Little Victories

By: Krista Beals, Vallejo Shop Steward

It wasn’t too long ago that the Vallejo Post Office was so shorthanded that carriers were working 70-80 plus hours per week over 6 days per week. It was demanded and expected of them to show up for work and just get the mail delivered no matter the cost. Carriers were becoming so exhausted and disenchanted at the circumstances of their work environment but did their best anyway to get the job done. Some days there were entire routes that were not getting delivered because we didn’t have enough people. This went on for about a year before things finally started to change.

As we all know, Article 8 of our National Agreement limits carrier work hours to 12 hours per day and 60 hours per week (20 hours of overtime) and limits PTFs and CCAs to 11.5 hours per day. When management violates the National Agreement by working carriers beyond these limits, we file grievances. Every week we file the same grievances to the point where it almost seems pointless when management doesn’t seem to want to stop violating the Contract. But, we do it anyway, we keep filing the grievances because they do make a difference if we stay consistent and build on the little victories.

In Vallejo, we filed these Article 8 grievances every week for carriers working beyond the work hour limits. And during this time some carriers were working 10-15 hours OVER the workhour limits week after week. We slowly added and adjusted the language in the grievance remedies starting with “cease and desist” and then adding from the National Agreement for management to acknowledge “the 12 - and 60 - hour limits are absolutes. A full-time employee may neither volunteer nor be required to work beyond those limits. Management agrees that this is a citable cease and desist working Regular Carriers beyond 12 hours per day, 60 hours weekly (including any type of leave) and working CCAs and PTFs beyond 11.5 hours a day” and then started adding and building the language on the monetary remedy as well.

Over time we were able to build the monetary remedy up from the standard 50% hourly rate to 100% hourly rate for all hours worked beyond the workhour limits. Then when management finally realized exactly how much these violations were costing them, they stopped resolving the grievances with us. We started sending these grievances up to Step B of the grievance process every week. It took a little time, but Step B team began to uphold our 100% rate and even calling it the “established remedy of an additional 100% of the straight time rate for all hours worked over the work hour limits”. This was a BIG win as it set the monetary remedy in Vallejo at DOUBLE what the standard remedy for this type of violation.

Some offices right now are facing the same state of short staffing resulting in overwhelming work hours. What I will say to the carriers and stewards is; file the grievances, weather through the challenges together and build on the little victories because they add up to more than you think.

Fun At The Branch Picnic

Sunday, June 25

Kennedy Grove, El Sobrante