We are having things moving in a positive direction, in regards to management granting steward time at Hughes Station, anyway. At Formal A(thank you), which is binding for Hughes management has agreed to follow step 4 settlement under M-00458 on the NALC website. The important part of M-00458 is “‘Reasonable’, in our opinion, dictates that in most cases, the grievant and steward should be able to discuss the grievance without delay but 95 percent of the time with no more than a two-hour delay.” If you are not given steward time in accordance to M-00458, put in another steward time request, and have the steward file an additional Article 15 for non-compliance, and ask for a daily monetary award for each day you have been denied steward time.
Let’s talk disparity of treatment. This isn’t directed at anyone specifically, but I continue to hear rumors. Recently(within the last 4 months or so) as the rumor goes there was a rural carrier that was in an “at fault” accident(motor vehicle collision) that severely damaged both the postal vehicle and the POV. Usually, this will get you at the very least a LOW, or maybe even a NOR(Notice of Removal). In this case, as the rumor goes no discipline was issued. If you’re a carrier in Fresno, and are issued discipline for an accident make sure the steward investigates this, and you must ensure that you are given the same alleged “treatment”, if this rumor actually is true. Article 16.1 states in part: “Is the rule consistently and equitably enforced? A rule must be applied fairly and without discrimination. Consistent and equitable enforcement is a critical factor. Consistently overlooking employee infractions and then disciplining without warning is improper. If employees are consistently allowed to smoke in areas designated as No Smoking areas, it is not appropriate suddenly to start disciplining them for this violation. In such cases, management loses its right to discipline for that infraction, in effect, unless it first puts employees (and the unions) on notice of its intent to enforce that regulation again. Singling out employees for discipline is usually improper. If several similarly situated employees commit an offense, it would not be equitable to discipline only one.”
Article 16.1 is on your side, and it should be extremely unlikely that any discipline would stick if it got to DRT if this is actually true . You also will want to think about filing an Article 19 via M-39 115, at the very least against the management type that issued you the discipline, when other employees got a free pass for a possible at fault accident.
There seemed to have been Article 11 violations on 11-22-2023. It seems in Fresno some F and/or A schedule carrier(s) were improperly mandated, all the while at least 2 CCAs are rumored to have been doing custodial work. In addition, at Hughes there seemed to be 3-5 CCAs doing distribution which is clerk work. If you were mandated on 11-22-2023, and even if 1 CCA at your station did anything but carrier duties, then it very well could be an Article 11 violation. Request steward time in writing, and notify the branch office, so that the possible Article 11 violation is documented. There’s an arbitration decision on Article 11 too.
It seems the message isn’t getting out. When you put in for steward time all you need to do is tell the management type the Article number(s) that you believe were violated. You do not need to tell the management type any of the details. Just say something like Article 8, 15, 17, and 31, or if you want you can say Article 19, Article 19 covers almost everything as it is a catch all Article. If management becomes insistent tell them “Article 19 via M-39 section 115 and others”.
Here is what the M-39 115.4 says:
“Maintain Mutual Respect Atmosphere
The National Agreement sets out the basic rules and rights governing management and employees in their dealings with each other, but it is the front-line manager who controls management’s attempt to maintain an atmosphere between employer and employee which assures mutual respect for each other’s rights and responsibilities.”
As you can read, management’s very own handbook lays out their responsibilities in respecting craft employees. Never let anyone tell you differently.
As always be safe, and Go! Go! Chiefs