Springfield: Impasses
Hello there everyone, and happy Sunday. I hope you had a great week and a fantastic Labor Day. I’d like to say a humble “Thank You” to all those who give so much to the labor movement so that we have the rights we do. Nobody wants to give us our rights or compensate us fairly, our history tells us that, and that’s why it’s so important to stand up for our contract and our rights bargained within it. That said, let’s get into what’s happening in your local area grievance-wise so you know what’s up. I know the article says Springfield, but this is applicable to anyone in the surrounding area too because it’s coming your way.
Requests for Arbitration for a stack of grievances.
The Main Repetitive Issues
Members of your local steward team have been grieving the same issues for a long time; improper mandates, management’s use of projections, maximum hours, and denied steward time. Those are the big ones we’ve had to go over and over. While some of these have gotten better none of it is fixed, and that’s what we want: no violations, not less violations.
When we talk about “things are getting better,” it’s namely maximum hours and steward time grievances we’re referencing. We’re seeing less carriers worked beyond their maximum hours across the board, which is great, but it still happens every once in a while. Your stewards are getting more time to actually work grievances, so more are being filed, but we’re not getting all that we need to keep the process going.
Management’s use of projections is out of control and completely inappropriate contract-wise, which we continue to grieve. The improper practice they are using is generating tons of improper mandates, which we continue to grieve. Then, management’s use of projection data is creating other violations, which is another violation! Yeah, it’s getting pretty deep in here. Management has told your local Union representatives outright they will not stop, even with grievance resolutions ordering them to.
In the last year our cases have gotten much thicker, much more well-supported, and have many more precedent level settlements in them to show these are ongoing, willful, and egregious violations. You carriers that have provided statements: thank you so much. Your statements are supported by the data we show and illustrate how these continued violations affect our workroom floor. That is a critical element of our strategy, the human cost, so any time your rights are violated please continue to request steward time so we can get that on the books and let your voice be heard.
Precedent Setting Resolutions
This refers to grievances that are escalated to Step B for resolution. The levels of the grievance procedure go like this:
Informal A- the first step at which the case is developed and met on to prevent escalation.
Formal A- the second step at which the case is solidified. This is the most important level because beyond this the case file cannot be changed; everything needs to be included and air tight here.
Step B/Dispute Resolution Team- the third step in which points made at Formal A are discussed at higher levels for attempted resolution prior to Arbitration. These are precedent setting and can be referenced at Informal and Formal A levels to show how it was ruled on previously.
Arbitration- the final level at which an arbitrator reviews all arguments in the case and make a ruling. This can go either way regardless of how air tight things are at Formal A, truly the Wild West. This is precedent setting like Step B is.
As of this writing we have 60+ precedent setting resolutions in the Union’s favor regarding Maximum Hours and Improper Mandates. We have 20+ precedent setting resolutions in the Union’s favor regarding Projections Use. Finally, we have 50+ precedent setting resolutions in the Union’s favor regarding Off the Clock Grievance Handling. These have all occurred within the last year and a half. As you can see, your team has been very busy.
But why haven’t the violations stopped then?
USPS has created internal initiatives that are in direct contrast to the National Agreement, so they are choosing to ignore it. These initiatives are tied directly to management’s fiscal performance bonuses. You can read more about that by searching for the Pay for Performance USPS program.
Additionally, we haven’t gotten strong enough deterrents through the grievance resolution process. When a remedy is decided, management and the Union must comply with it. In the instances where a party does not comply, we cite is as noncompliance under Article 15 of the National Agreement. When the Union does not get compliance from the Service we ask for an escalated remedy as an incentive for them to not violate it further. So far, our locally requested escalated remedies have been denied largely at the Step B process by both parties, leaving us with little deterrent at the installation level. We have a little escalation monetarily, but it’s evident that is not enough.
That's where all of our precedent setting resolutions and your statements come in.
Impasse Galore
Recently, your local team reached out to the National Business Agent’s office to talk about our repetitive grievances, remedies from the Step B, and how we can handle cases going forward. After reviewing cases and the timeline of issues, it became clear that our documentation is now strong enough to pursue stronger language in our remedies. Since that time, your local steward team has received many “Impasses” from the Step B team, and even certifications for Arbitration by the National Business Agent.
Impasses mean that the parties (Union and management) do not agree on an element of the grievance, and that the Union needs to decide if the case is strong enough to go to Arbitration for resolution. Arbitration isn’t done lightly because it is precedent setting and if we get a loss at arbitration it is bad for the Union, so we have to have a really strong case. Thankfully, it is believed we have strong enough cases to go to arbitration that show egregious, willful violation of the contract that is ongoing and institutional within the Service.
That’s great for us. While it will take longer to resolve the grievances, we’re really not after a quick pay day of monetary awards and pay adjustments; we want strong language and deterrents that will make the violations stop. Getting more precedent setting resolutions helps us if further violations continue, and if the resolutions manage to stop the violations that’s even better.
Largely, the Impasses are based on the requested remedies by your local stewards. Your team is asking for a lot because the nature of the violations and grievances merit it. The Service’s position is they agree violations are happening regularly, and yes violations are institutional, but they don’t agree they should have to stop or have any deterrent. Basically, management doesn’t want to be accountable for breach of contract in any capacity, and will not agree to any remedy that is not listed in the National Agreement. That last part is buck wild because there are no remedies listed in the National Agreement, they have only been adopted through the grievance resolution process and added to a Joint Contract Administration Manual, not the National Agreement itself. Management will be painfully obtuse to further their argument, so we prepared for this by providing information to arbitrators in the case files to show they have the latitude to create remedies that will stop violations. Hopefully this will empower arbitrators to help us overcome these obstacles and stop the abuse of our contract.
The Resolution is Coming
We’re doing all we can at the local level to get eyes on our region, to show how bad things have been here, and working to prevent it in the future. While I’m very glad for our grievance procedure, because without it we could not enforce our contract at all, but it is very lengthy and requires patience.
Everyone knows this career is a marathon, not a sprint; the grievance process can be like that too. Have patience with the process, your stewards don’t like it either but we don’t have another tool.
Stay pumped, get connected to your local Union, ask questions, and stay tuned. Thank you for your interest, showing up to the Union meetings asking questions, and helping us make great cases. Be safe, and have a great week ahead.