Step 4 Settlement Agreement: Article 14; Safety and Health (1982)

The question in this grievance is whether management violated Article 14 of the 1981 National Agreement.  The union contends that management has created unsafe working conditions at the Indianapolis, Indiana, Post Office by utilizing all purpose containers (APC’s) in the letter-sorting machine area.  The relief requested by the union is that management discontinue the use of APC’s in the LSM area and use other equipment, e.g., nutting trucks, to transport mail.  In full and final resolution of this case, we agreed that definitive standards for safe use of the APC, also referred to as the GMPC (general purpose mail container) have been published in Container Methods, Handbook PO-502.  The handbook provides comprehensive instructions on the use of the container as well as specific safety tips which are to be followed by both supervisors and employees alike.  This document contains two Article 14 unrelated issues; a Step 4 Agreement on Page 1, and a Step 4 Agreement on Page 2.