The issue in this National Level Arbitration was whether the Postal Service's introduction and implementation of SEAM at Vehicle Maintenance Facilities violated the Agreement in respect to the Postal Service reassigned bargaining unit work across occupational groups and levels; creating a new work assignment called Lead Tech/Clerk, both in violation of Article 7.2; assigning bargaining unit work to supervisors in violation of Article 1.6; and Article 19, by failing to comply with that Article before it implemented SEAM.
Award Summary: Arbitrator Goldberg ruled that the Postal Service implementation of SEAM violated neither Article 1.6 nor Article 7.2 of the Agreement. He further ruled that the Union was not time-barred from asserting that the Postal Service violated Article 19 in Implementing SEAM, but that SEAM did not lead to changes in Handbooks P0-701 or EL-201. Accordingly, the Postal Service did not violate Article 19 in implementing SEAM without providing Article 19 notice to the Union.
Document Type: National Arbitration
APWU National Grievance Number: Q10C4QV013265789, 10V4QC13184778
Craft: Clerk
Arbitrator Name: Stephen Goldberg