Postal Service Sends Directive to the Field on Lead Clerks Performing TACS Duties

A letter dated July 16, 2021, and signed by four headquarters-level Postal Service officials, was sent to management in the field with instructions to ensure that Lead Clerks in Functions 1 and 4 are provided proper training and assigned to timekeeping duties in the Time and Attendance Collection System (TACS). The letter, titled “Lead Clerks Performing Timekeeping Duties in TACS”, included clear directives regarding both the assignment of TACS duties to Lead Clerks and the contractual requirement to comply with grievance settlements.

 “Settlements reached in any stage of the grievance-arbitration procedure are final and binding. As such, compliance with grievance settlements is mandatory”, the memorandum began. The letter also states, “… one of the most conspicuous grievance-generating issues that continues to be seen in the field is non-compliance with the requirement to assign Lead Clerks to perform timekeeping duties in TACS”, noting that non-compliance with national-level settlements in the field “has generated financial liabilities at both the District and Area levels, which has resulted in millions of dollars in grievance payouts” and that “Such payouts are avoidable and unacceptable”.

Included with this correspondence were two documents, one for Mail Processing and the other for Retail and Customer Service, that provides “step-by-step instructions…for ensuring that Lead Clerk TACS training and responsibilities are properly assigned”. Locals who continue to experience problems with management failing to assign TACS duties to Lead Clerks should be able to utilize these documents, along with the national-level settlements on this issue, to ensure contract compliance. The documents are included with this article below. If you have further difficulties with non-compliance, contact the appropriate National Business Agent in your area.