Section 30.3

Section 30.3 Grievance-Arbitration Procedure

1. All proposals remaining in dispute may be submitted to final and binding arbitration, with the written authorization of the Union or the Vice President, Labor Relations. The request for arbitration must be submitted within 10 days of the end of the local implementation period. However, where there is no agreement and the matter is not referred to arbitration, the provisions of the former local memorandum of understanding shall apply, unless inconsistent with or in conflict with this Agreement. The Employer may challenge a provision(s) of a local memorandum of understanding on "inconsistent or in conflict" grounds only by making a reasonable claim during the local implementation process that a provision(s) of the local memorandum of understanding is inconsistent or in conflict with new or amended provisions of the current National Agreement that did not exist in the previous National Agreement, or with provisions that have been amended subsequent to the effective date of the previous National Agreement. If local management refuses to abide by a local memorandum of understanding on "inconsistent or in conflict" grounds and an arbitrator subsequently finds that local management had no reasonable basis for its claim, the arbitrator is empowered to issue an appropriate remedy. In the event of a mid-term change or addition in the National Agreement, local management may challenge a provision(s) of a local memorandum of understanding subsequent to the local implementation period, but only by making a reasonable claim that a provision(s) of a local memorandum of understanding is inconsistent or in conflict with the changed provision(s) of the National Agreement. The challenged provision(s) declared to be inconsistent or in conflict with the National Agreement shall remain in effect for 120 days from the date on which the Union is notified in writing of management's challenge or the date of an arbitrator's award dealing with management's challenge, whichever is sooner.

   [See Memo, page 198]

2. An alleged violation of the terms of a memorandum of understanding shall be subject to the grievance-arbitration procedure.
3. When installations are consolidated or when a new installation is established, the parties shall conduct a thirty (30) day period of local implementation, pursuant to Section 2. All proposals remaining in dispute may be submitted to final and binding arbitration, with the written authorization of the Union or the Vice Pres- ident, Labor Relations. The request for arbitration must be submitted in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding Re: Local Implementation.
4. Where the Postal Service, pursuant to Section 3A, submits a proposal remaining in dispute to arbitration, which proposal seeks to change a presently-effective Local Memorandum of Understanding, the Postal Service shall have the burden of establishing that continuation of the existing provision would represent an unreasonable burden to the Postal Service.