Section 15.2: Difference between revisions

=== Section 15.2 Grievance Procedure-Steps ===

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   <li>Any employee who feels aggrieved must discuss the grievance with the employee's immediate supervisor within fourteen (14) days of the date on which the employee or the Union first learned or may reasonably have been expected to have learned of its cause unless the parties agree in writing to extend the fourteen (14) day period. The employee, if he or she so desires, may be accompanied and represented by the employee's steward or a Union representative. The Union also may initiate a grievance at Step 1 within 14 days of the date the Union first became aware of (or reasonably should have become aware of) the facts giving rise to the grievance. In such case the participation of an individual grievant is not required.

A Step 1 Union grievance may involve a complaint affecting more than one employee in the office. Whenever the facts giving rise to a grievance relate to an incident/issue occurring or arising on a specific date and involve more than one employee in the office, a Step 1 or Step 2 grievance may only be initiated by the Union as a Union grievance on behalf of all involved employees within a specific work location in an installation as provided in Article 17.2A or as defined by local practice. Should any grievances concerning the same incident/issue be filed at Step 1 by individual employees, the Union will consolidate all such grievances and select a representative grievance which may be appealed to Step 2. Should multiple grievances concerning the same incident/issue be improperly filed/initiated at Step 1 by the Union, management shall notify the Union, and if so notified, the Union shall consolidate all such grievances and select a representative grievance which may be heard at Step 1.

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   <li>In any discussion at Step 1 the supervisor shall have authority to settle the grievance. The steward or other Union representative likewise shall have authority to settle or withdraw the grievance in whole or in part. No resolution reached as a result of such discussion shall be a precedent for any purpose.

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   <li>The Union shall be entitled to appeal an adverse decision to Step 2 of the grievance procedure within ten (10) days after receipt of the supervisor's decision. Such appeal shall be made by completing a standard grievance form developed by agreement of the parties, which shall include appropriate space for at least the following:

The parties at the national level shall agree upon a computer-generated version of the standard grievance form that may be used to appeal an adverse decision to Step 2.

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Step 2:

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   <li>The standard grievance form appealing to Step 2 shall be filed with the installation head or designee. In any associate post office of twenty (20) or less employees, the Employer shall designate an official outside of the installation as the Step 2 official, and shall so notify the Union Step 1 representative.

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Step 3:

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   <li>Any appeal from an adverse decision in Step 2 shall be in writing to the appropriate management official at the LR Service Center with a copy to the Employer's Step 2 representative, and shall specify the reasons for the appeal.

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   <li>If either party's representative maintains that the grievance involves an interpretive issue under this Agreement, or some supplement thereto which may be of general application, the Union representative shall be entitled to appeal an adverse decision to Step 4 (National level) of the grievance procedure. Any such appeal must be made within twenty-one (21) days after receipt of the Employer's decision and include copies of the standard grievance form, the Step 2 and Step 3 decisions and, if filed, any Union corrections and additions filed at Steps 2 or 3. The Union shall furnish a copy of the Union appeal to the appropriate management official at the Grievance/Arbitration Processing Center.

The party whose representative maintains that the grievance involves an interpretive issue shall provide the other party a written notice specifying in detail the precise interpretive issues(s) to be decided. The Employer's notice shall be included in the Step 3 decision. The Union's written notice shall be automatically included as part of the grievance record in the case but the filing of such notice shall not affect the time limits for appeal.

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[See Memos, pages 182-183]

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Step 4:

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   <li>In any case properly appealed or referred to this Step the parties shall meet at the National level promptly, but in no event later than thirty (30) days after filing such appeal or referral in an attempt to resolve the grievance. The Union representative shall have authority to settle or with- draw the grievance in whole or in part. The Employer's representative shall have authority to grant or settle the grievance in whole or in part. The parties' Step 4 representatives may, by mutual agreement, return any grievance to Step 3 where

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       <li>it appears that all relevant facts have not been developed adequately. In such event, the parties shall meet at Step 3 within fifteen (15) days after the grievance is returned to Step 3. Thereafter the procedures and time limits applicable to Step 3 grievances shall apply. Following their meeting in any case not returned to Step 3, a written decision by the Employer will be rendered within fifteen (15) days after the Step 4 meeting unless the parties agree to extend the fifteen (15) day period. The decision shall include an adequate explanation of the reasons therefore. In any instance where the parties have been unable to dispose of a grievance by settlement or withdrawal, the Union shall be entitled to appeal it to arbitration at the National level within thirty (30) days after receipt of the Employer's Step 4 decision.

<b>Any local grievances filed on the specific interpretive issue shall be held in abeyance at Step 3 pending resolution of the national interpretive dispute.</b>

[See Memo, page 182]