|
Sunriver Regional Assembly |
|
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. False - See Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace. There is no provision in the National Agreement which requires a supervisor to be disciplined if his/her conduct is improper. However, the Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace would control. 130. Letter carriers may never deliver in other than daylight hours. False - See M-00483 Step 4 131. The wearing of seat belts is an option to the employee. False - See M-00547 a Postal Bulletin dated November 21, 1984 Seat belts must be worn at all times when the vehicle is in motion. 132. In LLVs the lap and shoulder belts must be worn whenever the vehicle is in motion. False - See M-00968, USPS letter March 23, 1987 In instances when shoulder belts hamper curb delivery, only lap belts need to be worn. 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. False - See M-00722 Step 4 134. 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. True - See M-00341, Pre-arb, March 22, 1974, M-00994, M-00972 Step 4's This is with regard to curbside delivery. 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. True - See M-00994 and M-00972 Step 4's This is with regard to curbside delivery. 136. Smoking is prohibited while inside postal vehicles. False - M-00950 Step 4 If the smoker is not accompanied by a non-smoker. 137. Local management must provide forms to be available at each installation for reporting unsafe or unhealthful conditions. True - Article 14, Section 2. Refers to Standard Form 1767. 138. Management has 14 days to address a complaint listed on Form 1767. False - See Article 14 Section 2 Instructions on 1767 say management has no less than the end of the shift or 24 hours. 139. If a letter carrier has a job-related vehicle accident, the employer must notify the local Union president of such an accident. True - Article 41, Section 3(P) It need not be in writing and can be an oral notification.
ARTICLE 15 140. A 204-B may not serve as the management representative in a Step I grievance meeting per Article 15, Section 2, Step l(a) of the National Agreement. False - See M-00824 Step 4 141. The grievant has no right to be in attendance at the Step 1 meeting. False - See M-00223 Step 4 142. The Steward may not process their own grievance at either Step 1 or Step 2. False - See M-00327 Step 4 143. Any carrier can hold their own Step 1 meeting and make any adjustments without the Union's consent. False - M-01065 Pre-arb Absent a waiver by the bargaining representative Section 9(a) of the National Labor Relations Act requires the representative be present at the adjustment portion of the grievance meeting. 144. If you resolve a grievance at Step 1, the resolve is considered precedent setting for all future grievances concerning the same subject matter. False - Article 15, Section 2 A resolve at Step 1 is never precedent setting. 145. If you cannot resolve a grievance at Step 1 and an appeal to Step 2 is required, it must be done on the Standard Grievance Form. True - Article 15, Section 2 (except in DRT test sites) 146. The presence of the grievant at the Step 2 grievance meeting is determined by the Union. True - See M-00790 Step 4 147. It is better to withhold information until the Step 2 grievance meeting for its surprise effect. False - See M-00166 Step 4 It is the position of the NBA's office that any withholding of information which the parties clearly had at a lower level could be a possible argument of the Service at arbitration for either arbitrary and capricious action on the part of the Unions, or provide the basis for a motion to exclude such evidence. 148. Management is required to pay the grievant for the time spent traveling to and from a Step 2 grievance meeting. False - See C#03214 National Arbitrator Mittenthal 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. False - See M-00716 Step 4 150. After you have met at Step 2, the Postal Service must issue a written decision stating their position, if denied. True - Article 15, Section 2 The written Step 2
decision letter must contain: 151. Forms 2608 and 2609 which are grievance summaries at Step I and Step 2 filled out by the Postal Service are documents which the Union has a right to see during the grievance procedure. True - See M-00315 and M-00316 Step 4's The Union representative at Step 2 has a right and should request Form 2608 and the Union representative at Step 3 has a right to receive the 2609. 152. While completing the Step 2 Standard Grievance Form is done on the clock, the additions and corrections is not. False - See M-01 145, APWU Step 4 153. An appeal to Step 3 must include a copy of: 1. The Standard
Grievance Form, True - Article 15, Section 2. 154. A Steward must write the actual appeal to Step 3 on their own time. False - See C#00381 National Arbitrator Mittenthal The Steward is entitled to be paid for the time spent writing an appeal to Step 3. 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. True - M-00313 Step 4 156. The investigation of a grievance need not be complete before it is appealed to a higher level. True - See M-00878, Step 4, November 14, 1988 157. The representatives for the Union and management have an obligation to try and resolve grievances at the lowest possible level. True - Article 15, Section 3.A. 158. Postal employee witnesses at arbitration hearings are paid for the time spent testifying at the hearing. True - See M-00101 Step 4 This is an accurate answer except that the Postal Service is not obligated to pay for overtime outside the schedule of the employee, nor would they be liable for pay on the non-scheduled day of a witness. 159. Management is liable for the payment of travel time for Stewards and witnesses to and from the arbitration hearing. False - See C#04657 160. Decisions issued by regional arbitrators are precedent setting and must be followed by arbitrators dealing with the same issue in subsequent proceedings. False - Article 15 Section 4 Decisions from regional arbitrators are citeable only for persuasive value and not for precedent setting value. That is, they are not absolute and arbitrators who rule subsequently are free to pursue a decision other than that which was arrived at by a regional arbitrator. On the other hand, national arbitration decisions are precedent setting and regional arbitrators are bound by them. See C#07233 National Arbitrator Bernstein. See also M-01372 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. True - See C#03319 National Arbitrator Aaron, C#03206 National Arbitrator Mittenthal and C#07621 Regional Arbitrator Goodman. However, Arbitrator Aaron has held that "the spirit of the rule (against new arguments at arbitration) should not be diminished by excessively technical construction. " 162. Arbitrators have the authority to fashion remedies outside the scope of the National Agreement, including Handbooks and Manuals, to make a grievant whole. True - See C#03200 National Arbitrator Gamser The whole issue of permissive remedies is a relatively new area but the principle is most simply expressed as "there is no right without a remedy." The reasoning simply put is that there are many breaches of the Agreement for which the parties have not specifically stated what the remedy should be. Therefore, it is within the inherent rights of the arbitrator to fashion such a remedy and such should be remembered as we write requested remedies in the grievance procedure. 163. The remedy requested by the Union through the grievance procedure may not normally be altered at arbitration. True - See C#06871 Regional Arbitrator Sobel What is important in this case is that while the Union cannot change the remedy the arbitrator may do so if it can be shown that the individual who wrote the grievance was either inexperienced or misinformed. It is to be remembered that this is just one arbitrator's opinion while most of the body of arbitral case law would be against this position. 164. Once an arbitrator finds a grievant guilty of the charge, they usually deny the grievance in total. True Most arbitrators agree with the position of noted Arbitrator Benjamin Aaron, Professor of Law at UCLA who has stated previously: "Once I determined in my mind that the grievant is guilty as charged, either by his own admission or through the preponderance of evidence demonstrated by management, I will not impose my opinion on the supervisor as to how much discipline is warranted for a given offense. Under most cases after guilt has been determined, I will allow the supervisor's decision on how much discipline is necessary to stand unchallenged. " 165. Retired employees may not initiate grievances. True - See C#06363 National Arbitrator Bernstein 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. False - See M-00226 Memorandum of Understanding dated October 16, 1981
Back to [WSALC] back to Q&A home page |