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Omar M. Gonzalez |
It Takes a Village to Contain a Monster
Omar M. Gonzalez
Western Region Coordinator
(This article was first published in the April-June 2011 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)
P icture a scene from an old horror movie — the villagers, armed with pitchforks, working together to defeat a looming monster. As residents of the APWU “village,” abusive postal managers are the “monsters” that make our work lives miserable. In order to fight our villains, pitchforks may not be the weapon of choice, but we are armed with our best defense: our union contract!
Our ‘Pitchforks’
The Collective Bargaining Agreement is a potent weapon. A copy of the 2010-2015 Tentative Agreement between the union and management is in your ratification packet, along with your ballot. Read it — and cast your vote!
Articles 3, 14, and 19 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) can be particularly helpful in combating managerial abuse.
Article 3 requires abusive managers to comply with postal regulations, laws, and the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Article 19 enforces handbooks, which impose working conditions, such as Codes of Conduct.
Article 14 imposes on management the responsibility to provide safe working conditions, as well as the union’s obligation to ensure compliance. Once health and safety hazards are reported, they must be investigated immediately and corrected during the reporting employee’s tour of duty: As the contract says, health and safety issues must be given priority.
Article 14.2 dictates that health and safety issues be given special priority handling. Health and safety grievances may be appealed directly to Step 2. If these grievances are denied, they should not be appealed to Step 3, and they should not be “remanded” for further consideration by the local parties.
Safety and health grievances that remain unresolved after a Step 2 meeting can be appealed to the Joint Labor-Management Safety Committee, or they may be appealed directly to arbitration. If the Safety Committee fails to meet or resolve a grievance, it should be appealed to arbitration. Safety and health grievances can be placed on the top of the arbitration docket.
In small offices, the union should request that a Joint Labor-Management Safety and Health Committee be formed, or the local should place safety and health issues on the agenda of regular Labor-Management Meetings.
Although OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, has no standards for “workplace violence,” reporting unsafe practices, disorderly or menacing conduct, and harassment can be related to OSHA pursuant to 1977.9(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Section 11.C. (1) prohibits discrimination or discipline for reporting unhealthy conditions.
The ‘Village’
When faced with an unsafe working environment or an abusive manager, union members must take the first action by filing a Form 1767 reporting the abusive boss.
For example, the report could read:
“Supervisor [name] continues to violate ELM Chapters 6 and 8 by harassing, intimidating, threatening and bullying employee(s) and is creating unsafe, unhealthful working conditions when on [date], [supervisor] did the following…”) The completed form must be submitted to the safety manager. Provide a copy to the union.
Stewards must investigate, document, and attempt to solve the issue promptly.
Remember, by working together, we can contain these work floor monsters!
New Excessing Tools
The Tentative Agreement appears to give Regional Coordinators Sharyn Stone, Mike Gallagher, John Dirzius, Princella Vogel, you, and me additional excessing tools.
These tools include mandatory Comparative Hour Reports, identification of jobs for placement, district-wide transfers to residual vacancies, mandatory advance notice, and limits on excessing and the radius for reassignments.
The interpretation and application of “non-traditional assignments,” the impact of district-wide transfers on withholding, and incremental excessing remain to be seen. Protections against layoffs are critical.
You are the union! You have an obligation to read the Tentative Agreement, consider the impact of the changes to you, your family’s interests, and your job. Cast your vote accordingly. Don’t leave your destiny to others!
