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Step B—Dispute Resolution Teams

The next step after Formal Step A of the DRP is Step B. The Step B teams each consist of two representatives, one appointed by the NALC and the other by the Postal Service. Just like the Informal Step A and the Formal Step A of the DRP, the Step B team is required by the National Agreement to attempt to settle any grievances at the lowest step possible. Also, like the previous steps of the DRP, the Step B team looks at the issue, facts, and contentions of the union and management to determine if the grievance has merit and attempts to reach a decision. Formal Step A representatives should contact one of their branch officers, branch president, or national business agent’s office for the mailing address of the Step B team for their district. This will ensure that all appeals to Step B are timely. This chapter will give you a good understanding of how the Step B team operates so you will understand the decisions you receive from them and you can also advise the letter carriers in your branch what to expect in regards to timelines of a possible resolution to their grievances if they go past the Formal Step A process of the DRP.

As discussed in the previous chapter, the union may appeal any unresolved case from Formal Step A to Step B of the DRP within 7 calendar days of the date of the Formal Step A meeting as outlined in Article 15, Section 2, Formal Step A (f) of the National Agreement:

(f)

The Formal Step A decision is to be made and the Joint Step A Grievance Form completed the day of the meeting, unless the time frame is mutually extended. The Union may appeal an impasse to Step B within seven (7) days of the date of the decision.

The appeal must be in writing and it must include the Joint Step A Grievance Form (PS Form 8190) and it must specify the reasons for the appeal. The supporting language for this is found in the National Agreement in Article 15, Section 2, Step B (a) and it reads as follows:

(a)

Any appeal from an unresolved case in Formal Step A shall be in writing to the Step B team at the appropriate Step B office, with a copy to the Formal Step A representatives, and will include a copy of the Joint Step A Grievance Form, and shall specify the reasons for the appeal.

The appeal from Formal Step A to Step B of the DRP should include:

  • Joint Step A Grievance Form (PS Form 8190).
  • The complete original joint case file.
  • If filed, the union’s additions and corrections.

The parties at the national level have agreed that any arguments and facts documented by the parties at the Informal or Formal Step A levels are automatically considered part of the Step B decision. This means that any of this material may be cited in the event of arbitration and this is another reason why all grievance files should be well thought out, documented, and supported by relevant information.

Just like at the previous steps of the DRP, the National Agreement requires the Step B team to jointly review the JCAM when discussing grievances. After they have reviewed all of the documentation, arguments, and contract or JCAM language for a grievance, the Step B team will issue a joint written decision. The decision should be made within 14 calendar days of receipt of the appeal from Formal Step A, unless the parties agree to an extension of time limits.

Article 15, Section 2, Step B (b) of the National Agreement is the controlling language that specifies this time limit:

(b)

The Step B team will review the appeal and issue a joint report of the decision and any supporting findings within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the appeal at Step B unless the parties mutually agree to extend the fourteen (14) day period. The Step B team will give priority consideration to discussion and decision of removal cases.

Although the case file should be complete when it arrives at Step B, it is the responsibility of both Step B team members to make sure the facts and contentions surrounding the issue presented in the grievance are fully developed. Their job is to resolve grievances based on the documentation contained in the case file. In some cases, a Step B team may not come to agreement on a resolve for a grievance. This is called an impasse decision. In such cases, the Step B team’s job is to make sure the contentions and arguments are fully developed. Impasse decisions are explained in detail on the following page.

The Step B team may agree to restate or change the issue statement of the grievance. They can also make joint calls for specific information or clarification.

After the Step B team has reached a decision, the written Step B decision must state the reasons for the decision in detail and should explain why the parties reached that decision. The Step B representatives should cite the contractual language, supporting documentation, and contentions they relied upon to reach their decision. The written decision is intended to educate the parties in case they are faced with similar situations in the future.

A Step B decision establishes precedent only for the city from which the grievance arose. The theory behind this rule is that precedent-setting decisions will help the local parties avoid repetitive grievances within their city. Precedent means the decision is relied upon in dealing with subsequent similar cases to avoid the repeat of disputes on issues previously decided in that installation.

The Step B team has four options when reaching a decision:

  • Resolve
  • Impasse
  • Hold
  • Remand

Descriptions of the four options are listed below. As you read these descriptions, keep in mind that the only unilateral option (meaning either union or management can make the decision on their own) available to the Step B team is the option to impasse. The other three options must be mutually agreed to by both parties.

  • Resolve: A resolved Step B decision may be a compromise settlement, a decision to uphold the grievance in its entirety, or a decision that there is no basis for the grievance. There are times when a Step B decision will resolve part of a grievance and impasse part of it. For example, a Step B team could agree there was a contract violation, but not agree on the appropriate remedy and impasse only the remedy portion of the grievance.
  • Impasse: If the Step B team cannot resolve a grievance, the parties will write an impasse decision. A Step B impasse decision must state in detail the reasons for the impasse and also must include a statement of any additional facts and contentions not included in the Formal Step A appeal. The members of the Step B team cannot unilaterally add additional documents to the case file. The Step B team will attach a list of all documents included in the file.
  • Hold: Grievances may be held pending resolution of a representative case selected by the NALC national business agent (NBA) on the same issue. Grievances may also be held pending a national interpretive case on the same issue. Either party at the national level can claim an issue to be interpretive. Once that happens, all cases on the issue can be held at Step B while the matter is being discussed at the national level.
  • Remand: The Step B team may agree to remand a grievance to the Formal Step A parties for several reasons. One example would be if the Step B representatives find they need additional documentation to reach a contractually sound decision. Another example would be if there is a question as to when the Formal Step A appeal was received by management.

In a remand decision, the Step B team explains what information is needed and why that information could help resolve the grievance. The Formal Step A parties are then directed to meet again within 7 calendar days of receipt of the remand in an attempt to settle the grievance using the additional information. If the Formal Step A parties resolve the dispute, a copy of the resolution should be sent to the Informal Step A parties. If the parties still cannot reach a decision and the grievance needs to be appealed once again to Step B, the union must do so within 7 calendar days of the Formal Step A meeting or the date the Formal Step A meeting should have been held (whichever comes first).

As stated in the Formal Step A section, the grievance file is officially closed on the day of the Formal Step A meeting, unless the Formal Step A parties agree to a time limit extension (which should be in writing and signed by both parties), the union files additions and corrections, or the Step B team remands the case to the Formal Step A parties. If the case is remanded to Formal Step A, additional documentation and contentions can be entered into the case file by either party.

In order to prevent a remand decision and avoid giving management an opportunity for a second bite of the apple, the NALC Formal Step A representative should ensure the file is completely developed prior to sending the appeal to Step B. This is one of the reasons why your investigation and preparation prior to the Formal Step A meeting is extremely important.

The idea of a remand decision is to make an attempt to help resolve the grievance. The Step B team has a responsibility though to cure any underlying problems that they may see happening that cause continual remands. For instance, if a branch or unit is frequently having their grievances remanded back to them for further development then a joint discussion between the Step B team and the Formal Step A representatives may be necessary to detail and resolve the issues that are creating the remands. A further action by the Step B team may involve requesting or recommending an intervention by the national business agent and by the USPS district labor relations department for that area to solve any problems.

Once a decision has been reached at the Step B level, a copy of that decision will be sent to at least the Formal Step A parties, the NALC national business agent, and the USPS area manager of labor relations (AMLR). The Formal Step A parties should send a copy of the decision to both Informal Step A parties.

The Step B decision contains the Step B representatives’ names and signatures, the GATS number, the branch’s grievance number, and the district, installation, and unit where the grievance arose. The decision will also list the following pertinent dates: incident date, Informal Step A and Formal Step A appeal and meeting dates, the date the appeal was received at Step B, and the Step B decision date.

The Step B parties’ written decision will also include:

  • The issue presented in the grievance file.
  • A summary of both the union’s and management’s positions.
  • An educational explanation of the basis for each decision.
  • The remedy decided by the parties.
  • A table of contents that includes a list of all documents in the file.

After Step B+

When a grievance is impassed at Step B, the original case file is forwarded to the appropriate national business agent’s office and a copy of the file is maintained by the Step B team. At that point, the national business agent has 14 calendar days upon receipt of the grievance file from Step B to decide whether or not to appeal the case to final and binding arbitration in accordance with the procedure set forth in Article 15, Section 2, Step B (d) of the National Agreement which reads:

(d)

The Union’s National Business Agent (NBA) or designee may appeal an impasse directly to arbitration at the Grievance/Arbitration Processing Center within fourteen (14) days after the receipt of the Step B impasse in accordance with the procedure hereinafter set forth.

The national business agent’s office is tasked with reviewing each and every impasse decision from the Step B representatives before determining whether or not to appeal the case to arbitration. When reviewing impassed grievances, the national business agent’s office will ask the same questions that should be answered through the case file at the previous steps of the grievance procedure. NALC representatives after Step B should be able to answer “yes” to each of the questions below to make sure your grievance has the best chance of success at arbitration:

  1. Is there a violation of the National Agreement?
  2. Did we properly frame the issue?
  3. Did we determine all the facts of the case and document each one?
  4. Do our contentions clearly explain the documented facts and how the National Agreement was violated?
  5. Did we request an appropriate remedy for the contract violation?

If the national business agent can answer yes to all of the above questions, then they will appeal the grievance to arbitration. There are times though when national business agents appeal grievances to arbitration prior to a thorough review in order to preserve time limit requirements. By doing this, it gives the union more time to examine the grievance. In the end, the grievance can always be withdrawn from arbitration if the national business agent decides it is not in the union’s best interest to go forward.

Just because a grievance is appealed to arbitration doesn’t mean it will actually be heard by an arbitrator. The national business agent or his or her designee will normally try to resolve the case with a management representative at the district or area level prior to it being scheduled for a hearing. These pre-arbitration discussions can lead to a full settlement, partial settlement, or withdrawal of the grievance by the union.

If a settlement cannot be reached and the union feels the case should go forward, it will be scheduled for arbitration. Once that happens, an NALC advocate will be assigned by the national business agent’s office to represent the union at the arbitration hearing. The NALC advocate will make another attempt to settle the grievance with management, as he or she is directed to do by the National Agreement. Article 15.4.A.4. provides in relevant part:

The designated advocates will discuss the scheduled cases at least thirty (30) days prior to the scheduled hearing date, if possible.

The advocates are contractually required to discuss the case at least 30 days prior to the hearing. If the grievance is settled through pre-arbitration discussions, the settlement agreement is final and binding on both parties. If the grievance is not settled, it moves forward to arbitration for a final and binding decision.

The arbitration advocate will spend hours studying the case file, researching, and interviewing witnesses scheduled to testify in order to present the best case possible to an arbitrator. It must be understood that all decisions by an arbitrator are final and binding and it is the last step of the grievance procedure. Neither management nor the union has any further avenues in which to take their dispute.

The next chapter of the NALC Shop Steward’s Guide will discuss arbitration, the final step of the DRP. Here we will develop a further understanding of the timelines associated with arbitration and how decisions are reached at that step of the DRP.