EARNED HOURS DEFEATED IN REGULAR ARBITRATION!

Assistant Director of the Clerk Division, Lamont Brooks, delivers GREAT NEWS from a local arbitration that took place in New York. This is the door opener for ALL locals. Through attention to detail and patience, we can…

WIN  WIN  WIN

WE CAN WIN AS A TEAM. TOGETHER WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL!

Please share with your APWU local leaders and members!!! Stay encouraged.

First of all I would like to thank and congratulate Pete Coradi (New York Region Clerk Division National Business Agent) who did an excellent job as always  advocating the national Union’s position on challenging the Postal Service’s Dashboard/Job Bid Management (JBM) initiative. Pete is the Lead NBA for the New York region assigned to assist the respective locals with combatting this injustice. He also added an excellent Step Three Corrections and Additions to the grievance file in accordance with Article 15.2.Step 3©. With the help of John Dirzius, (APWU Northeast Regional Coordinator), Vance Zimmerman (APWU DIR) and Elizabeth Powell (APWU Secretary/Treasurer, Pete was able to get the case advanced to arbitration and scheduled in an expeditious  manner using priority scheduling under Article 15.  Pete was also the first NBA in the nation to advocate and win in regular arbitration the first Article 37.3.A.1 grievance on the obligation for the Postal Service to make every effort to create desirable duty assignments from all available work hours for career employees to bid.

I also want acknowledge the hard work of Kevin Smith (APWU Southern New York Area Local President) and his local for handling this case at steps one and two and providing the MDAT analysis.

On behalf of Clint Burelson and the Clerk Division, I want to thank Mark Dimondstein (APWU National President), Debbie Szeredy (APWU Vice President), Elizabeth (Liz) Powell (APWU Secretary/ Treasurer) and Vance Zimmerman (Director of Industrial Relations) and the many other resident national officers involved in this fight. I want thank the five APWU Regional Coordinators, Lead NBA and all the other NBAs for help in combating this “earned hours” Postal Service agenda. We want to thank in advance the State/Local Presidents, Officers, Stewards and Members for sticking together and fighting the good cause to preserve a good service to the public and protect our jobs. We can’t become complacent or grow weary. Thanks to our office assistant Geoff Knowles.la

Who will be next to properly document an Article 37.3.A.1 case with MDAT, challenging the Postal Service’s improper use of earned hours (reverting and/or abolishments) of duty assignments and help move it to the top of the arbitration docket to be heard before an Arbitrator,. We can’t let it be New York region again. If we consistently win these companion cases with no loss of jobs, the Postal Service will thrash this initiative.

The Postal Service went in with the ideal of eliminating a duty assignment (reversion) via Dashboard/Job Bid Management (JBM) and the final result:

DRUM ROLL!!

The UNION ENDS UP WITH A NET GAIN OF TWO DUTY ASSIGNMENTS.

This is how it works if the locals properly file the grievances as recommended by the national union with the assistance of the Lead NBAs and then the NBAs with the assistance of APWU HQ priority schedule the case for arbitration.

Lead NBAs must help the locals file the proper grievance. As you win these cases, you will win the battle. The Arbitrator rejected the USPS “earned hours” concept, ruling in favor of the contractual Article 37.3.A.1 language.  For that installation, that ruling is precedent setting. What this means is under the doctrine of stares decisis and collateral estoppel, the Postal Service in this installation cannot prevail using earned hours instead of all available hours (using MDAT). This is huge. This is why we have to take forward well documented good cases. The APWU national clerk division will review all cases prior to hearing and the cases must be advocated by a NBA unless approved in advance.

SUMMARY OF THE AWARD

On page 19 of the award, the Arbitrator stated:

“Considering the evidence in its entirety, the arbitrator is persuaded that the Service violated one of the three-prong requirements of Article 37.3 (A)(2) for reverting a vacant position.”

On page 18 of the award, the Arbitrator stated:

“The arbitrator is also persuaded that the Service violated article 37.3.A.1 when it did not consider all available work hours, including PSE work hours, in order to create a full-time, forty (40) hour clerk craft position in Tarrytown, NY. The Service’s failure to consider all available hours PSE work hours violate article 37.3.A.1, specifically the language that “every effort will be made to create desirable duty assignments from all available work hours for career employees to bid.” This contract language has been reinforced by a Settlement Agreement, dated 11/242015 Re: Q10C-4Q-C 15066902 / HQTC 20150219 and is derived from a Step 4 Settlement Agreement, dated February 25, 2015 “obligating the Postal Service to make every effort to create desirable duty assignments from all available work hours for career employees to bid; however, this provision does not require the conversion of Postal Support Employees (PSEs) to career.”

On page 18, the Arbitrator stated:

“The parties’ mutual acceptance of the MDAT format to identify the most desirable duty assignments is described in the MDAT Mission Statement as follows: By requesting the clock rings in the traditional PDF format and the CSV format, the USPS has an opportunity to compare the clock rings and to do their review to verify the accuracy of the reports at step two of the grievance procedure, in accordance with Article 15.”

On pages 18-19, the Arbitrator stated:

“Given the data analysis provided by MDAT, specifically the work hours of PSEs Richburg and Rolle, based on Management’s evidence (CSV and PDF formatted clock rings) for the period PP 23-16, Week 1 through PP4-17, Week 1, the arbitrator is persuaded that one (1) FTR, forty(40) hour Clerk Craft position cab be created in Tarrytown, New York. The Arbitrator stated on page #19 , ‘The remedy is consistent with National Arbitrator Stephen Goldberg’s award in Case No. Q10C-4Q-C 12320729 (2013) where he found that “the negotiators of the 2010 Agreement knew how to impose on the Postal Service the obligation to combine PSE hours when doing so would yield duty assignments for career employee. They did so for bidding purposes in article 373.A.1.”

On page 20, the arbitrator stated:

“Finally, the Arbitrator concurs with the union that the concept of “earned complement” has neither been identified in contract language nor in case law as a rationale that can be used to eliminate a duty assignment otherwise promulgated by MDAT”

Summary: The Postal Service reverted a vacant duty assignment utilizing “earned hours’ taken from Dashboard/Job Bid Management (JBM). The Union challenged the action by filing an Article 37.3.A.1 (Posting and Bidding) grievance and an Article 37.3.A.2 (Reversion)

Arbitrator Award:

  1. The Service violated Article 37.3.A.2 of the CBA. As a remedy, it shall post the vacated position for bid and the successful bidder shall be placed in the duty assignment. If there is no successful bidder, then the senior PTF Clerk shall be converted to FTR and placed in the position.
  2. The Service violated Article 37.3.A.1of the CBA. As a remedy, the Service will create a forty (40) hour FTR duty assignment at the Tarrytown Post Office. In creating this FTR position, the Service shall consider all available work hours, specifically the PSE work hours of PSEs A and B as identified by the MDAT analysis.

The Arbitrator rejected the Union’s “ripple effect” as he was unable discern a nexus between the Goldberg National Award, involving 800 positions and the extensive remedy and the creation of one (1) FTR Clerk Craft position from PSE hours pursuant to an MDAT analysis.

Unfortunately he did not grant out of schedule pay which is the customary remedy for this type of violation. It is very important to ask for a full-time 40 hour position and at least out of schedule pay as part of your make whole remedy. I am of the personal belief that we will have a better chance for a “ripple effect’ remedy when we grieve a posting involving multiple jobs.

Keep up the good work and stay encouraged during these very stressful times. Thank you again for all you are doing.

In union solidarity, the struggle continues.

Lamont Brooks
Assistant Director
Clerk Division
APWU, AFL-CIO

 

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