Step B Decision: Projections Use in Springfield
All right, more decisions are coming in regarding projections use and it’s time to look over a couple and explain what’s going on. Let’s dig in.
Here we see the official info at the top and the beginning of the issue statements made by the Union. The issues are chiefly management’s use of projections and creating a hostile work environment and noncompliance with previously resolved issues at the National level. You’ll see what that means in a few pages. A couple of important things to see here is the incident date: August 26, 2023. At this time this was still a relatively new thing happening in Springfield, so we were still building our case against this. Our case is much stronger now with the documentation provided by our Union brothers and sisters. Thank you so much for helping us represent you! Also, the Step B decision date is June 19, 2024. Yikes, that timeline… But onward!
Next comes the Decision. The parties agreed a violation occurred, but who are the parties? The parties involved at this level are one Union representative and one Management representative. So when they agree a violation occurred it is saying the Service also agrees a violation occurred. That’s a big deal because what we’re hearing on the workroom floor is “We’re being told to, so we’ve got to do it and the Union will just have to grieve it.” The Union has, the parties agree a violation has happened, now what?
The part about Maintain a Mutual Respect Atmosphere is important. Note that it states a mutual respect atmosphere is upheld when management and employees respect each others’ rights. Your right, as determined by previous settlements and this, are being violated, and thus provably an atmosphere of mutual respect is absent.
Below that we see the carrier’s reporting requirements and that management is to give a proper disposition of the overtime requested. How many times have you heard, “You’ll have to carry it, but it’s unauthorized”? That is in violation of this resolution to a grievance. That’s why we need your statement, and we need the instructions to continue carrying in writing (as well as also protecting you from unauthorized OT).
Lastly, in the Background section we see the Union’s position in the early days of this grievance. Not much has changed in our position, but the documentation to support it is much more detailed.
At the top we see more of the Union position at Formal A. An important thing to note is that management did not meet with the Union. A meeting was held between the Union and management on November 1, 2023 regarding this grievance and previous resolutions in which management stated they would not comply with previous grievance settlements. Unfortunately, November comes after this grievance, so that was not in the case file until the November cases.
The Explanation part states exactly what we’ve documented back then: carriers would turn in a 3996 and it would be “unauthorized,” but at this point they were not using 1017B, it was just completely superficial.
The language cited here in M-01769 and M-01664 are National level settlements that are part of the foundation of this grievance. Projections are not the sole determinant of a carrier’s work day, there are no street standards, and that projections do not establish street or office standards. See how important that is when management says “You’ve got 30 minutes in the office”?
At the top we see the rest of the M-01664 language your local Union has cited. It continues from protecting carriers from projection use into stating management must maintain accurate information for their projection tools. Hey, how many of you think your management team has accurately and honestly logged your volume?
That section from the M-39 is management’s handbook, and you’ll see there that the Step B team clearly illustrates that in Establishing a Leaving Schedule that there is no mention of using projection data to establish leave times or determining carrier’s undertime.
The M-41 handbook, the city letter carrier’s handbook, shows that it is our responsibility to tell management when we’ll be over eight hours. That’s incredibly important. If we just go rogue and don’t tell them we’re going to be over then it’s on us, so always let management know, even if it’s just thirty minutes. Further, the Step B team clearly states that the use of this form indicates the daily variability of delivering mail and that no two days will be the same.
The last part here is language taken from the back of the PS Form 3996, which states that it is management’s responsibility to give a proper disposition of overtime.
M-01242 is the Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace. Some of the document is posted here. Management never will agree they’ve violated this because it’s a big deal, and they’re quick to state that no violence is occurring, so the Union is reaching when we cite this. However, this document also covers threats, intimidation, retaliation, or bullying, not just physical violence. How many of you have had adversarial exchanges with your management team about your mail volume, your projections, or your leave times? How about being told your overtime is unauthorized, but that you’ll just have to work it anyway? Again, this was early in the grievance, so we didn’t have all the documentation we do now, and it’s getting thick my brothers and sisters.
Here the Step B team reviews the decision and explains the outcome once more.
This is the last page of the decision and wrapping it all up.
So what does all this mean?
It means management at the local level in Springfield is being told to abide the principles of our contract and previously resolved grievances, so anytime they don’t they are making the choice to violate the National Agreement and previously resolved grievances. This is just one resolution out of eleven that we have, and they all say the same thing. That’s part good and part bad.
What we don’t have is a deterrent from management violating these provisions. The local Union is aggressively seeking some deterrent language such as “cease and desist” or escalated remedies to ensure this doesn’t continue on into the future. Management in Springfield has made it crystal clear that upper management is directing them to violate these settlements and previously resolved grievances, and local management is complicit in it.
Our grievances keep getting stronger with time going onward, and we can see these are getting resolved from nearly a year ago, so we’re hoping to see stronger resolutions from cases further on in the timeline.
What is clear is that the local Union needs you. We need your statement, your account of things as they happen to you. We need your voice so that we can show it’s still happening and the negative effect it has on the workforce. Your local Union is fighting hard and working with our regional National Business Agent to help protect you, and with your help we can get this egregious, dangerous practice from management under control. That’s what Union Strong is all about.
Updates will come as we get them. Stay safe out there, and exercise your rights to steward time and representation!