The 5pm Window of Operation
Management has once again created a new policy that they have been using to violate the contract. The policy of getting carriers off of the street at a certain time. In some places it is 5pm, and sometimes 6pm. To be clear, management has every right under Article 3 to institute a policy to attempt to end their operations at a certain time at night. However, creating such a policy does not give them the right to violate the contractual provisions of the National Agreement. It does not give them a right to give carriers false expectations that according to their “numbers,” you have to be back here at 5. I have been made aware of some alarming trends that management has been doing to meet the 5pm Window of operation. (WOO) One thing they do, is they have supervisors, whether that is the 204B or even the Postmaster in some cases, perform craft work. Casing mail, delivering parcels, and taking relays out to the street and delivering mail while on duty as a supervisor. We as a Union, cannot allow them to take our work. Many offices out there have recently lost routes due to a route adjustment that management claimed we didn’t have enough work to sustain the number of routes in the office. They do their count, and they add time to routes and abolish the assignment. Now they want to do our work for us. We cannot allow them to do this. The language is clear, and unambiguous:
Article 1 of the JCAM explains:
The prohibition against supervisors performing bargaining unit work also applies to acting supervisors (204b). The PS Form 1723, which shows the times and dates of the 204b detail, is the controlling document for determining whether an employee is in a 204b status. A separate PS Form 1723 is used for each detail. A single detail may not be broken up on multiple PS Forms 1723 for the purpose of using a 204b on overtime in lieu of a bargaining unit employee. Article 41.1.A.2 requires that a copy of the Form 1723 be provided to the union at the local level.
Some managers may mistakenly call the actions an “emergency” therefore claiming they have a right to perform craft work. They are misguided when they make that claim.
Additionally, Article 1 of the JCAM explains:
An emergency is defined in Article 3.F as “an unforeseen circumstance or a combination of circumstances which calls for immediate action in a situation which is not expected to be of a recurring nature.”
If we have carriers who can perform that work, there is no emergency, and it doesn’t matter if that brings us back after the 5PM WOO. An emergency is not a “call in” or short staff either. These would never constitute an “emergency.”
We should be filing grievances and getting carriers paid for this work, as well as getting the times corrected, so proper credit is given to the corresponding routes that the managers are working on.
Article 1 of the JCAM goes on to explain:
The Settlement Agreement NC-E-4716, November 24, 1978 (M-00206) between the NALC and USPS, which was intended to be of general application, provides that “where additional work hours would have been assigned to employees but for a violation of Article 1.6.A, and where such work hours are not de minimis, the employee(s) whom management would have assigned the work, shall be paid for the time involved at the applicable rate.” (de minimis means “trifling, unimportant, inconsequential.”)
Additionally, Management is also causing violations to Article 8 by denying the Overtime Desired list (ODL) carriers’ work. They wind up forcing Non ODL carriers to perform work they do not want and did not sign up for. Management cannot violate Article 8, simply to have carriers back by the made-up WOO. We should be filing grievances to get the ODL carriers paid and prevent Non-ODL carriers from being forced to work Overtime.
Some Overtime rules to remember when you are ready to file a grievance:
The Letter Carrier Paragraph (LCP) on Page 8-15 of the JCAM states prior to forcing Non-ODL Carriers to work overtime on another assignment Management must seek to use a carrier from the ODL, even if the ODL carrier would be working penalty overtime. The LCP states in part:
“In the Letter Carrier Craft, where Management determines that overtime or auxiliary assistance is needed on an employee’s route on one of employee’s regularly scheduled days and the employee is not on the overtime desired list, the employer will seek to utilize auxiliary assistance, when available, rather than requiring the employee to work mandatory overtime.”
“Before requiring a non-ODL carrier to work overtime on a non-scheduled day or off his/her own assignment, Management must seek to use a carrier from the ODL, even if the ODL carrier would be working penalty overtime.”
Mandatory Overtime. One purpose of the Overtime Desired List is to excuse full-time carriers not wishing to work overtime from having to work overtime. Before requiring a Non-ODL carrier to work overtime on a nonscheduled day or off his/her own assignment on a regularly scheduled day, Management must seek to use a carrier from the ODL, even if the ODL carrier would be working penalty overtime. However, if the Overtime Desired List does not provide sufficient qualified full-time regulars for required overtime, Article 8.5.D permits Management to move off the list and require Non-ODL carriers to work overtime on a rotating basis starting with the junior employee.
Furthermore, Page 8-22 of the JCAM that states in part:
The Work Assignment List was established for full-time letter carriers who only want to work overtime on their own assignment on regularly scheduled days. Signing up for the Work Assignment overtime does not create any entitlement or obligation to work overtime on a non-scheduled day. For purposes of overtime on a non-scheduled day or on other than their own assignment, carriers on the Work Assignment List are treated exactly the same as any other full-time carriers not on the Overtime Desired List—They may only be required to work overtime under the provisions of Article 8.5.D.
This time of year, carriers should be taking extra breaks in the heat. This will affect how long you are using the street. Make sure you add that to your PS Form 3996 when you are informing management of the time you need to complete your assignment. This will help when they attempt to give you work for “down time.” Start making notes of these violations and bring it to the attention to your Shop Steward or Full Time Officer. We need to stop this issue now, before we start to lose more routes. Enjoy the rest of the summer. Stay safe and hydrated!
