Category: From National

Lead Clerk Duty Assignments and TACS Training and Duties
Re: Q15C-4Q-C18000314/ Q15C-4Q-C18273555

In this dispute initiated by the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), there were three issues considered.  In case Q15C-4Q-C18000314 the issue was, “whether employees occupying Lead Clerk duty assignments and who perform timekeeping duties must be given access to the Enterprise Resource Management System (eRMS).”

The issues in case #Q15C-4Q-C18273555 were 1) whether the February 4, 2016, Step 4 settlement agreement regarding Q10C-4Q-C15194931/HQTC20150814, required that Lead Clerks who are not assigned timekeeping duties be provided the same Time and Attendance Collection (TACS) training as those Lead Clerks who perform such duties; and 2) whether all non-supervisory/non-managerial TACS duties have been assigned to the Clerk Craft.

The Postal Service had been refusing to properly train Lead Clerks and assign them to perform TACS duties, which is bargaining unit work.

The parties resolved the three issues with the following understanding:

1. “ERMS is identified as a Management tool, accessible to management, used to monitor and manage employee attendance. In accordance with the Clerical Work MOU, the Clerk Craft Jobs MOU and the Q1OC-4Q-C 15194931/ HQTC20150814 national settlement dated February 4, 2016, employees assigned the Lead Clerk Clock Office Role in TACS are not prohibited from entering supervisor approved leave into TAGS. The Lead Clerk Clock Office Role was created in TACS in accordance with the 2010 Agreement which established the Lead Clerk positions and returned this type of administrative/technical work to the bargaining unit.

2. In accordance with the February 4, 2016, Step 4 settlement agreement, all Lead Clerks must receive required training. The required training for Lead Clerks assigned the Lead Clerk Clock Office Role in TACS is:

Course #31267-01 Time and Attendance Collection System- Supervisor Training

1. a)            In facilities that qualify for more than one (1) Lead Clerk duty assignment, not all Lead Clerks must be assigned TACS duties, however, management must provide the required Lead Clerk Clock Office Role training to additional Lead Clerks in order to provide appropriate coverage for each tour (F1 Mail Processing), days off and leave. This will ensure that the TACS duties associated with the Lead Clerk Clock Office Role are performed by Clerk Craft bargaining unit employees.

1. b)            If, in the future, the Postal Service makes changes to the Lead Clerk Clock Office Role training, to remove modules that are exclusive to supervisors and unnecessary for Lead Clerks, or to make updates to the Lead Clerk Clock Office Role, Labor Relations at the national level will provide notification to the Union in accordance with Article 19 of the collective bargaining agreement.

1. c)            If the Postal Service migrates non-managerial/non-supervisory timekeeping duties into applications other than TACS, the associated work will either continue to be available in TACS for performance by the Clerk Craft or access to the application(s) will be given to Clerk Craft employees for the performance of such work.

1. d)            Effective with the signing of this agreement, TACS duties may be included by local management in the Lead Clerk duty assignment postings for those duty assignments properly designated to perform the Lead Clerk Clock Office Role in TACS.

1. e)            In facilities with Lead Clerks in duty assignments previously posted and awarded, who are currently performing TACS duties or that TACS duties were annotated on the bid posting, they will be grandfathered into this Agreement. If not previously provided, they will receive the required training, course #31267-01.

1. f)             In facilities with Lead Clerks in duty assignments previously posted and awarded, and there are no Lead Clerks currently performing the TACS duties, the senior Lead Clerk in the facility will receive the required training, course #31267 -01, and be assigned to perform the TACS duties. The parties at the local level may mutually agree to an alternative Lead Clerk in the facility to be trained/assigned in lieu of the senior Lead Clerk.

1. g)            In facilities where there are multiple Lead Clerks, those Lead Clerks who have not been assigned timekeeping duties, are not required to receive the above referenced training. However, it is recommended they receive LMS Course #10025624, Lead Clerk Overview Training.

The parties further agree that any local grievances held in abeyance that remain unresolved by this agreement are subject to the grievance/arbitration procedure at the local/regional level.”

In addition to reinforcing that the USPS must train Lead Clerks and assign them to perform TACS duties, the addition of including TACS duties on Lead Clerk duty assignments when there is more than one Lead Clerk duty assignment in an installation will allow employees to make an informed decision when bidding on Lead Clerk duty assignments.

Please share with your APWU local/state officers, stewards and members.

In union solidarity, the struggle continues.

Lamont Brooks
Assistant Director “A”
Clerk Division
APWU, AFL-CIO