ARTICLE 14
129. If your supervisor harasses you or in other ways tries to intimidate you, this is a grievable item in which you ask that he/she be disciplined for his/her conduct.
130. Letter carriers may never deliver in other than daylight hours.
131. The wearing of seat belts is an option to the employee.
132. In LLVs the lap and shoulder belts must be worn whenever the vehicle is in motion.
133. Management may require an employee to ride on the rear fender well of a quarter ton jeep as a way to train letter carriers.
134. Management must require letter carriers to place their vehicle in park with their foot firmly on the brake pedal while collecting mail or placing mail in mailboxes on hills.
135. On level streets, when collecting mail or placing mail in mail boxes, management must ensure carriers place vehicle in neutral and place their foot firmly on the brake pedal.
136. Smoking is prohibited while inside postal vehicles.
137. Local management must provide forms to be available at each installation for reporting unsafe or unhealthful conditions.
138. Management has 14 days to address a complaint listed on Form 1767.
139. If a letter carrier has a job-related vehicle accident, the employer must notify the local Union president of such an accident.
ARTICLE 15
140. A 204-B may not serve as the management representative in a Step 1 grievance meeting per Article 15, Section 2, Step l(a) of the National Agreement.
141. The grievant has no right to be in attendance at the Step I meeting.
142. The Steward may not process their own grievance at either Step I or Step 2.
143. Any carrier can hold their own Step I meeting and make any adjustments without the Union's consent.
144. If you resolve a grievance at Step 1, the resolve is considered precedent-setting for all future grievances concerning the same subject matter.
145. If you cannot resolve a grievance at Step I and an appeal to Step 2 is required, it must be done on the Standard Grievance Form.
146. The presence of the grievant at the Step 2 grievance meeting is determined by the Union.
147. It is better to withhold information until the Step 2 grievance meeting for its surprise effect.
148. Management is required to pay the grievant for the time spent traveling to and from a Step 2 grievance meeting.
149. Union Stewards are compensated not only for the actual meeting time at Step 2, but also for travel time both to and from the meeting.
150. After you have met at Step 2, the Postal Service must issue a written decision stating their position, if denied.
The written Step 2 decision letter must contain:
1.
2.
3.
151. Forms 2608 and 2609 which are grievance summaries at Step 1 and Step 2 filled out by the Postal Service are documents which the Union has a right to see during the grievance procedure.
152. While completing the Step 2 Standard Grievance Form is done on the clock, the additions and corrections is not.
153. An appeal to Step 3 must include a copy of:
1. The Standard Grievance Form,
2. The written Step 2 decision letter, and
3. Any Union additions/corrections to the Step 2 answer.
154. A Steward must write the actual appeal to Step 3 on their own time.
155. The parties must share any and all information relied upon to support their positions in a grievance and it is to be exchanged at the lowest possible step.
156. The investigation of a grievance need not be complete before it is appealed to a higher level.
157. The representatives for the Union and management have an obligation to try and resolve grievances at the lowest possible level.
158. Postal employee witnesses at arbitration hearings are paid for the time spent testifying at the hearing.
159. Management is liable for the payment of travel time for Stewards and witnesses to and from the arbitration hearing.
160. Decisions issued by regional arbitrators are precedent setting and must be followed by arbitrators dealing with the same issue in subsequent proceedings.
161. If new information or argument is raised for the first time at the arbitration hearing, then such information should be considered by the arbitrator.
162. Arbitrators have the authority to fashion remedies outside the scope of the National Agreement, including Handbooks and Manuals, to make a grievant whole.
163. The remedy requested by the Union through the grievance procedure may not normally be altered at arbitration.
164. Once an arbitrator finds a grievant guilty of the charge, they usually deny the grievance in total.
165. Retired employees may not initiate grievances.
166. If an individual has left the Service by either resignation, retirement or death, the grievance of that individual is thereby barred from further processing.
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