Section 15.3

Section 15.3 Grievance Procedure-General

1. The parties expect that good faith observance, by their respective representatives, of the principles and procedures set forth above will result in settlement or withdrawal of substantially all grievances initiated hereunder at the lowest possible step and recognize their obligation to achieve that end. Every effort shall be made to ensure timely compliance and payment of monetary grievance settlements and arbitration awards. The Employer agrees that upon receipt of necessary paperwork, from the grievant and/or union, concerning a grievance settlement or arbitration award, monetary remuneration will be made. The necessary paperwork is the documents and statements specified in Subchapter 436.4 of the ELM. The Employer will provide the union copies of appropriate pay adjustment forms, including confirmation that such forms were submitted to the appropriate postal officials for compliance and that action has been taken to ensure that the affected employee(s) receives payment and/or other benefits. In the event that an employee is not paid within sixty (60) days after submission of all the necessary paperwork, such employee, upon request, will be granted authorization from management to receive a pay advance equal to seventy (70) percent of the payment owed the employee. In the event of a dispute between the parties concerning the correct amount to be paid, the advance required by this section will be the amount that is not in dispute.
2. The failure of the employee or the Union in Step 1, or the Union thereafter to meet the prescribed time limits of the Steps of this procedure, including arbitration, shall be considered as a waiver of the grievance. However, if the Employer fails to raise the issue of timeliness at Step 2, or at the step at which the employee or Union failed to meet the prescribed time limits, whichever is later, such objection to the processing of the grievance is waived.
3. Failure by the Employer to schedule a meeting or render a decision in any of the Steps of this procedure within the time herein provided (including mutually agreed to extension periods) shall be deemed to move the grievance to the next Step of the grievance-arbitration procedure.
4. It is agreed that in the event of a dispute between the Union and the Employer as to the interpretation of this Agreement, such dispute may be initiated as a grievance at the Step 4 level by either party. Such a grievance shall be initiated in writing and must specify in detail the facts giving rise to the dispute, the precise interpretive issues to be decided and the contention of the initiating party. Thereafter the parties shall meet in Step 4 within thirty (30) days in an effort to define the precise issues involved, develop all necessary facts, and reach agreement. Should they fail to agree, then, within fifteen (15) days of such meeting, each party shall provide the other with a statement in writing of its understanding of the issues involved, and the facts giving rise to such issues. In the event the parties have failed to reach agreement within sixty (60) days of the initiation of the grievance in Step 4, the Union then may appeal it to arbitration, within thirty (30) days thereafter.
5. The parties have agreed to jointly develop and implement a Contract Interpretation Manual (CIM) within six (6) months after the effective date of the 1998 National Agreement. The CIM will set forth the parties' mutual understanding regarding the proper interpretation and/or application of the provisions of this Agreement. It is not intended to add to, modify, or replace, in any respect, the language in the current Agreement; nor is it intended to modify in any way the rights, responsibilities, or benefits of the parties under the Agreement. However, production of the CIM demonstrates the mutual intent of the parties at the National level to encourage their representatives at all levels to reach resolution regarding issues about which the parties are in agreement and to encourage consistency in the application of the terms of the Agreement. For these reasons, the positions of the parties as set forth in the CIM shall be binding on the representatives of both parties in the resolution of disputes at the Local and Regional levels, and in the processing of grievances through Steps 1, 2 and 3 of the grievance-arbitration procedure. In addition, the positions of the parties as set forth in the CIM are binding on the arbitrator, in accordance with the provisions of Article 15.4A6, in any Regional level arbitration case in which the CIM is introduced. The CIM will be updated periodically to re- flect any modifications to the parties' positions which may result from National level arbitration awards, Step 4 decisions, or other sources. The parties' representatives are encouraged to utilize the most recent version of the CIM at all times.

[See Memos and Letters, pages 180-187]