directives, instructions and guidelines on postal library shelves. Article 19 does not encompass every single one of these handbooks, manuals and other documents—even where one purports to deal with wages, hours or working conditions. Which ones are, and are not, covered by Article 19 First, only national-level USPS publications may be covered by Article 19. So all of the local policies, Area directives, District guidelines and so forth are excluded. Second, the national parties have long agreed that certain handbooks and manuals are covered by Article 19. Here are the ones most commonly cited: ASM ELM Employee and Labor Relations Manual F-15 Travel and Relocation F-21 Time and Attendance F-22 PSDS Time and Attendance EL-301 Guidelines for Processing Personnel Actions EL-311 Personnel Operations M-39 Management of Delivery Services M-41 City Delivery Carriers Duties and Responsibilities Administrative Support Manual DMM Domestic Mail Manual DMMT Domestic Mail Manual Transition Book POM Postal Operations Manual Some publications are not covered, however. Problems can arise when management seeks to enforce one of those non-covered documents, and NALC argues that the purported “handbook” conflicts with the National Agreement, or simply has no standing as a contractual document. For instance, National Arbitrator Howard Gamser ruled in C-00937 (December 27, 1982) that the EL- 501, Supervisor’s Guide to Attendance Improvement, was not “a handbook having the force and effect of .. a document issued pursuant to Article 19.” Here is a short list of the most frequently encountered postal “handbooks” not covered by Article 19 (there are others, of course): EL-501 Supervisor’s Guide to At- tendance Improvement EL-921 Supervisor’s Guide to Handling Grievances EL-401 Supervisor’s Guide to Scheduling and Premium Pay &8+%' By citing the proper authorities, an NALC advocate can prevail against the daunting combination of misleading management arguments and clueless Arbitrator Newbies. First, advocates should cite the Joint Contract Administration Manual language clarifying the meaning of Article 19. Second, for help with specific handbooks or manuals advocates should consult the Index and Summary of the NALC Materials Reference System (M.R.S.). The M.R.S. is indexed by subject, by contract article and by handbook or manual provision. So it is easy to locate long lists of national-level settlements in which the national parties have expressly agreed to enforce particular handbooks and manuals through Article 19 as though they were part of the National Agreement. The M.R.S. also contains numerous national and regional-level arbitration cases in the same vein. Although this issue usually arises when NALC seeks to enforce a handbook or manual provision, sometimes USPS attempts to introduce or enforce a document which has no contractual standing under Article 19. To argue that a particular management document is not covered by Article 19, advocates should use the Gamser case above. When questions arise concerning the status of a particular USPS headquarters publication, advocates should consult with the National Business Agent and, if necessary, the headquarters Contract Administration Unit. …
NALC Arbitration Advocate Page 7 Volume 2, Issue 2 May 1998 1+066#6'/'062&#6' Filing Grievances Under Article 14, USPS “No Defense” Argument ET 1+06 6#6'/'06 #0& #('6; 4+'8#0%'5 Does a postal supervisor’s abusive behavior towards employees constitute a safety violation under Article 14 as well as a violation of the Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace If the union believes it does and files a grievance directly at Step 2, can management render the case not arbitrable by arguing that (a) the subject matter of the case did not involve safety and health, so (b) the grievance was improperly filed at Step 2 The answer seems obvious— that the Joint Statement is so clearly about safety and health that nobody would ever challenge a Joint Statement violation grieved under Article 14 procedures. But it isn’t all that obvious to some postal managers. NALC advocates recently faced this management argument in two separate California cases. C- 17420, Regional Arbitrator Nancy Hutt, October 7, 1997; C-17542, Regional Arbitrator Charles Rehmus, November 3, 1997. 10) '#%* The first case arose in Long Beach, California, where one morning a letter carrier completed a Form 3996 requesting 30 minutes of auxiliary assistance after casing, pulling down and tying. The carrier brought the form to her supervisor, who ordered the grievant to return to her case, unbundle the mail and count it. During the mail count the carrier and supervisor argued, and another employee later testified that the supervisor was “bugging and bugging Grievant until she started crying.” After that employee left, the grievant reported that she told the supervisor that she (the supervisor) liked to see people suffer, and this exchange followed: Supervisor: That’s right you stupid bitch. I like to see you in misery. Grievant: You are the one who is stupid, you don’t know how to work with your employees. Supervisor: I’m not the one who has a [racial expletive deleted —Ed.] husband at home who kicks my ass all the time. Grievant: What kind of religious woman are you. You profess to be a Baptist, you go to hell. Supervisor: You are already in hell and so is your bitch whore mother. The grievant then left the work area, spoke with an apparently unconcerned station manager about the situation, filled out a Form 3971 and left work. She was not disciplined. At the arbitration hearing a NALC shop steward bolstered the grievant’s testimony about the incident by reporting that the supervisor had previously yelled at employees and lost control. The arbitrator did not believe the supervisor’s contrary testimony, that she had spoken calmly and had not said anything derogatory to the grievant. 4$+64#$+.+6; 557' Given the horrendous supervisory behavior in this case, it is little wonder that USPS pursued an arbitrability argument to bar a hearing on the merits. Management argued that the grievance, filed directly at Step 2 twelve days after the incident, was improperly filed under Article 14. Thus, management asserted, the grievance was untimely filed and not arbitrable. Arbitrator Hutt examined Article 14, Section 2, which states: If an employee believes he/she is being required to work under unsafe conditions, such employee may: (a) notify such employee's supervisor who will immediately investigate the condition and take corrective action if necessary; (b) notify such employee's steward, if available, who may discuss the alleged unsafe condition with such employee's supervisor; (c) file a grievance at Step 2 of the grievance procedure within fourteen (14) days of notifying such employee's supervisor if no corrective action is taken during the employee's tour; and/or (d) make a written report to the Union representative from the local Safety and Health Committee who may discuss the report with such employee's supervisor. (Continued on page 8)
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Interviewing Postal Inspectors, Obtaining Their ... - NALC Branch 908

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