Posting Vacant Assignments

This article will discuss the procedures used to fill vacated and recently created letter carrier assignments, including letter routes, carrier technician assignments, parcel post and collection routes, and reserve letter carrier assignments.

Unless an assignment is under consideration for reversion, the National Agreement requires that it be posted for bid within 14 days of the date it is vacated, or that it be established, in the case of a newly created assignment. The local parties may agree to extend the 14-day time limit.

Article 41 Section 1.A.1 states in part:

1.       A vacant or newly established duty assignment not under consideration for reversion shall be posted within fourteen calendar days from the day it becomes vacant or is established unless a longer period is negotiated locally.

This section goes on to explain the time limits that management must follow if an assignment is under consideration for reversion:

When a position is under consideration for reversion, the decision to revert or not to revert the position shall be made not later than 30 days after it becomes vacant. If the decision is made not to revert, the assignment must be posted within 30 days of the date it becomes vacant. The Employer shall provide written notice to the Union, at the local level, of the assignments that are being considered for reversion and of the results of such consideration.

This provision delays the amount of time between the date that an assignment under consideration for reversion is vacated and the date it must be posted. However, this language does not allow management to adopt a “blanket” policy to consider all vacant routes for reversion. In a national-level settlement, M-01389, the parties agreed to the following:

The issue in the instant grievances involves a local district policy to consider all vacant routes for reversion pursuant to the provisions of Article 41.1.A.1. The parties agreed that a “blanket” policy to consider all vacant routes for reversion prior to posting is inconsistent with the provisions of Article 41.1.A.1. Routes considered for reversion are to be considered on a route-by-route basis.

A complete copy of M-01389, as well as many other key contractual “M” documents, can be found in the Materials Reference System (MRS) at nalc.org/mrs.

Vacant assignments posted for bid are open to all eligible letter carriers employed in the installation, unless the local parties have negotiated local agreements, or a past practice establishes a different method. In accordance with Article 30, Sections B.21 and B.22, the parties may agree to post assignments within a specific section, as opposed to installation wide.

Once an assignment has been posted for bid, the notice must be posted in all offices where letter carriers who are eligible to bid are assigned. In the case of installations with more than one delivery unit, the notice must be posted on the bulletin board in each office. A copy of the bid notice also must be provided to the local union. Employees absent during the time an assignment is posted may receive a copy of the notice; however, the employee must submit a written request for the notice.

The bid notice must be posted for 10 days, unless the local parties have negotiated a different time period in accordance with Article 30, Sections B.21 and B.22. The bid notice must include the information listed in Article 41, Section 1.B.4:

(a) The duty assignment by position title and number (e.g., Key or Standard).

(b) Grade.

(c) Hours of duty (beginning and ending), including, in the case of a Carrier Technician assignment, the hours of duty for each of the component routes.

(d) The fixed or rotating schedule of days of work, as appropriate.

(e) The principal assignment area (e.g., section and/or location of activity).

(f) Invitation to employees to submit bids.

(g) Physical requirement unusual to the assignment.

(h) If a city carrier route is involved, the carrier route number shall be designated. If a Carrier Technician assignment is involved, the route number of the Carrier Technician assignment and the route numbers of the component routes shall be designated.

(i) Date of last inspection and date of last adjustment.

Within 10 days of the date the bid notice closes, management must announce the name of the letter carrier with the most seniority, known as the “successful bidder,” who bid on the route. In the case of a letter carrier who is temporarily disabled and is the successful bidder on an assignment, certain rules apply if the employee cannot assume the job duties. For an in-depth explanation of these rules, see pages 41-7 and 41-8 of the 2014 USPS-NALC Joint Contract Administration Manual (JCAM).

Once the successful bidder has been announced, the employee must be placed on the assignment within 15 days, except during the month of December. Application of this exception does not begin a new 15-day period; the days would stop being counted at the end of November and begin again at the start of January. The total number of days between the close of the bid and the date the employee starts on the assignment is still limited to 15 days.

The following additional contractual provisions pertaining to the posting of assignments may occur from time to time.

• Article 41, Section 1.A.2: Letter carriers who are temporarily detailed to a supervisory position (204-b) may not bid on vacant assignments during the detail. However, the 204-b may voluntarily terminate the detail and then exercise their right to bid when they return to the craft.

• Article 41, Section 1.A.4: Changes in start times or non-scheduled days do not require an assignment to be posted (except as provided in Article 41, Section 1.A.5 explained below).

• Article 41, Section 1.A.5: Article 30, Sections B.21 and B.22 allow the local parties to determine whether a change in start time of more than one hour requires the assignment to be posted.

• Article 41, Section 1.A.6: When the fixed nonscheduled day of an assignment is changed, the new non-workday will be posted. This allows employees to select their non-scheduled day by use of their seniority. This provision does not apply when an assignment with rotating days off has a change in the rotation.

Letter carriers with questions regarding the rules and regulations pertaining to the posting, bidding, and awarding of vacant letter carrier assignments should contact their shop steward or local branch officer.

I want to wish you and your families a happy, healthy, and wonderful holiday season!

Be safe and keep smiling.