The broad definition of a grievance set forth in Article 15.1 means that most work-related disputes can be pursued through the grievance-arbitration procedure. Most grievances will involve the National Agreement. Local Memorandum of Understanding (LMOU) provisions are other sources of grievance activity. LMOUs are items that deal with local conditions in individual postal installations (cities) negotiated under the provisions of Article 30 of the National Agreement. Other types of disputes that can be handled within the grievance procedure may include:

• Alleged violations of postal handbooks or manuals, such as Handbook M-39, Handbook M-41, or the Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM). Article 19 of the National Agreement provides that those postal handbook and manual provisions directly relating to wages, hours, or working conditions are enforceable as though they are part of the National Agreement.
• Alleged violations of grievance settlements, Step 4 settlements, memorandums, and arbitration awards.
• Alleged violations of other enforceable agreements between the NALC and the Postal Service, such as the Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace. In national case C-15697, National Arbitrator Carlton Snow found that the Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace (M-01242) constitutes a contractually enforceable agreement between the parties and that the union has access to the grievance-arbitration procedure to resolve disputes arising under it.
• Disputes concerning the rights of ill or injured employees, such as claims concerning fitness-forduty exams, first aid treatment, compliance with the provisions of ELM Section 540, and other regulations concerning Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) claims. (See Step 4 Settlement G90N-4G-C 95026885, January 28, 1997, M-01264). However, decisions of the OWCP are not grievable matters. OWCP has the exclusive authority to adjudicate compensation claims and to determine the medical suitability of proposed limited duty assignments.
• Alleged violations of law such as the National Labor Relations Act, the Postal Reorganization Act, and the Rehabilitation Act. In C-06858, National Arbitrator Neil Bernstein wrote the following concerning Article 5: The only purpose the Article [5] can serve is to incorporate all the Service’s “obligations under law” into the agreement, so as to give the Service’s legal obligations the additional status of contractual obligations as well. This incorporation has significance primarily in terms of enforcement mechanism—it enables the signatory unions to utilize the contractual vehicle of arbitration to enforce all of the Service’s legal obligations.
• Past Practice: An arbitrary change or breach of precedent by management regarding a customary practice followed for some time but not formalized in writing and not inconsistent with the National or local agreement.

Grievance processing is the single most important job a steward performs. Effective grievance handling promotes on-the-job justice for letter carriers, enforces the National Agreement, and builds union strength.

Processing grievances is a demanding job because it puts all the steward’s skills to work. When a letter carrier presents a problem or when a steward determines a violation of the National Agreement may have occurred, the steward must thoroughly investigate the situation to determine whether there is a valid grievance.

If there is a valid grievance, the steward must put together the documents and evidence associated with the grievance and then prepare the case for discussion with management at the Informal Step A meeting. An Informal Step A meeting is when the employee, the steward, or both meet with the supervisor within 14 calendar days of an incident or situation covered by the National Agreement.

The steward is tasked with obtaining the appropriate remedy to the grievance. If no resolution can be reached, the steward is responsible for appealing the grievance to the next step of the grievance procedure within the time limits. We will extensively discuss this process later in the next chapter of the NALC Shop Steward’s Guide.

You will hear the terms grievance procedure, Dispute Resolution Process, and DRP used by different people. These terms will also be used interchangeably throughout this guide. Just remember, they all mean the same thing.

All grievances are contract disputes involving either a contractual issue or disciplinary action. Grievances will normally be categorized as contract or discipline cases as a result. Even though there are differences in approach with contractual and disciplinary grievances, don’t be confused. The process of the union filing a grievance and following the steps within the timeline set out in Article 15 of the National Agreement remains the same no matter what type of grievance you have.

It is extremely important to note that in both types of grievances, the union is the moving party. This means the union has the responsibility to move the grievance through the grievance procedure at every step of the process. It is never management’s responsibility to do this.

Contractual grievances are normally based on a claim by an individual letter carrier, group of letter carriers, or the union itself that management has violated a contract provision of the National Agreement. When the union alleges a contract violation for matters other than a disciplinary notice issued to an individual letter carrier, it is up to the union to prove the violation. Therefore, the union is said to have the “burden of proof” in contractual cases.

Disciplinary grievances are initiated by the union to challenge management when a disciplinary notice is issued to an individual letter carrier alleging that he or she acted improperly, broke a rule, disobeyed an order, etc. Article 16 of the National Agreement requires management to show what is known as “just cause” when they issue discipline to a letter carrier. Therefore, management is said to have the “burden of proof” in discipline cases. Management must have proof that the discipline is warranted, but please remember that the union is the moving party for the grievance. The union must initiate a grievance and the union must move that grievance through the entire grievance procedure until a resolution is reached, just as the union must do in contractual cases.

Sometimes a grievant for whatever reason may not receive the disciplinary notice, but the union is notified. If this happens, contact your branch officers or branch president for guidance immediately. As mentioned above, Article 16 of the National Agreement is the controlling language that outlines the discipline procedure. Management must follow the rules set forth in this article and any grievance initiated by the union to challenge a disciplinary action must cite a violation of Article 16. The basic principles of the discipline procedure are contained in Article 16.1 of the National Agreement and read as such:

Article 19 of the National Agreement incorporates many handbooks such as the M-39 into our National Agreement. Therefore, you should also cite a violation of Section 115 of the Handbook M-39, Management of Delivery Services, in any discipline grievance you file. Section 115 of the M-39 addresses what steps management must take to properly issue discipline. The basic language of that section of the M-39 follows, but you should familiarize yourself with the rest of that section when you are tasked with representing a letter carrier who has been issued a disciplinary notice.

From the moment a violation of the National Agreement occurs to its eventual resolution between the NALC and the Postal Service, the process begins with a timeline and a series of steps outlined in Article 15 of the National Agreement. As stated earlier, it is the responsibility of the union to meet this timeline and process the grievance at every step of the DRP. A flow chart has been provided on the next page to give you a better understanding of the timeline of the DRP which must be met in order for the union to meet its obligations.

As you have probably already noticed, the importance of meeting the timelines of the DRP is stressed greatly throughout this guide. The last thing that you as a union steward want is to have to tell a letter carrier whom you represent that their grievance was denied because you failed to move the grievance in a timely manner. Stewards have enough obstacles to overcome in the processing of grievances, so don’t create another obstacle to deal with.

Each step of the Dispute Resolution Process (DRP) is thoroughly discussed in this NALC Shop Steward’s Guide. As a shop steward you will normally only deal with grievances at the Informal or Formal Step A level of the grievance procedure, but grievances must be prepared as though they will go to final and binding arbitration.

You may notice that preparation is repeatedly emphasized throughout this guide. The importance of preparation cannot be stressed enough. Organizing background information, completing paperwork properly, and planning a grievance meeting strategy for each case will help you be successful. The steward who investigates, prepares, and thinks before acting always has the edge. This is true regardless of whether or not the grievance is resolved at Informal Step A of the DRP. If the grievance isn’t resolved at Informal Step A, proper and thorough preparation will pay off again and again at every step of the DRP the grievance reaches after it leaves your hands.

In the following chapters, we will discuss the various steps of the DRP and you will learn everything you need to know about your role as a steward in relation to each step.